League preps for election guide

There's a long-established campaign tradition in Westport aside from the overabundance of signs, heated debates and mailboxes full of glossy literature. For nearly 50 years, the local chapter of the League of Women Voters has compiled a comprehensive and nonpartisan guide in the name of democracy.

With campaign signs already scattered throughout the Post Road and primaries set for Aug. 10, the league's work has already begun for this year's edition. By the time October rolls around, candidates in all the elections, from the governor to the registrar of voters, will answer questions with strict word limits on responses.

The goal is to keep voters informed, while also making candidates clearly, and succinctly, convey their thoughts on key issues. Throughout the decades, the guide has been refined and it has grown. Now, it's so well-known that various agencies send information about issues they'd like to see politicians address.

"There's background material like this [thick]," said Alison Rivard, spreading her fingers about an inch apart, "sent to us about these issues."

Rivard, a former president of the Westport league, met with five other members of the nonprofit organization on Wednesday morning in order to hash out what kind of questions should be asked in each of the races.

League member Elizabeth Wong remembers working on the guide in the past, but from the perspective of a candidate. She's filled out several as a member of the town's Zoning Board of Appeals.

As someone on the League of Women Voters, she sees the guide has an invaluable tool, especially since mnay people don't attend debates and are unfamiliar with the candidates.

With each election, the total voter turnout ebbs and flows. But one thing is certain: the popularity of the voters' guides. And the league has changed its production schedule to meet the growing demand.

"We moved [publication] up earlier because people were asking for the voters' guide," said Nancy Bloom, a league member.

In the past, the guide was only available until the week before election. Now, though, the guides is published two weeks prior to the election.

The sponsors for the guide have included the Newman's Own Foundation, Mitchells of Westport and, most recently, the Westport Minuteman, which distributes the guides. The guides are also available in Town Hall and the Westport Center for Senior Activities.

The League of Women Voters prides itself on being nonpartisan, and that extends to its guide. Anyone running for office this year is excluded from the process, and the questions are kept secret until they're mailed out.

Due to the guide's nonpartisan nature, it's been granted a special distinction on Election Day.

"It's the only piece of `campaign literature' that's allowed in the voting booth," said Jane Eyes, who hosted the league members in her home.

For more information about the league, including an archive of past voters' guides, visit www.lwvwestportct.org