What to do? Polarity. Extreme opinions and actions. Discord. Roadblocks. Misinformation. Distrust. It’s easy to be discouraged and throw our hands up in despair. But despair does not make things better. Walking away does not make our communities and nation a better place. The League offers a way to aid the political climate.

For over 100 years, the League of Women Voters has worked for the right for each citizen to vote and informed each voter before they fill in their ballot. The League has persisted. As we enter an important election year, the League will continue to defend democracy and empower voters. We will work to register voters, assist voters to update their voting information, learn about ballot issues and get their ballots filled out. The League stands for fact-based information on issues. We are non-partisan and never endorse any candidate. Rather, we gather information and let the voter decide.

The anecdote to hopelessness is to do something to help. Join us. Work with us. Help us work towards a more perfect democracy.

Below are links to current, active volunteer opportunities. For more long-term volunteer opportunities in LWVAC, you can also join a committee and attend those meetings to get involved in the work we are doing. Is there a topic of particular interest to you that you do not see listed? info [at] lwv-alachua.org (Contact us) and we will find other like-minded volunteers to take action.

Call for LWVAC Board Nominations

This is a great time to consider becoming more involved in LWVAC leadership. The Nomination Committee is looking for volunteers to serve on the LWV Board beginning June of 2024 (after our Annual Meeting near the end of May). The following positions are held by people whose terms expire on that date. We are hoping that some people who already hold positions will agree to be renominated, but the board always needs new people who are willing to serve in leadership positions. Learn more here.

Committees Seeking Leadership

Although the primary mission of the League is to assist with voter registration and voting and to educate voters about ballot issues, our interests have a broad spectrum. We follow, study, and advocate for issues important to our community, as you can see from the committee descriptions on this website. When leaders step down, we look for others who have a passion for a particular topic. Could that be you? Scroll down to see where you could fit in. 

Education

The Education Committee studies issues, takes action, and lobbies legislators and school boards in our efforts to seek positive changes for our students. While they operate without a chair, the committee is continuing to monitor the state of public education and local education issues within our own community and put forth a brief synopsis of the latest developments here in Alachua County. Examples of updates may include zoning, progress with the half-cent sales tax, student achievement, attendance, and a report on student behavior and discipline. If these issues are important to you, please info [at] lwv-alachua.org (contact Janice) to get involved.

Local Issues

The Local Issues Committee and its Action Teams focus on identifying the wide-ranging issues facing Gainesville City and Alachua County residents. These issues often overlap with the other committees. We are eagerly looking for someone to lead the next direction. It could be one of a number of local topics on which we could become informed and be advocates for our community. What issues are of interest to you? info [at] lwv-alachua.org (Contact Janice) if you can help.

Voter Services Tabling Coordinator

League outreach is fun. When we go to festive events to table, invariably people stop to say how much they depend on the League to learn before they vote. Tabling events happen with the Voter Services Committee where we have two co-chairs. What we need is somebody to organize volunteers for the events. There are helpers; we need a maestro. Grab your baton, step right up, and info [at] lwv-alachua.org (email Janice) for more information. 

Other Opportunities

Communications

Do you like to work behind the scenes? Do you like social media and technology or web design or graphic design? Do you like to research issues and write articles about current events and LWV actions? Are you a good editor? If any of these activities sound interesting to you, please info [at] lwv-alachua.org (reach out to Connie), our Communications Chair, about joining the Communications Team. We can always use extra hands and eyes. 

Get Out the Vote (GOTV) Action Team

What is the one thing that you can do to help our city, state and country to be a better democracy? Help the league to Get Out the Vote (GOTV).  In this very important election year, our league is forming a group that will have discrete tasks to promote voting to the public. After a brainstorming session that produced over 20 ideas, we’ll be scurrying around to implement them. If you can help with one of those tasks, info [at] lwv-alachua.org (contact Janice).

Hot Topics

One of the services our league provides to the community is periodic talks that help gain a deeper understanding of complicated and/or controversial topics. For example, last year we organized talks on book banning and on the background of the Supreme Court. We have two co-chairs for organizing talks but they could use some help. Talks happen every couple of months without a set schedule. If that sort of endeavor would fit your lifestyle and desire to make our democracy better, please info [at] lwv-alachua.org (email Janice).  

Matheson Museum Partnership

Our league has an unprecedented opportunity to partner with the Matheson Museum in an exhibit titled “Voices and Votes”. The exhibit will occur this spring and summer. We will be helping with the exhibit and promoting it to various groups such as students and minority groups. We will be registering voters and helping people to make a voting plan. This is really exciting and will be a lot of fun. If you want to join the team, info [at] lwv-alachua.org (contact Janice). 

Speakers Bureau

As we head into an important election season, an important service that our league provides is speakers who can go to various groups and present information about the league and other topics. We have a team of speakers and a gung-ho chair, but we could use more voices. The material is already prepared and we can help you learn it. If you’re wondering what can be done to help our current political turmoil, providing information to the public is one answer. info [at] lwv-alachua.org (Email Candy) for more information.