Voter Suppression Is the Focus of LWVOC’s May 13 Hot Topics Discussion
League of Women Voters of Orange County Lunch and Discussion Series
ORLANDO, Fla. (April 17, 2026) — The League of Women Voters of Orange County will host a May 13 Hot Topics discussion — “Rigged by Design: The Architecture of Voter Suppression” — that focuses on recent laws that restrict Florida voters’ access to the polls and the state’s constitutional amendment process.
Doors open at 10:30 a.m. at the Winter Park Events Center for a buffet lunch. The panel discussion starts at 11:45 a.m. at 1050 W. Morse Blvd. in Winter Park and ends at 1 p.m. Tickets are $30 for League members, $37 non-members. Register at www.LWVOC.org/HotTopics.
The moderator is Bill Cowles, former Orange County elections supervisor. Panelists include Karen Castor Dentel, the current Orange County elections supervisor; Ricardo Negrón-Almodóvar, Florida senior campaign manager for All Voting is Local; and Jason Garcia, investigative reporter, newsletter author and podcaster.
In recent years, Florida has enacted laws that restrict voters’ access to voting and to their right to change the state’s constitution. This year, the Legislature approved tougher ID and proof of citizenship requirements for voters that will take effect Jan. 1. The panel will discuss those laws and Florida’s mid-decade redistricting efforts to increase Republican-leaning congressional districts. A special session of the Legislature has been called for April 28.
Among the issues to be discussed at Hot Topics:
- What obstacles to voting the new ID law will create.
- How restrictions on signature gathering have affected citizens’ efforts to change the state’s constitution.
- The results of the redistricting special session.
- How dark money affects redistricting efforts.
The panel discussion will be streamed live on the League’s Facebook page Facebook and an edited version will be available on the League’s YouTube channel, League of Women Voters Orange County - YouTube.
Visionary sponsors: Phil and Jennifer Anderson. Silver sponsors: Lyn and David Berelsman; Voting Voices — Michele Levy, Charley Williams, Caroline Emmons-Schramm and Laurie and Richard Wack; The Kindred Three — Lee Rambeau Kemp, Sue Foreman and Joan Erwin; a new Silver sponsor group, Friends of the League — the Hon. Fred Lauten and Shelley Lauten, the Hon. Bob LeBlanc and Joanie Schuler LeBlanc, and Dr. Gloria Pickar. Bronze sponsors: Alex and the Hon. Cynthia Mackinnon.
The League of Women Voters of Orange County, Florida, is a nonpartisan civic organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.