'Democracy is not a Spectator Sport': What motivates young voters
With the mid-term elections on Nov. 8, now may be a good time to remind Americans about the importance of democracy.
With that in mind the League of Women Voters of the Cape Cod Area has launched a series of forums titled "Democracy is not a Spectator Sport."
The series honors longtime member Florence Seldin of Chatham. The series' title is from a bumper sticker displayed on Seldin's vehicle. She passed away April 6 at the age of 91.
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Why young adults should vote
The first forum focuses on young voters, "Youth Power: Claiming Our Future With Our Vote," and will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. as a web presentation and discussion on Zoom. Panelists will speak about what motivates them to vote and why they think other young adults should vote and how to make voting more accessible to young people.
The panel includes Maryanna Crawley, a junior at Barnstable High, Ben Stoloff a law student from Needham who is Seldin’s grandson, Allison Carter, League member, Asher Hamilton of Cape Cod Community College and Rosemary Shields, the League's chair of voter services.
Ruby Belle Booth of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University will be the keynote speaker.
Seldin was an active member of the Leaguefor 55 years.
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“Florence was a force. Her memory was amazing. She was 89 and rattling off facts from 20 years ago,” recalled Amy Harris, a League member. “She would call and say let’s meet for breakfast and you’d come out with a job you were willing to do.”
League member Anita Rogers talked about Seldin's varied interests.
“If she can do it we’d have no excuses,” Rogers said. “She was active in all kinds of volunteer things; the Finance Committee and Select Board (in Chatham), (Cape Cod) Indivisible. She played mahjong, I don’t know how she found the time. If there was an important issue on Cape Cod she was there.”
Who was Florence Seldin?
Seldin served as the League's president from 1997 to 2000. She served on the state board and the League’s Legislative Action Committee. At age 78, she was elected to Chatham’s Board of Selectmen in 2009 and served two terms.
“She knew everyone,” Harris said.
“She was so smart and very willing and able to speak her mind,” Rogers added. “She was generous and a mentor to all of us. What a role model for life. She was a great grandmother and took her granddaughter to Europe. Her kids and grandkids are like she is.”
“They’re doers,” Harris chimed in.
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Seldin was born in Brooklyn in 1931 and graduated from Brooklyn College. She had married Ira Seldin after obtaining a Ph.D. in education from the University of Rochester. That led to a lengthy career first in the school system in Pittsford, New York and later as superintendent of schools in Harvard, Massachusetts in 1988 .The Seldins moved to Chatham in 1994.
“They were devoted to each other,” Rogers said.
And she was devoted to the League of Women Voters.
An advocate for democracy
“She had a lot of influence in the League,” League President Suzanne Brock said. “She was sort of our historian. If you had a question about what the League did 30 or 40 years ago she knew. She mentored new members that came in and took them under her wing. That experience will be sorely missed. She was always an advocate for democracy.”
So it is fitting a series on democracy will carry her name.
“The overall objective is to point out to voters how important democracy is,” Brock said. “It will be a series. This one focuses on the youth vote because the future is theirs. We’re hoping to reach a large majority of people. Contacts have gone out to all the schools and a number of organizations that work with youth.”
Subsequent forums will focus on other topics.
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“The primary speaker focus is on the impact the youth vote could make," Brock said. "A young member will speak about how she got involved with the League. A high school student will speak about issues young people see as important and why they should vote. A league member will speak about voting and how to register and how to contact the legislature.”
The League is also making information available to voters on precinct shifts after the census.
Register for the forum on the League of Women Voters of the Cape Cod Area webpage.
Contact Rich Eldred at reldred@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter: @reldredCodder.
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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Young voters focus in first of Cape series on democracy
