LWVO Endorses Making Democracy Work Priorities

Thanks to all who recently participated in the LWVUS biennial Program Planning. 

The League chooses issues for study, education and advocacy at local, state and national levels - called Program Planning -  through a grass roots planning process that starts with local Leagues like LWVO. This year’s Program Planning focused on the national level. So we asked our members for input, via a short survey, on the issues you want the national League to emphasize over the next two years. 

LWVUS goes through a Program Planning process in even numbered years, whereby state and ​​local Leagues share their priority issues with the national League. Each local League solicits members’ views on where they'd like the national League to focus its energy and resources. LWVO can recommend up to two issues to the national League to be considered alongside the recommendations from other state and local Leagues. The issues we recommend can be things LWVUS is already working on, a new study, an update to a national position, or a concurrence with a position.

In June,  delegates from each state and local League will vote on these issues at the national convention. That vote will determine the priority issues the national League will focus on  in planning for the future. 

LWVO survey responses unanimously endorsed continuing the Making Democracy Work priorities:

• Voting Rights

• Improving Elections

• Campaign Finance/Money in Politics

• Redistricting

• Direct Election of the President by Popular Vote

Other issues respondents mentioned were protection of candidates, office holders, election workers, and government personnel generally. Additional  issues of interest were single payer healthcare, climate change and environmental quality, and reproductive rights.