Minnetonka Rotary Spoke - August 5, 2020 (Aug 05, 2020)

Meeting Minutes - Jennifer S.

Welcome by President Chris Carr at 7:30 a.m.

Guests

Justin Clark – Looking forward to David Schultz’s presentation.

Dan Narr – Glad to see old Rotary friends.

Invocation

Jennifer S –recent job experience at the Hopkins Foundation made her appreciates the way our Rotary members always can be counted on when things need to be done.

Pledge

Frank B.

4-Way Test

Chris R.

Rotary Minute

Cathy C. – Rotary has a large staff at the International & District levels dedicated to help each club being independent & success.

From Cathy C.- The Organization of Rotary.

Rotary is essentially a grassroots organization, with most of its service efforts being carried out at the club level. The district and international structure is designed to support the clubs and help them provide more services in their local community and abroad.

Clubs - Rotarians are members of Rotary clubs, which belong to the global association Rotary International (RI). Each club elects its own officers and enjoys considerable autonomy within the framework of Rotary’s constitution and bylaws.

Districts - Clubs are grouped into 531 RI districts worldwide, each led by a district governor, who is an officer of RI. The district administration, including assistant governors and various committees, guides and supports the clubs.

RI Board - The 19 member RI Board of Directors, which includes the RI president and president elect, meets quarterly to establish policies, Traditionally, the RI president, who is elected annually, develops a theme and service emphases for the year.

The Secretariat - Rotary International is headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, IL, with seven international offices in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, Korea, and Switzerland. The office for RI in Great Britain and Ireland, located in England, serves seven clubs and districts in that region. The Secretariat’s chief operating officer is the RI general secretary, who heads a 740 member staff working to serve Rotarians worldwide.

Announcements

Jennifer S. – She got 1 cell phone to donate to Future Roots. She is also accepting single snack items, sanitary wipes and masks Wednesday, August 5 between 10:00AM – 2:00PM at Eisenhower Community Center for the Sandwich Man to hand out. She will also accept items the following Thursday and Monday. Please call Jennifer at 952-988-4091 and she will meet you at the main entrance to Eisenhower Community Center to receive your donations.

Bob H / Chris R – A Golf fund raising event is planned for Sept 10 at Glen Lake golf course. Eight people have signed up so far. A social get together after is also being planned at a TBD place. If you & your friends would like to attend, email Bob with the names of who will be coming. A flyer with more info will be sent out in a few days.

Happy Bucks

Ann W. – is looking forward to spending time with her grandkids this week.

Cathy C. - One of her golden grandkids has accepted an intern position at John Hopkins in aerospace.

Betsy W. – got an inflatable paddle board as a gift. She highly recommends them.

Justin C. – excited to hear David Schultz’s presentation.

Terry S. – is on a Minnetonka Charter Committee. They submitted their recommendation on rank choice voting to the city council.

Dan N. – Glad to see old Rotary friends.

Mark M. – Got a day off from Grand Jury duty & played golf.

Frank B. – has a baseball from the famous pitcher Bob Feller.

Lenny N. – spent time fishing on a metro lake.

Bob H. - is back from his road trip. He said Yellowstone was great.

Glen J. – son in DC was diagnosed with COVID-19 after mild back pain & a fever. His wife never got it and he recovered in a couple of days. He then quarantined himself for 10 days.

Chris R. – looking forward to his daughter coming home.

Program

Jacob M introduced Davis Schultz. David is a Professor of Political Science at Hamline University. He also teaches law at the U of MN.

David has spent a great deal of time researching how our voting systems work.

He said that there are 4 numbers to keep an eye on in the upcoming Presidential election (10, 11, 7 & 270).

Based on the polls Biden would win if the election was held today.

Four years ago the polls predicted Hilary would win (which she did in the popular vote). However the Electoral College determines the President not the popular vote. Polls do not factor this in.

In 2016 ten swing states determined the President. Historically if voters are undecided they generally vote against the incumbent – which was Hillary. This is why Trump campaigned heavily in those swing states right before the election.

The Electoral College has 539 votes. It takes 270 to elect the President.

Related to the 2020 election:

There are 43 states & DC where their voting outcome is generally known.

Biden would get 222 votes from these states and Trump would get 206 votes.

That leaves 111 votes from 7 swing states (AZ, FL, MI, MN, NC, PA, and WI)

There are 11 counties in those 7 states that are swing counties. The undecided voters in these counties are about 10% (or 50,000 voters).

With Wisc being one of the swing states and Brown County (where Green Bay is) is a swing county Packer fans may determine our next President.

If Trump loses but it close, David expected Trump to contest the election and send it to the Supreme Court to decide. If they don’t decide by Jan 20 (the date the new president is to takes office) then the Constitution says the Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi) would be the acting President until the Court decides.

David expected the Houses to continue to have a Democratic majority but the Senate may go either way.

Next Meeting

August 12, 2020 at 7:30 a.m. by Zoom.

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned by Chris C. at 8:35 a.m.

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