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Advocacy Update - LWV California

LWV California
Advocacy Update
July 2025

July picked up where June left off for our California legislative efforts. The League of Women Voters of California stood strong, leading the charge on voting rights, criminal justice, democracy protection, and more.

Deputy Director, Dora Rose, and Public Policy and Organizing Manager, Savannah Jorgensen, made our presence felt in the legislature, testifying on several bills across policy committees. Here are a few highlights from another busy month:

Updating the Voter Bill of Rights. We testified in support of AB 1164 (Ransom), which would update and clarify the California Voter Bill of Rights by specifying the rights of voters to receive a replacement ballot.
Remove the ban on public financing of campaigns. Our co-sponsored bill, SB 42 (Umberg), to put a measure on the 2026 ballot to repeal the ban on public financing of campaigns, awaits a vote in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Preventing a constitutional crisis. We testified again in support of our sponsored bill, SJR 1 (Wiener), to rescind California’s outdated calls for a federal constitutional convention.
Expanding access to satellite voting locations. We also testified in support of AB 1249 (Wilson), which would expand early voting to Saturdays in non-Voters Choice Act counties and allow voters to submit their vote-by-mail ballot without the identification envelope.
Reform judicial retention contests. We support ACA 8 (Pellerin), which, would require a set number of voter signatures before a state Supreme Court or Appeals Court justice appears on the retention ballot. It helps voters focus on key races while keeping oversight in place when needed.
Ensuring accountability of peace officers. Our voice remains present in the criminal justice space. We support AB 847 to ensure Sheriff Oversight Boards and Inspectors General have the same access to officer records as other prosecutors. This is key to law enforcement accountability.

The final push to send bills to the Governor’s desk resumes when the Legislature returns from summer recess. Watch for (and respond to!) LWVC action alerts as we work to get our bills passed, and then signed by the Governor. You can always follow the progress of bills we take positions on using the LWVC Bill Status Report.

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News / Articles

Advocacy Update - LWV California

LWV California Advocacy Update July 2025

LWV California
Advocacy Update
July 2025