• Voters Service - Coordinator:  Vicki Conner
• Social Justice - Coordinator:  Marly Ynigues
• Broadband Access - Coordinator:  Sarah Barnes
• Other Areas:  Local Government, Natural Resources, Education - Need volunteer coordinator(s)

LWV-MM Report on Voters Service

In 2021, most of the election activity has been legislative activity.  More on that below.

2021 has been an off-election year except for local City Council and Education Excess Levy elections, but 2022 will be an interesting one to watch.  Here’s a link to the WV Secretary of State site with details about the 2022 election season. https://sos.wv.gov/elections/Documents/West%20Virginia%20Election%20Calendar.pdf

We will be electing:

• U.S. House of Representatives
• County Commission
• State Senate
• County Clerk
• House of Delegates
• Circuit Clerk
• State Executive Committee
• Board of Education
• District Executive Committees: Congressional, Senatorial, and Delegate
• County Executive Committee
• Conservation District Supervisor

As usual, the League will be sponsoring forums for the various local offices, so watch for those dates to be announced in Fall 2022. 

Remarkably, more than 400 bills relating to voting access were introduced in 49 states in the 2021 legislative sessions and many new voting laws have been passed.  In fact, 18 states have passed 30 laws that adversely impact a citizen’s right to vote. You can find details about these laws and their impacts on www.brennancenter.org. 

However, 2021 has not been all bad news for voters’ rights.  The Brennan Center reports that at least 25 states enacted 54 laws with provisions to expand voting.  “…These laws expand access to early and mail voting, make voter registration easier, and restore voting rights to Americans with past convictions, among other measures.  Many of the states in which voting is already comparatively more accessible are the same as those enacting policies to further strengthen voting access, deepening a national divide such that the promise of the right to vote depends increasingly on where Americans happen to live [emphasis added].  More than 900 bills with expansive provisions have been introduced in 49 states in the 2021 legislative sessions…”

In WV, SB 565, endorsed by Secretary of State Warner, would have reduced the number of days for early voting and voting by absentee ballots, supposedly to give the County Clerks more time to get the poll books ready for Election Day.  That bill passed handily in the Senate but died in the House Judiciary Committee. We will need to be alert to other voting changes in the 2022 Legislative session.

Congressional Democrats have proposed bills to restrict the ability of states to negatively impact voting rights. The For The People Act has morphed into the Freedom To Vote Act in an attempt to garner the 60 votes needed to pass it. Senator Manchin is one of the authors of the amended Act. So far there has been no indication that 10 Republicans will vote for it, so some actions to limit the filibuster might be required.  Unfortunately, Senator Manchin and others have previously expressed a negative view on changes to the filibuster, so passage is very much up in the air.  And there has not been much activity on the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which seeks to reinvigorate the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and reinstate some Federal control over which states can impose laws restricting voting rights. You can find good information on that at
 https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/filling-voting-rights-hole-left-scotus-shelby-county-v-holder

- Vicki Conner

LWV-MM Report on Redistricting

Every 10 years, as instructed by the U.S. Constitution, a Census of the entire U.S. population is conducted and those counts form the basis for allocating members of the U.S. House of Representatives among the 50 States.  The Census is also used by each State for redrawing Legislative districts.  For West Virginia districts for the Senate and House of Delegates must be re-evaluated and re-drawn according to Federal and State law.

It is likely that the 2020 Census and subsequent redistricting will always carry an asterisk [*].  First, there were lawsuits over whether the Census could include a question about citizenship (the courts ultimately said no).  Then came the pandemic, and Census data collection -- the part that involves direct contact with people who didn't respond by mail or electronically -- was temporarily suspended due to safety concerns.  Of course, that resulted in the data collection going longer than initially planned, but then data collection was cut off before the final deadline (an inexplicable late change).  All the delays in collection and processing backed up delivery of data to the states, which backed up state efforts to work on their redistricting plans, and on and on.  Maybe multiple asterisks are in order.  Regardless, the “final” Census data were delivered on August 12, 2021, so the states could begin their work.  (For comparison, the 2010 Census data for redistricting were delivered to the states during February-March 2010.)

In WV, the delays resulted in a severely truncated timeframe for the Legislature to complete its redistricting work.  Under WV law, anyone running for election in 2022 must reside in their district one year prior to the 2022 election.  Thus, the new districts must be in place prior to November 8, 2021.

Further complicating the WV redistricting process in 2021 are two other factors:  

1. Our loss of one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Previously, WV has had three representatives in Congress.  Beginning in 2022, that number will shrink to two due to the state's extraordinary loss of population over the past decade.  Those two new districts will still need to meet Constitutional standards for population equality, compactness, and adherence to county boundaries.

