League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County’s social media accounts have been suspended; they don’t understand why
photo by: Contributed
The League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County’s social media accounts have been suspended with election day less than two months away.
Sonja Czarnecki, president of League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County, told the Journal-World that the organization received notification from Facebook that the nonprofit’s page had been “suspended” for “violating community standards,” particularly, “impersonation.” The league was also locked out of their Instagram account. She said she addressed the situation immediately, but is concerned as the organization needs to get information out to voters during election season.
“I appealed immediately via Facebook but it was rejected, so we no longer are able to post anything on our page during one of the most consequential elections of our lives,” Czarnecki said in an email to the Journal-World.
She said the league uses social media to publicize voter education events, important deadlines and critical information for voters — all especially important in a presidential election year.
“As a nonpartisan organization, our goal is to inform all voters about their rights and the laws about voting in Kansas so that they can make a plan to vote,” Czarnecki told the Journal-World. “We also use Facebook Events regularly to advertise events like the Civic Engagement 101 series with the Library and NAACP and our annual garage sale fundraiser for our scholarship fund and the suffragist memorial.”
News 5 Cleveland reported a similar incident for the League of Women Voters Kent chapter, who had also been locked out of their Facebook page earlier this year on the eve of the March 19 primary election. Facebook’s parent company, Meta, did not provide the group with a specific explanation about what prompted the suspension or how to restore access.
Czarnecki said those interested in receiving updates on league events and information should visit lawrenceleague.com. Additionally, individuals can subscribe to the league’s voter newsletter, which features a monthly calendar of upcoming events.