 |  | So much to do, so little time!
Very soon we will move into preparations for the 2026 midterm elections and will ask each of you to engage with our Voter Registration team, help with Get Out The Vote (GOTV), become election workers and election protection monitors and help spread factual voter registration and election information. But, right now, we are asking you to keep your eyes and energy on the Florida legislative session.
For those who have been with the League a while, you may recall that we typically have a list of "Legislative Priorities" specific to our program and may include bill monitoring, action alerts and calls for members to attend committee meetings or bill hearings in Tallahassee. This year, our Legislative Priorities are very specific with a focus on three issues:
- Secure funding for elections administration in order to ensure fair and transparent elections are carried out evenly across the state.
- Protect the right to vote and ensuring all eligible citizen voters are not prevented from exercising their right to vote, including registering to vote.
- Upholding the Fair Districts Amendments to the Florida Constitution, which explicitly prohibits partisan gerrymandering.
If you are interested in receiving action alerts from any of the statewide committees, I would encourage you to register for upcoming committee meetings and ask to be added to their email distribution list. You can find all of the statewide committee meeting announcements at the very bottom of each "The Florida Voter" which is emailed out from LWVFL twice each month. If you are interested in receiving alerts on national issues from our LWVUS President, CEO and others, you are encouraged to subscribe via the LWV.org main page.
While we know that Governor Desantis has called for a special session on mid decade redistricting (gerrymandering) April 20th - 24th, we have yet to see any action from the Senate President to indicate they are focused on map drawing. And Speaker of the House Perez has not scheduled any additional meetings beyond the two informational meetings that did not allow for public comment. Regardless, we ask that you continue to call, email, write and visit as many Florida representatives as you are able and not just those in your district. It's important that all legislators hear from Floridians about our desire to see voters select their candidate of choice and not create election outcomes based on how a gerrymandered map silences voters.
Thank you for all you do to support the League and our beautiful state.
Lanelle Phillmon
President, LWVJFC | Lobby Days 2026
League Lobby Days 2026 was very successful. There was League member representation from each region across the state and meetings with more than 46 elected representatives or their staff (reports are still coming in). And we took time to ensure that each senator and representative received League literature highlighting our opposition to redistricting and any new barriers to voter registration or voting and our support for funding of elections. In addition to training, bill review and meeting fellow League members, we were fortunate to attend the gala where we heard from journalist Mary Ellen Klas who painted a sobering picture of the state of our nation and reminded us that the work we do has value and will be needed in the months and years to come.
We appreciate Victoria Bryan-Riggins, Erika Kristo, Julia Ross, and Lanelle Phillmon for attending Lobby Days on behalf of our League and hope that more members will attend next year.
Photos below clockwise: LWVJFC with our state partners, Equal Ground; Mary Ellen Klas; LWVJFC with our Lobby First Rep Capitol Alliance Group |  | Environmental Town Hall St. Johns County
Please join our League Vice President, Rhona DiCamillo, at an upcoming Town Hall focused on Environmental Issues facing St. Johns County. Rhona will be serving as the moderator on behalf of the League. The panel includes Katie Bauman (Surfrider Foundation), Tim Deegan (Meteorologist and former weatherman on FC News), Jen Lomberk (Matanzas Riverkeepers) and Todd Osbourne (Professor of Estuarine & Wetland Biochemistry at UF Whitney Lab).
The Town Hall will be held in the Lewis Auditorium at Flagler College from 6:30pm to 8:00pm on Wednesday, February 4th. The event is free to attend. |  | Protecting The Freedom To Vote
For members who are interested in hearing about work being done beyond our local community to protect our freedom to vote, you are encouraged to register for and attend these events via ZOOM.
Thursday, February 5 from 2-3:30 p.m. ET
Briefing: Developing Our Clarion Call for Free and Fair Elections: Briefing on Full Findings and Guidance from Multi-phase Research
As we confront these threats, we need every tool in our belt, and so we must also develop a galvanizing surround-sound call to protect our freedom to vote. Toward this end, Research Collaborative, ASO Communications, Fair Fight Action, All Voting is Local Action, and our polling partners, David Binder Research and Defend Democracy Together Institute, developed and conducted a multi-phase research project in the second half of 2025. We are thrilled to invite you to hear the findings and messaging recommendations from this robust body of qualitative and quantitative research. Register here.
Tuesday, February 10 at 2 p.m. ET
Join Voting Rights Lab and Secure Democracy USA for an overview of the SCOTUS cases and state legislative sessions impacting voters in 2026. Register here. |  | 126th Anniversary of "Lift Every Voice and Sing"
The Friends of Brentwood Library, Inc. and its founder and matriarch, Sharon Coon, invite us to celebrate the 126th anniversary of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" February 7 - 21, 2026, in the hometown of the Johnson brothers. This vibrant celebration includes a Youth Piano Competition, visit part of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, “Because of Her Story” display themed: "Votes for Women - A Portrait of Persistence", attend a meet and greet and panel discussion "Our Democracy and the Ballot", and so much more. There will be events that are appropriate for adults, children and the whole family!
