By Sunayana Prabhu
FREEHOLD – Three separate local leagues have merged to form one single organization – the League of Women Voters of Monmouth County.
The group announced the merger at a press conference Aug. 11, attended by Monmouth County Clerk Christine Hanlon in Freehold.
The presidents of the three former leagues – Barbara Chaudhery of Greater Red Bank, Evelyn Murphy of Southern Monmouth and Sharon Steinborn of Western Monmouth – will serve as co-presidents as the new county league looks to forward their mission to “empower voters and defend democracy.”
“Consolidating the three local leagues codifies and improves the effectiveness of what we do, as well as the efficiency with which we do it,” Chaudhery said.
The first league of women voters was established in 1920, just six months before ratification of the 19th amendment that gave women the right to vote. While the league’s original focus was to increase women’s participation in the democratic process, its goals have grown to include broader public participation.
From reproductive rights and public policy on health care, climate emergencies and voting rights, the league has been working to educate and expand people’s understanding of major public policy issues and to eliminate obstacles to voting.
Building upon a tradition more than 100 years old, the league engages public participation at all levels – including first-time voters – in many activities throughout the year, not necessarily during or immediately before elections.
Voter registration, educating voters about candidates, and empowering them to cast their valuable votes are among many activities the league helms. Steinborn highlighted activities that are a priority for the league. “Candidate forums have always been high priority for us, we are currently in the process of scheduling forums for school boards, local committee persons, congressional candidates and our county commissioners and sheriff.”
As the official overseeing elections in Monmouth County, Hanlon is responsible for a large portion of the election process. She has worked with the league to educate voters at various forums and spoke at the press conference about growing distrust of the voting process among certain voters.
“In today’s world there is so much skepticism about the voting process that I work to combat, because we know how important it is to lessen that skepticism so that more people are engaged in the voting process,” she said, commending the league for all it does.
“Because part of your outreach and engagement really educates people that they can have trust in the process. And that is so important for our democracy, for our voters, for our residents for our future generations of individuals, both in Monmouth and across the world.”
Another of the league’s messages is supporting and promoting same-day voter registration. Murphy said the current 21-day deadline disenfranchises New Jersey voters in every election. She noted election officials have the resources and technology to allow voters to register at their polling place on Election Day with no adverse effects. “We want the 21-day voter registration deadline eliminated in New Jersey and are therefore fighting for passage of same-day voter registration,” Murphy said. “In our democracy, the key to achieving any kind of change is voting.”
The article originally appeared in the August 18 – 24, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
