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Action and Advocacy at the League

The League of Women Voters takes action on issues and advocates for causes at local, state, and national levels.

ACTION: Acting to promote the League's positions on local, state and national public policy issues to government officials, the media and the public.

ADVOCACY: Various methods of taking Action to influence others. The League never advocates for political parties or candidates - our advocacy, related to our Principles and Positions, includes member actions such as:

writing letters/emails and speaking directly to our elected officials and media
attending and speaking at public meetings and legislative hearings
issuing press releases and holding press conferences
adding our voice to a ballot measure campaign
providing educational materials, meetings, and seminars on issues
lobbying on bills being considered in the legislature (mostly by state ( California state LWV) and national
Participating in lawsuits related to our Principles and Positions

Experience has taught us to only take action or advocate once we have developed a League Position at a level that clearly supports the issue or speaks to the cause.

How do we do that?

LWV Program: Planning our Advocacy & Action

In League-speak, Program means the issues that we choose for the actions:

concerted study,
providing education, and
advocacy at local, state and national levels

How does the League develop Program?

Every two years all members of local Leagues are invited to engage in a Program planning process, where we discuss current issues and relate them to our existing League Positions.

The Program Planning process is part of what makes the League a grassroots organization; every member of a League has the opportunity to influence the selection of issues on which the local, state, and national Leagues will focus time, talent and money.

Based on the results of Program Planning, the Board of our local League:

decides where to focus our members' time and energy in the future
makes recommendations to the biennial conventions of the state and national levels of League about their Program to be adopted for the coming two year period

Developing a League Position

To develop a League Position we go through a process, refined through years of experience, that involves:

Agreement of the League membership that an issue deserves further study
Study of the issue
Presentation of the study results to the members
Membership discussion and consensus
Creation of a Consensus Statement and Position

1. Agreement on a study

In a meeting of the members (or their representatives) at the Local, State, or National level, the issue is presented. If members agree that there is no current League Policy addressing the issue (or the existing policy needs updating) they vote to create a Study Committee, staffed by volunteers.

2. Study of the issue

Any given study, whether it be National, State, or Local, is thorough in its pursuit of facts and details. As the study progresses, a continuing discussion of pros and cons of each situation occurs.

Prior to the results of the study being presented to the general membership, study committee members fashion a set of Consensus Questions that will be addressed by the membership.

3. Presentation of the study results to the members

In a meeting of the members, the Study Committee presents its results. Discussion, pro and con, takes place as members (not part of the Study Committee) learn the breadth and depthof the study. The Consensus Questions from the committee are reviewed and discussed.

4. Membership discussion and consensus

At the meeting, the League members may choose to send the study committee back to do more research, or they may come to consensus on the issue and appropriate actions to take.

5. Creation of a Consensus Statement and Position

The League Board at the appropriate level forms a consensus statement based on the members' consensus. This consensus statement become the League Position at that level. Firm action or advocacy can then be taken on the particular issue addressed by the position.