Dear League of Women Voters Members,
It is time again for our monthly issue of “The Voter “which is one way that we reach out to you and friends of the league. I sense that all of us have been busy trying to get our neighbors and friends out to vote. It is a time-consuming activity for outreach, and it takes effort from community members, community organizations, and the League to work together. My outreach was canvassing to get out the vote. Now that the primary elections are over, we can rejuvenate our energy. All that is left is processing ballots, curing, certifying, then forwarding to the WA Secretary of the State office which of course is done by the Yakima County Elections, Auditor’s Department. There is exceptionally good news to share, on August 10, at 8:00 a.m., the voter turnout rate was 27.99%. This is almost a 12% increase from last year’s 2025 voter turnout rate for the primary election. The official results will be in about a week or so. My hope is that the turnout rate will be over 30%. I loved seeing these results!!! Thank you to our members who participated in getting out the vote (GOTV). A larger shout out to the community organizations that were canvassing door-to-door, giving workshops on filling out ballots, doing forums, and even having an art event to get out the vote.
So, what has the League of Women Voters of Yakima County been doing? A lot! NAACP hosted an “A Day of Good Trouble” event honoring John Day Lewis on July 17 at the downtown Performance Park. There are several of our members that are also members of NAACP. The league had a table set up providing information on voting, selecting candidates more.
On July 27 at the West Valley Library, the League had a program on Immigrants and what has been happening in Yakima. One of our own members, Danielle Surkatty, spoke about what the Yakima Immigrant Response Network (YIRN) has been doing to help families in the ‘reunification process’ with detained loved ones. There were eight members from the League that attended the program. The handbook Welcoming Immigrants to Washington were given to attendees at this event. It was a study done by the League of Women Voters of WA in 2024.
Recently, on August 8, this League worked with Alison McCaffree, Issue Chair, Redistricting and Lobby Advocate with the WA State League. She presented a program on Redistricting and Your Vote. There were sixteen participants that came to this event. Nine of the attendees were members of this League. Those that attended received information and a folder with power point slides. Everyone asked great questions and had lots of discussion. At the end of this presentation, I talked about a second part extending this event by having an opportunity to walk or run and see the boundary lines, visually. It will take place in October. The participants produced a name: Rock the Vote, Fun Run. Please think about getting involved. This event will need volunteers and community organizations to assist in making this happen. More information to come.
There is one more opportunity for members and the community who missed the one on August 8th to attend another Redistricting & Your Vote workshop. This same presentation will be on September 19 at Sunnyside Community Center. Alison McCaffree will make this trip again to Yakima. I hope to see more members coming out to our events in the future.
Also, I would like to say “thank you” to all the members that volunteered and helped to set up this event with me. You are genuinely appreciated! Also, the League and I appreciate our partner organizations Asian Pacific Islander Coalition (APIC) for the folders and the printed PowerPoint slides and NAACP for sponsoring the cost of the conference room at the Best Western Plus, Ahtanum Inn and the pastries. Their contributions made this event possible. Also, to Alison McCaffree for traveling to Yakima from Seattle to present at this event. I drove her to sections of Yakima’s 14th and 15th districts that parallel next to each other. It was a crazy maze. The ‘Rock the Vote, Fun Run’ will let participants see how our votes are distributed by districts and precincts.
Last, members, if you have a topic that is important, let us explore and see about having small get-togethers to discuss and act on. A league only works when we can all find common ground and common interests. I believe in the mission and purpose of this league. As your president, I do have a vision and that is to see the League of Women Voters of Yakima County expand and reach out to include all communities throughout the Yakima Valley. Our statement is “To empower voters, defend democracy.”
With best regards,
Cindy Olivas, LWVYC President