In a time when our government is removing books from schools, and images, facts and stories from websites and parks to sanitize our nation's history as it relates to Black and African American people or references to slavery, it is our responsibility to seek out knowledge, make connections and support factual history. The 126th anniversary of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" provides us with a number of excellent opportunities to learn and we hope you will share the event information with others and attend as many events as you are able.You can find the entire list of events here: https://jaxpubliclibrary.org/blog/lift-every-voice-and-sing-126th-anniversary-celebration |  | Movies that Matter – First in a Series
Come watch a movie with us! And bring a friend. The first is a documentary about non-violent resistance. We’ll follow with a discussion and post-carding to our legislators about ICE. We’ll bring talking points for the post cards. Snacks will be provided.
The February movie is “A Force More Powerful: Nonviolent Conflict in the Twentieth Century”
Three February dates are available. All screenings are at 5:30 p.m. Register below.
Home addresses will be sent to those who register. Space is limited.
Coming in March! “Mr. Nobody Against Putin”
This is an Oscar nominated documentary about a teacher in Russia who filmed his students being indoctrinated about the war in Ukraine.
Two March dates are available. All screenings are at 5:30 p.m. Register below.
Home addresses will be sent to those who register. Space is limited.
| Join the League Leadership: Board Candidate Nominations Open for 2026
We previously advised of the Nominating Committee beginning its efforts to recruit candidates for positions that will become vacant in June 2026. Those are:
- President, term June 2026-June 2028
- Secretary, term June 2026-June 2028
- 2 Board Member positions, term June 2026-June 2028
- 3 Nominating Committee Members, term June 2026-June 2027
We wanted to take this opportunity to let our members know that we are also reaching out to gauge our members’ interest in assuming the role of Vice President. While not currently an open position, should our current VP be voted into the President’s position, the Board will need to appoint an interim VP to serve until the current term ends in June 2027. The VP:
- Assumes the office of President should the president not be able to carry out the duties of the office
- Performs other duties as the President and Board designate
- Minimum Time Commitment: 10 hours/month, including monthly board meeting,committee attendance, and monthly lunch and learn event
If you are interested in serving in the VP role or any of the above positions that become vacant in June 2026, please contact a member of the nominating committee. The deadline is February 28, 2026.
| Voter Registration News
"The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by human beings for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison people because they are different from others." President Lyndon B. Johnson
HB 991/SB 1334 violates Floridian's right to vote by requiring that U.S. citizens seeking to exercise their right to vote have to produce documentation that is expensive and hard to get. Continue to contact your representatives in Tallahassee to voice your opposition.
The Voter Registration Committee will be tabling at Riverside Arts Market on February 7th in conjunction with Melanin Market. Stop by the table if you're in the area. | Education Committee
Let our Education Committee Chair, Susan Aertker, know you're a member of our chapter when you contact her at lwv.jax.education@gmail.com about these opportunities:
- Join our Duval google group so you’ll receive summaries of the Duval County Public School board meetings and action alerts for education bills moving through the legislature. The Florida League of Women Voters Education Action Team is closely following education bills during this 60 day legislative session.
- Volunteer to lead an education subcommittee for Nassau, Clay, or St. Johns.
- Volunteer for the LWV-Florida Education Action Team subcommittee focused on higher education.
| Forbidden Florida Reads
Izzy Miletic is a junior Economics and Literature student at Florida State University. She is a board member of the League of Women Voters of Tallahassee, where she began publishing Forbidden Florida Reads. Forbidden Florida Reads is Izzy’s original monthly column that highlights a book banned in at least one Florida school district. Izzy is passionate about books and educational policy making. She hopes to attend law school and earn her Masters in Library and Information Science.
| New Members - Welcome aboard!
Barbara Gassett
Hazel Gillis
Sara Wenger
Sandra Williams
| Donations are always appreciated!
We wish to acknowledge and thank those who made donations this month:
Kathy Cheng
Kathleen Beasley
Connie Pegram
Vanessa Cullins Hopkins
Pamela V. Korn
Elaine Weistock
Mae Jones
Rosemary Takacs
Rhona DiCamillo - Ed Fund
Victoria Bryant-Riggins - Ed Fund
Our website lwvjaxfc.org offers an easy way to make donations to LWVJFC, even if you prefer to pay by check. Click on the red "Donate" button at the top of the Homepage. | | | | Local
Stay up-to-date on all local upcoming events on the LWV of Jacksonville / First Coast:
• Website
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
Regional
The Regional Facebook Group, LWV Florida North Region Leagues, includes Alachua, Bay, Jacksonville/First Coast, Okaloosa & Walton, Pensacola Bay Area, and Tallahassee.
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Contact Us!
Phone: 904-355-8683
Email: LWVJAXFC@gmail.com
Postal Address:
League of Women Voters of Jacksonville First Coast
PO Box 350210
Jacksonville, FL 32235-9998 | | | | The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization encouraging informed and active participation in government. We influence public policy through education and advocacy. | | |
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