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The State League pays monthly for a Pro Zoom account, which lets us host meetings of up to 100 participants with no limit on meeting time. State Zoom account is available on a first come, first served basis. Default meeting time is one hour - please contact us at lwvor@lwvor.org if you need more time.

A second invitation to join OSME went out to teachers the first week in April who participated in the past. With it came a few more registered teachers. At the time of this writing, we have about 3,300 students registered from 22 schools and/or districts. Compared to the 33,000 who registered in fall of 2024, this is a small turnout. Spring is very busy for high schools so it is understandable that many teachers just can’t give class time to a mock election. Our participation for primary elections has been historically low. Still, we have a lot of participation from rural communities this election. Our represented towns include, Albany, Corvallis, Dayville, Dufur, Eugene, Klamath Falls, Lake Oswego, North Bend, Oregon City, Portland’s David Douglas School District, Pendleton, Pine Eagle, Roseburg, St Helens, West Linn, and Winston. The voting window for students is May 1-10. The press release will go to participating schools and our press pool on, or before May 12. Once again, Lakeridge HS has registered for the whole school to vote! We have an endorsement letter from the Secretary of State’s office for the 2026 mock elections. In this election, students will vote for Governor and Ballot Measure 120 (M120) at the state level and US Senator at the federal. I was skeptical about whether M120 (a referendum to increase payroll tax, gas tax, and vehicle registration fees) would be of interest to students, so I polled the teachers about what they thought. They convinced me to include it. They also have the option of having their students vote for their US Representative. For this election, I have created seven ballots: six ballots with each of the US District races and one without. Teachers decide which ballot(s) they would like to use. Some are opting to use multiple US district ballots since their students’ home addresses fall into more than one. Results and a press release will be available on or about May 12. Mimi Alkire LWVOR Oregon Student Mock Election Coordinator

The mid-year season is upon us and our LWVOR Council is only a couple weeks away, coming up 15-16 May. It’s not too late to consider attending in person. Marion-Polk League members are offering to lodge guests from across the state should you choose to come to Salem. What a great way to meet members you may have only been acquainted with! This year, we are going to review the status of our eight strategic objectives: clear and vocal branding, highlighting our voter service, grow Oregon Student Mock Elections, grow non-partisan outreach through new affiliations, redouble our fiduciary responsibilities, grow the Leagues future with youth outreach, address burnout, and all the while modeling civil discourse. We will hear from a professor of history about the similarities between 1939 and 2025 and why knowing history is crucial to defending democracy and empowering voters now. This year the proposed budget is quite different. The Board and Budget Committee pose a question to us at an inflection point with a serious choice. They are asking us to consider helping our volunteers by adding new staff roles dedicated to the operation of our busiest and most demanding portfolios. In these stressful times, we have experienced a reticence to take on leadership - that in turn taxes our volunteers and staff. The Human Resources Committee, Budget Committee, and Board have done their best to create a budget that continues to support our volunteer leadership, with a new model designed to address the stress and burnout so prevalent in these times. Please join us either in person or online - this will be a big choice about our future. On April 25th, the League of Women Voters of Oregon (LWVOR) and ACLU of Oregon filed a “friend of the court” brief in United States v. Oregon, in support of Oregon voters’ privacy and Oregon state privacy law. The brief opposes the United States Department of Justice’s unlawful demand for disclosure of Oregon voters’ private information (such as driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of Social Security numbers). The League is represented by Campaign Legal Center and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law. The ACLU of Oregon is represented by the ACLU. And here’s my observation of our support for that action, “The League of Women Voters of Oregon is determined to protect the private data of Oregonians from the overreach of the federal government,” said Mark Kendall, President of the League of Women Voters of Oregon. “We are proud to support our state’s strong state privacy laws against the federal government’s fishing expedition. The League will continue to protect our members and Oregon voters from this intrusion that erodes trust in the very institutions that we expect to uphold our highest democratic principles and values.” On April 30th, the League of Women Voters chapters of Deschutes, Klamath, and Union Counties and the Rogue and Umpqua Valleys held a joint, bipartisan Congressional Candidate forum for Oregon’s Congressional District 2 (CD2). That district is the sixth largest in the country and larger than 22 states. These chapters worked closely with one another to select questions from voters in the district to best represent the needs of citizens in this geographically wide-ranging area. Moderated by award-winning journalist Les Zaitz, this live Zoom webinar featured live local watch parties by each host across the district. Eight of the nine candidates for the U.S.House of Representatives participated including Peter Larson of Union County; Andrea Carr of Klamath County; Mary Doyle of Deschutes County; Patty Snow, Rebecca Mueller, Peter Quince, and Chris Beck of Jackson County; and Dawn Rasmussen of Wasco County. The moderator Les Zaitz has been a journalist in Oregon for more than 50 years and is editor/owner of Salem Reporter. He is a two-time Pulitzer finalist who lives and works from his ranch in rural Grant County. What a great way for our rural Leagues to collaborate in empowering voters! In League, Mark Kendall LWVOR Interim President

