Five questions with the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County
Mary Erdman, president of the local chapter, discusses goals, voter education and other topics
With the voter registration deadline on Monday and the primary election on May 17, Armchair Lehigh Valley conducted an email interview with Mary Erdman, who is finishing her first year as president of the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County. She has been a member of the League for six years.
Erdman is a retired teacher, having taught social studies and government in the secondary school level in the Diocese of Allentown. When she lived in South Whitehall, she served on the township’s public safety and planning commissions for a total of 16 years. She now lives in Upper Macungie Township.
While volunteering with the League, she found that community education, voting rights and lobbying for fairness and transparency in government became her passion.
The interview, conducted by email, has been edited for clarity.
Armchair Lehigh Valley: What is the goal of the League of Women Voters, which has national, state and local chapters, and how does the Lehigh County chapter fit into that goal?
Mary Erdman: Our goals at any particular time are very tied into our main mission which is “Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.” When we see issues or actions that go against our mission, we then set goals which become very similar at each level. For example, any discussion or legislation which in any way limits access to voting, our goal would be to bring attention to such a bill and advocate for voters. We will lobby legislators, write opinion pieces and letters to the editor, hold information sessions and do everything we can to expose any legislation that does not protect our democracy and empower every single voter.
Armchair: The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania has been involved in several recent high-profile court cases over redistricting and protecting private information of voters. Why is it important for the League to be involved in these issues?
Mary Erdman: Again, it does go back to our mission. After the results of the 2016 congressional election in Pennsylvania, many studies were conducted by universities and organizations like the Brennan Center for Justice about the intentional gerrymandering happening across our nation.
When we examined the results of the 2012, 2014 and 2016 elections, there was a severe problem of equal and fair representation in Congress of Democrats in Pennsylvania. We saw that after each election, the split between Democratic and Republican votes was nearly 50-50, except for the 2016 election which was a few points higher with the Trump win.
We had 18 congressional districts at that time, so a nearly 50-50 split should have meant that there were approximately 9 Republicans and 9 Democrats representing Pennsylvania residents in Washington. That was not the case. It was a 13(R)-5(D) split.
Further examination showed that there was an intentional, unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts that unfairly gave Republicans a 20% greater representation in Washington for three election cycles. This violated fair and equal representation, and we filed a suit in Commonwealth Court to address the situation which, again, did not empower voters and violated our state Constitution in how districts were to be drawn.
Ultimately, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2018 decided in our favor and drew new districts, which were much fairer. We joined the case with Common Cause and a representative from each of the 18 congressional districts. It fit our mission of empowering voters regardless of which party they belong to. While the League is nonpartisan in that we do not endorse candidates, we are not nonpolitical as we will advocate for voting rights and fair elections.
The present case of voter information deals with the unthoughtful and unnecessary audit of the 2020 election, which has been certified and verified. So the question remains: Is this a wise use of taxpayer money to conduct an audit when there is not really a need?
The specific issue for the League is whether the subpoena of private voter information, including names, addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers, by the Republican legislators and a suspect organization, such as Envoy Sage, exposes a danger to voters for being placed at risk for fraud – especially when the process has been one-sided and not at all transparent. And could it deter others from registering to vote and voting in Pennsylvania elections because they may lose trust in the process?
This is a case we joined with Attorney General Shapiro, Democratic legislators, the ACLU, Common Cause, and Make the Road. No decision has been handed down as of this date.
Armchair: What are the priorities for the LWV in Lehigh County?
Mary Erdman: We have two main priorities this election cycle.
First of all, voter education, especially about the new districts. Many people are confused about not only the new districts but also the on-again, off-again issue of mail-in balloting and drop boxes. It is a very confusing time for voters.
We believe when voters are more knowledgeable, they are more likely to vote.