2. Reconfiguration of House of Delegates districts.  Previously, the 100 members of the House of Delegates were divided among single-member and multi-member districts.  For example, the whole 51st district, which covers the bulk of Monongalia County, is represented by five Delegates.  But in 2018, the Legislature passed a law to change that.  Multi-member districts will go away, and the Legislature will have to draw 100 single-member districts out of 55 counties.  Those districts will still need to meet Constitutional standards for population equality, compactness, adherence to county boundaries and communities of interest.

WV legislators got a head start by assembling a Joint Committee on Redistricting, June 7, 2021.  Dates for public hearings were announced on July 8, with procedures for public hearings announced on July 23.  Between July 27 and September 16, twelve in-person public hearings were conducted in venues all across the state.  The hearing in Morgantown was among the most heavily (if not the most heavily) attended.  Three virtual public hearings were conducted from September 20 to September 22.  The Joint Committee has posted all of the hearings on YouTube at https://www.wvlegislature.gov/redistricting.cfm.

Maps!

Unfortunately, the Joint Committee did not make any proposed maps available prior to or during the public hearings so that the public could direct their comments toward particular features.  Some states have laws that require maps to be a part of the public hearing process; WV has no such mandate.

The first proposed maps were rolled out publicly in Committee hearings:

• The Senate Committee has met multiple times, September 23, 30, October, 6, 7, 8.  During their first meeting, the Senate Committee adopted a rule that proposed maps would be posted at least 24 hours in advance of discussion, to give the public an opportunity to comment.  They have adhered to that rule, so far.

• The House Committee has met only once, September 30.  The Committee unveiled several Congressional maps and one map of House of Delegates districts.  None of the maps has been discussed publicly.

• All public comments are posted on the Joint Committee’s website.  However, none of the meeting materials (other than agendas and maps) are posted.

The Governor has called a Special Session of the Legislature to begin the week of October 11.  The exact process for how the proposed redistricting maps will be taken up has not been revealed at this writing.  We may know the fate of Monongalia County in the redistricting process, however, by our fall meeting.

- Judy Ball

LWV-MM Report on Broadband Access or Lack Thereof

From the Local Program for 2021-22:
The pandemic proved that education, community engagement, and achievement of the LWV’s other priorities depend on access to 21st century digital infrastructure, a need that will not expire when the pandemic is over.

2021-2022 Priority:
Advocate for and support access to high-speed, affordable broadband for all residents, schools, libraries, and businesses in the county and state. 

Current Status:
There is statewide acknowledgement that broadband services are sorely lacking, especially outside the larger communities of WV. Those of us living in Morgantown have several options for internet providers and packages within those provider companies, but you don’t have to travel far into the County to see service degrade and disappear.

Pieces of the Bureaucratic Puzzle
In the 2017 Legislative session, the West Virginia Broadband Enhancement Council was established, with the primary emphasis being the development of broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas of the State.  As stated in WV Code, “... it is a primary goal of the Governor, the Legislature and the citizens of this state, by the year 2020, to make every municipality, community, and rural area in this state, border to border, accessible to Internet communications through the expansion, extension and general availability of broadband services and technology…”  Obviously we haven’t achieved the 2020 goal, and you can see more about the Council at  https://broadband.wv.gov/

In early 2021, the WV Department of Commerce created a new “Office of Broadband” which is tasked with coordinating the state’s efforts around implementation of a statewide broadband system.  It isn’t clear how this office will interact with the Broadband Enhancement Council.

In June 2021  the West Virginia Broadband Investment Program was initiated. This program will use the ARPA funds to expand broadband.  The ARPA will dedicate $2.17 billion to West Virginia through various funding streams.  The Capital Projects Fund includes $138 million for broadband development in West Virginia.  “The focus of the Capital Projects Fund on the continuing need for connectivity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic complements the broader range of uses, including for broadband infrastructure, of the American Rescue Plan’s separate $350 billion Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.” (from Broadband Enhancement Council June 20, 2021 https://broadband.wv.gov/west-virginia-statement-on-arpa-broadband-investment-plan/

What’s Happening Locally
In April 2021 the Monongalia County Commission announced a tentative timeline for implementing a broadband strategy.  They have since chosen Ice Miller Whiteboard, a consulting firm, to do a feasibility study and develop a strategic plan.  In a town hall on Sept 29, Commissioner Sikora said that surveys are ongoing and as of that date, about 1700 citizens have participated.

There has been no official timeline announced for what comes next.  It is not clear how this Mon County initiative intersects with the state effort.

The League of Women Voters Morgantown/Monongalia County will continue to advocate for expansion of broadband across the state and especially across our own region. We will try to put the puzzle together and will keep you updated in future newsletters. 

- Vicki Conner

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