By the time you read this the many No Kings rallies held across the country on March 28 will be in the rearview mirror, another step in engaging people to resist threats to democracy. If you attended one of the events or not, I hope you saw it as a jumping off point to engaging more in the system of government that shapes our lives.
The League of Women Voters, along with many other organizations – including those the League partners with locally and regularly such as American Association of University Women, YWCA, Fix Democracy First, as well as civil rights and environmental groups, labor unions, religious organizations, and other coalitions – are working together to protect the democracy that each of us has been working to make more perfect. We’re just stronger together. That’s important at a time when it is unnerving to see services and an understanding of the way the world works being upended with little thought, public discussion, or consideration.
Here at our local League, we all have opportunities to serve. For example, the Observer Corp monitors local elected government, and the voter service team is gearing up to help people know how much their vote matters and to create an atmosphere of commitment to being informed and voting in every election. We have other committees that play a vital role in community outreach, communication, and supporting issues and policies the League stands behind locally or at the state or national level. And we are applying the studies and policies adopted at the League at all levels to current issues that are arising.
Powered by years of studies by groups of League members all over the country, LWV signs on to lawsuits to protect voting rights, challenge local ordinances, or even help draft legislation. Last year’s LWVWA study on Welcoming Immigrants is moving forward to the national level at this year’s national LWV convention. If that is successful, it will shape the policies that we advocate for in Washington, DC, as well as locally, and it will be part of the framework that Leagues across the nation find in the LWV policy document, "
Impact on Issues 2024-2026."
You can be a part of this big work. Or start with just one thing. Just find your niche in the League. We need you.