Another one of our goals is to increase voter turnout throughout Lehigh County, but especially in our underserved communities. Knowing your district, knowing the registration policies, knowing your polling place and when and if you can vote if you have had legal issues are topics we plan to cover in these underserved areas of Lehigh County. We also want to focus on our elderly population who may be in assisted living and nursing homes and truly want to vote, but have questions regarding absentee and mail-in voting procedures.
We have initiated a “Voting Is Your Super Power” campaign in both English and Spanish and have received a warm welcome from the City of Allentown.
Armchair: Voter turnout is typically highest during a presidential election, while primaries and elections in other years see significant drops in voter turnout. We have a primary on May 17 where voters in Pennsylvania will nominate candidates for the U.S. Senate and House, governor and lieutenant governor, and state House and Senate. Why should voters be as interested in these primaries and elections as they are in a presidential election?
Mary Erdman: This year with redistricting issues taking longer to resolve, we now have a much-shortened primary season. But when we do our presentations, we try to strive to explain that every time you vote, you are choosing a potential policymaker whose decisions can affect your everyday life.
For example, during a municipal election year, you are voting for policymakers that affect your local taxes, trash pickup, the condition of your streets, parking and police protection, etc.
When voting for county offices, you are voting for other services such as those provided to families (mental health, addiction and recovery, public defenders, children and youth) and to everyone (voting), to name a few. Even the care of our elderly through the maintenance of a facility like the Lehigh County Cedarbrook nursing homes are affected by your vote.
State legislators vote for overall funding of our schools, voting rights, minimum wage, clean air and clean water, maintenance of our highways and roads, social programs, and energy issues, to name a few.
We vote for governors and lieutenant governors who most reflect our values and how the government should be led to best provide for its citizens. And who will be most likely to work across the aisle for the benefit of each citizen and the issues listed above as well as in times of emergencies like the COVID pandemic.
And finally, when we vote for a U.S. congressperson, U.S. senator and president, we are also voting for policymakers that affect issues like national security, military budgets, fair health care policies, government assistance in tough times, Medicare, Medicaid, education loans and issues that affect our general economy. Our federal offices can also go much further in securing and protecting voting rights and the civil rights of all citizens.
As you see, every time you vote in any election, citizens are voting for policymakers that will ultimately affect many aspects of your life as a municipal, county, state and U.S. citizen.
Armchair: What is the LWV in Lehigh County doing to increase voter registration and turnout this year?
Mary Erdman: We are doing a number of things to increase both of the above.
We are creating a presentation on the new districts which we will present to groups upon request.
We interview each legislator yearly and post their answers on our website. We discuss issues that are on the minds of many people. You can find our complete interviews on our website under “Legislative Interviews” at www.lwvlehighcounty.org. (Unfortunately this year, no Republicans answered our interview request. This was the first year that after repeated requests we had no Republican legislators agree to participate.)
We attend many community events and provide information about voting and will register people on the spot. We give them info in two languages to take home and encourage them to participate in the process.
We work with organizations to hold voter registration events.
On a state level, we collect information on each candidate which you can find on our statewide platform called vote411.org. It also gives you ballot info, polling place location and the numbers and candidates in your new districts.
Provided by the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County. We are helping Lehigh County recruit poll workers, especially bilingual poll workers.
We have just printed and are distributing our Government Directory, which gives contact information on all present officeholders from the president down to local officials.
We have gathered information on candidates and in conjunction with The Morning Call are publishing our very popular Voters’ Guide on May 5.
And we are constantly lobbying for voting to be easily accessible to every voter in Pennsylvania, no matter your party or your geographical location. We are carefully watching the many bills that will be introduced and making sure that there are no cases of even subtle voter suppression.
We will be growing our campaign to inform our underserved communities by becoming involved in local ward meetings and events to impress upon our citizens the importance of their vote.
We supply new citizens with voter registration information and LWV information.
We keep our social media – (Facebook, Twitter (@LeagueLehigh) and Instagram (lwvlehigh) – up to date with current voter information.
Finally, we have created a coloring book for our young voters-to-be, about general civics with hopes that parents and kids discuss America.
