Dear League community,

I hope you are doing well. I know that it has been a difficult and heavy start to the year for many of us. Across the country – and here in California – we are witnessing deeply troubling and harmful ICE activity that is creating fear and uncertainty in our communities. Please know that the League of Women Voters of California is working closely with the League of Women Voters of the United States and with many of our local chapters to respond. Together, we are developing civic action toolkits and other resources to help clarify what civilians can and cannot safely do in response to these actions. These tools include ways to contact elected officials to demand civilian protection and an end to illegal ICE activity, as well as guidance on safely observing and documenting events. I strongly encourage you to watch this short video from Witness Media Lab for practical tips on documenting ICE activity. You can also find a growing collection of resources on our website, including a list of rapid response networks operating throughout California, here.

Even in this challenging moment, there are important reminders of the League’s power and impact. A few weeks ago, in the case of USA v. Weber, the LWVC scored a key victory against the Trump administration over access to the personal information of California’s 23 million voters, persuading a federal judge to grant our motion to dismiss the Justice Department’s lawsuit demanding the data. This outcome matters – and so does how we got there. Our ability to intervene in cases like this depends directly on our membership. To establish organizational standing, we were required to file a declaration with the Court stating how many members we have in California – currently approximately 7,000. That membership strength is what allowed the Court to grant our request to intervene in the case, recognizing LWVC as a legitimate voice representing the interests of California voters. Please make sure your membership is current so we can continue to stand up, intervene, and protect voters in Sacramento, at the ballot box, and in the courtroom.

Thank you for being part of the League and for standing with us during this demanding time. Together, we remain committed to defending democracy and protecting our communities.

In League,

Jenny Farrell
Executive Director
League of Women Voters of California

Board and Committee Vacancies

Are you passionate about the League and want to strengthen our democracy statewide? The League of Women Voters of California currently has two vacancies on our Board of Directors and is seeking members interested in being appointed to serve. We are also looking for additional volunteers to join our statewide Development, Audit, Voter Engagement, and Nominating Committees – critical roles that help advance and sustain the LWVC mission. If you or someone you know may be interested, please reach out to us at lwvcboard [at] lwvc.org. Thank you!

lwvcboard [at] lwvc.org ()

Advocacy Update

Although the legislative session is just getting underway, the League of Women Voters of California is already deeply engaged in shaping what’s ahead.

Ballot Measures

The LWVC will be fighting for voters in the upcoming midterm election. Here are a few statewide ballot measures we’re taking action on this year.

• The California Fair Elections Act
  The LWVC will be co-chairing the campaign to pass the California Fair Elections Act alongside the California Clean Money Campaign and California Common Cause. With this Act, voters would have the choice to repeal California’s decades-old ban on public financing of election campaigns while putting strong guardrails in place to protect taxpayers and ensure fairness. 
  
  
• California Recall Election Reform
  The LWVC will be supporting recall election reform, which will also be on the November 2026 ballot. With this initiative, voters will have the choice to reform California’s recall process, ensuring it is fairer, clearer, and more representative while preserving recall as a tool of direct democracy. Under current law, voters must decide in one single election whether to recall an official and who should replace them. The reform, if passed, would separate those questions, making it a sequential, two-part process that would ensure broader, more representative participation.
  
  
• Dangerous Voter ID Ballot Initiative
  Finally, the LWVC is gearing up to oppose a new, dangerous Voter ID ballot initiative that is likely to qualify for the November 2026 ballot. Voter ID laws perpetuate a Jim Crow-era pattern of disenfranchising voters of color, low-income voters, young voters, seniors, voters with disabilities, voters experiencing housing instability, and women and transgender voters navigating name changes. In California, where most voters cast ballots by mail, this proposal would require voters to write sensitive identification numbers on their ballot envelopes, raising serious privacy concerns, and increasing the risk of identity theft, while also potentially driving up ballot rejection rates. The LWVC will help lead this opposition to protect voters and ensure fair access to the ballot.

In the Legislature

The LWVC is co-sponsoring an effort to reform primary elections to require that countywide offices – such as District Attorney and County Supervisor – be instead decided in November general elections when turnout is highest and most representative, rather than in low-turnout primaries.

The LWVC is also co-sponsoring a Racial Justice Act clarification bill to ensure courts honor the Legislature’s original intent by allowing statistical evidence to establish racial disparities in charging, conviction, or sentencing—without resurrecting the impossible standards the RJA was designed to reject.

Advocacy Interest Groups

Repairing the harms of systemic racism is essential to a just, inclusive, and multiracial democracy. To that end, the LWVC is excited to announce the launch of the new Reparations Advocacy Interest Group (RAIG), emerging from the hard work of the LWV Oakland’s Reparations Task Force. Building on that leadership, the new statewide Interest Group will bring members together to learn, share resources, and explore advocacy opportunities related to reparations at both the state and local levels. 

League members interested in joining this or other Interest Groups are warmly invited to get involved and help shape this work statewide. Please send a request to join any of the Interest Groups with your name and local League to Savannah Jorgensen at sjorgensen [at] lwvc.org. 

Finally, the LWVC RAIG and LWV Oakland are hosting a panel discussion on the Oakland Museum of California’s exhibit, Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain on February 28th from 2-3 pm. For more information, and to register for the event, visit the event page. Please join us!

Black History Month

Congress is currently considering the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore and modernize the VRA. Let’s honor the past by safeguarding the vote today. Take a moment to tell your representatives to support the VRA restoration and protect every American’s right to vote.

Read more and take action now!

Fun Corner

Welcome to the LWVC’s Fun Corner—your monthly dose of lighthearted civic curiosity. Each month, we’ll mix in a playful activity or a quick recommendation, alongside a thoughtful nudge about why it matters to how we participate in democracy. This month, we’ve scrambled a few words that touch on the core themes of the League’s mission.

Can you unscramble the words below? The answer key is below.

• MERPOWE
• ERTSOV
• RTIAANOPNSN
• OCMYRCAED
• NFEEDD