Venice Area Democratic Club

10/22/2026

10/19/2026

TUESDAY -- JOIN US!!!!

10/14/2026

"We are less than a week away from the start of early voting and we can still use volunteers to be poll greeters for the Dems. If you want to give our candidates their best chance to win, please consider helping out. Only 2 hours of your time would be greatly appreciated. Of course, if you are able, you can sign up for more than one shift. Our needs and the sign-up links are as follows:

Jervey Library - 300 Nokomis Ave, Venice
Our greatest need is from 12:30 - 6:30

Sign up here for Jervey: https://sarasota-dec.solidarity.tech/outside-poll-greeting-midterm-early-voting-venice-library

Venice Elections Office - R. L. Anderson Building - 4000 S Tamiami Trail,
Our greatest need is from 4:30 - 6:30
Sign up in the first comment for the Anderson Building.
There are still a few earlier shifts available as well at both locations."

VOLUNTEER TO BE AN OUTSIDE POLL GREETER at the JERVEY VENICE LIBRARY during the 14 days of Early Voting in the Midterm General Election.

10/11/2026

MAKE SATURDAY AN ALL DEM. DAY!
Join the No Kings rally in the morning at Michael Biehl park, attend the monthly Venice Dem meeting for important info about Amendment 3, and do some old-fashioned, highly effective canvassing!
October 17, 2026 12:00pm - 2:00pm

Canvass with the Venice Dems to Get Out the Vote
October 17, 2026 12:00pm - 2:00pm

NAAR Hall, 620 Shamrock Blvd, Venice

This will be at your own pace and with a partner. We will only be knocking on doors of Dems and Left-leaning no party affiliates who did not vote in the August primary.

Here’s the Plan:
**Meet at Naar Hall at Noon on Oct 17th (this is the VADC meeting location of the October meeting day).
**We will give you a packet and instructions.
**You can canvass your list anytime over the next 2 days.

10/11/2026

JOIN US FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP MEETING TO LEARN ABOUT AMENDMENT 3 from 11:00am – 12:00pm (Refreshments at 10:30am) at NAAR Hall, 620 Shamrock Blvd, Venice.

Sign up here: https://sarasota-dec.solidarity.tech/venice-area-democratic-club-october-17th-membership-meeting

REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS WILL DISCUSS AMENDMENT 3. (bios below)

OUR SECOND SPEAKER IS MILES TODER, former U.S. Senior Foreign Service Officer with experience in economic development, democracy and good governance, having served over the course of 35 years in Africa, the MiddleEast, Europe and South and Southeast Asia will speak. Dr. Toder most recently held the position of Senior Development Counselor at the United States Embassy in Beijing, China. As Counselor to the US Embassies in Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo, Dr. Toder represented the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in cooperation with the Chinese, Korean and Japanese governments on development and humanitarian assistance work in countries in Africa and elsewhere in Asia.

Representing the LWV will be Melinda Schell and Tina B**r.

Melinda Schell joined the League in 2019 and immediately began to register voters. More recently she has also been part of the Speakers Bureau, educating the community on voter registration and election information. Melinda was a Cardiovascular Clinical Nurse Specialist and a national speaker in cardiovascular care.

Tina B**r joined the League in 2023 and began to work with Voter Services, registering voters and giving talks with the Speakers Bureau. Along with these duties, she is now co-chair of the Young Adult Education committee and is focused on educating teens and young adults about voting, voting rights and why voting matters. Tina taught European History at Clemson University, Rollins College, and most recently at Ringling College, where she served as Dean of Liberal Arts.

JOIN US FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT MONTHLY MEMBERSHIP MEETING TO LEARN ABOUT AMENDMENT 3 from 11:00am – 12:00pm  (Refreshments at 10:30am) at  NAAR Hall, 620 Shamrock Blvd, Venice.

10/11/2026

AMENDMENT 3 --WHY VOTE NO
This is a brief summary of a full article written by Michelle Landis.

Florida Amendment 3

The Florida Democratic Party's Executive Committee has officially voted to oppose Amendment 3. Telling voters to “Vote No” is the easy part. The harder and more important part is explaining why.
That's especially true when the arguments for Amendment 3 sound pretty reasonable:

**Property taxes are too high. Local governments spend too much. Homeowners need relief.** So instead of simply telling voters how to vote, let’s look at those arguments and the context that's often missing.

1. “My property taxes are too high.” - NEEDS MORE CONTEXT

Amendment 3 doesn't examine whether Sarasota County, Miami-Dade County or a small Panhandle community is collecting too much in property taxes. It changes Florida's Constitution and applies the same basic rules statewide.

Amendment 3 is not the right way to lower property taxes. Property tax rates should be addressed locally.

2. “Local governments spend too much.” - NEEDS MORE CONTEXT

This amendment doesn’t take into consideration that Florida's local governments don't all work the same way. They don't collect money the same way, and they don't necessarily pay for services the same way.
If local governments are spending too much, let's address the spending there.

3. “Homeowners need tax relief.” - NEEDS MORE CONTEXT
Florida could target relief toward homeowners struggling most with rising taxes. Local governments could reduce tax rates when rising property values generate substantially more revenue. The Legislature could examine other parts of Florida's tax system.

Legislation can be changed when something doesn't work as expected. Constitutional changes generally require another constitutional amendment, which is a considerably more difficult process.

So what should you remember about Amendment 3?

None of these questions tells us that Amendment 3 is the answer. Property taxes can be addressed. Local spending can be scrutinized. Homeowners can receive relief.
The question voters need to ask is whether Amendment 3, a statewide constitutional change affecting communities with very different budgets and needs, is the right way to accomplish those goals.
That's the context that’s missing. And when you look deeper and understand the nuances, Amendment 3 is not the answer; that’s why voters should Vote No.

10/03/2026

Next Tuesday!!!