Lake of the Woods Democratic Club

The next meeting of the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, October 14 via the Zoom online meeting application. All are welcome.

The meeting will feature a discussion with dedicated youth activists who have been working hard this year to both encourage voter registration and to support their peers in becoming more engaged with the civic life of our community as volunteers and leaders. Their goal is to work to create the world they want to live in and address important issues that impact our county, state and nation.

The discussion will include a participant in the Blue Ridge Governor’s School who is focusing her senior project on the impact of COVID-19 on the electoral process. Please join us as we celebrate “The Youth” who are striving to make a positive difference in our county – and beyond. We’ll also be hearing from field organizers from Rep. Abigail Spanberger’s re-election campaign about volunteer opportunities as we head into the final weeks of the election.

Early voting at the Orange County Registrar’s office in Orange has been busy. Many LOW residents were present September 18 outside the Registrar’s office when Rep. Abigail Spanberger and Sen. Tim Kaine stopped by to help kick-off the early voting period.

Those voting absentee can place their ballots in a collection box inside the building vestibule as an alternative to placing it in the mail. Absentee ballots can also be delivered directly to the Registrar’s office.

JoAnne Speiden, secretary of the Orange County Electoral Board, will be guest speaker at an online meeting of the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club at 1 p.m. Sept. 9. She will update members on the steps the board and the staff of the County Office of Voter Registration and Elections are taking to implement Virginia’s new election laws — particularly those allowing absentee voting without excuse and a 45-day period of early in-person voting.

With the election season now in full swing, club members are actively engaged in supporting the campaigns of the Democratic presidential ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and the re-election of Sen. Mark Warner and U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger.

Club activities during the pandemic shutdown, including active campaigning, have continued through the Zoom meeting app and other electronic means.

Many thanks to County Supervisor Lee Frame for providing our Club members with a comprehensive update on variety of county issues at our Zoom meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 12. Members were particularly interested in hearing about the Orange County response to the pandemic.

Frame explained how CARES Act monies have been allocated to provide, among other things, family assistance, support for county businesses and community organizations, election preparations, COVID testing, and meeting school reopening needs. Beyond that, he provided a wealth of information on broadband expansion and local economic development projects.

The Lake of the Woods Democrats will resume its monthly meetings via the online meeting app Zoom, starting on Wednesday, August 12.

The meeting will feature a presentation by Orange County Supervisor Lee Frame, who will address a variety of topics, including an update on the county’s response to the pandemic, use of CARES Act, broadband expansion, local business development and more.

Following our guest speaker, we’ll have a brief business meeting to provide campaign updates.

You can participate in this meeting using Zoom video or by calling in by telephone – either option is fine. If you have not used Zoom video and would like assistance in advance of the meeting, just let us know and we’ll be happy to assist.

Contact Jennifer Heinz at jenheinz6103@gmail.com or by calling 703-508-1104 to request credentials to the Zoom session.

COVID-19 pandemic or no COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a very important election coming on November 3 and we must get to work to elect Joe Biden president, Mark Warner U.S. senator and Abigail Spanberger U.S. congresswoman.