Speakers to be co-president of organization, Vilia Johnson, and former Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett
On Friday, May 15, Vilia Johnson, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Sarasota County (LWVSRQ), and Mike Bennett, former supervisor of elections for Manatee County, will be the featured speakers on the topic of Open Primaries: One Person. One Vote during a luncheon at the Stoneybrook Golf and Country Club in Sarasota, the League has announced.
As Johnson pointed out in a news release, “Voter suppression is rising — and primary elections are where it hits hardest. Most election outcomes are effectively decided in
primaries. Yet,” she added, “restrictive rules in many states limit who can participate and which candidates make the ballot.”
Vilia and Bennett “will explore how other states run primaries and how reforms such as open, nonpartisan primaries can expand participation, strengthen representation, and put power where it belongs: with the people,” the release adds.
Members of the public are welcome at the event, the release notes.
For more information and to register for the luncheon, visit lwvsrq.org/events.
Stoneybrook Golf and Country Club is located at 8801 Stoneybrook Blvd. in Sarasota.