April 30, 2026 Our Nation Today, our League community is sitting with a great deal of both sadness and resolve following the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais. With its ruling in this case, the Court has struck the final blow to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, rendering it inoperable against racial discrimination in redistricting. The League responded with a strong statement, warning that the decision “will turn back decades of progress toward securing a multiracial democracy” and making clear that efforts to silence Black voters and other voters of color will not go unanswered. This moment demands action—and together, we have the power to meet it. The fight for an inclusive, multiracial democracy is far from over, and we will continue moving forward, side by side, to ensure every voice is heard. For those interested in learning more, please register for this upcoming webinar and stay tuned for an educational blog on Callais from our Litigation team. Our League This week’s Supreme Court ruling further emphasizes the importance of the people to unite and rise in defense of democracy and in pursuit of voting rights for all. The League is proud to announce that the Power Playbook #5: People Power Summer, the next phase of Unite & Rise 8.5, is now available. This playbook is designed to support Leagues in leading a powerful 90-day push toward the 2026 midterms. Together, we’ll build momentum through the August 8 National Day of Action and strengthen the connection between primary engagement and long-term voter participation in our communities. To support your planning for the National Day of Action, key resources are available on the League Management Site, including a Menu of Activations with flexible options based on your League’s capacity, and a Planning Toolkit with step-by-step guidance for organizing, executing, and tracking your efforts. I invite you to join us on May 4 for the Introduction to Playbook #5 and the August 8 Day of Action webinar to connect, learn more, and get your questions answered. And when you’re ready, please register your League’s participation by May 15 so we can support your efforts and lift up the collective impact we’re building together. In League, Dianna Wynn President League of Women Voters

Youth Rights Youth Council LWVOR encourages youth participation in government at every level. Read More

Youth Council < Back About the Issue LWVOR Youth Council is a youth-led nonpartisan network of young civic leaders focused on increasing political engagement among young Oregon voters. Youth Council offers: Membership at three levels! Includes LWV of the US, LWV of Oregon, and your local League Opportunities for participation as a national and state convention delegate or observer Participatory civic engagement and education Community service hours with Certificates of Recognition Find out more and join here !

OLIVIA HAN (she/her) OLIVIA HAN (she/her) Youth Vote Strategist Olivia is a junior at Sunset High School in Beaverton, Oregon. She is part of the International Internship Program for Advocacy through Leadership Initiatives, she is the Youth Voter Strategist for the League of Women Voters Youth Council Oregon, she was a two time international conference qualifier for her school’s Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA), received a Scholastic Arts and Writing silver key award for poetry and photography, is a published poet, has a blog about systemic injustice, wrote a published research paper about art and political discourse, is in the Carnegie Institute youth scholar program, and is Education Co-Lead on the National Student Advisory Council for Work2BeWell (Providence Healthcare). She is excited to see what junior year will bring her and is especially excited to participate in the IB Diploma Program. Outside of her academic pursuits, Olivia is an avid supporter of voter education and awareness, she strives to elevate others and express the importance of voting. She has written numerous speeches, papers, and studies about voter suppression in the United States and hopes to one day create steps towards equality in voting. This is Olivia’s first year participating in LWVOR Youth Council, and she has her eye on making civic participation a smoother experience for everyone. Through leading workshops and registering young voters, she hopes to make her community (and the world) a better place. She is excited to advocate for voters across Oregon as a member of the LWVOR Youth Council and can be contacted at youthoutreach@lwvor.org . youthoutreach@lwvor.org