The League of Women Voters takes action on an issue only when we have a position addressing it. If the members have not studied and come to consensus on it, the League has no position and therefore cannot take action. Studies (whether national, state, or local) are a defined process lasting one to three years, during which we undertake thorough pursuit of facts and details, both positive and negative, and come to consensus about policy.
Past LWVW Studies
Affordable Housing Study - 2020 to 2021
At the June 2020 Annual Meeting, the LWVW voted to study Affordable Housing in Wellesley with the goal of updating its Local Program. The Study Committee assembled in July 2020 and met monthly over the year. After a brief discussion, the study topic was refined to focus on the intersection of affordable housing, diversity and sustainability. Other important topics such as financing and government organization were deferred to a future study. Two subcommittees were established - Sustainability and Diversity. The subcommittes reviewed current LWVUS/LWVMA positions, town documents, news articles, research studies and interviewed experts in the field. In March 2021, consensus questions were presented to the membership at two Unit Meetings. The positions arrived at through consensus were approved by the Study Committee and the LWVW Board and were adopted at Annual Meeting as an update to the Social Policy section of the LWVW Local Program. The text of this new position can be found in the 
2021 Bulletin on pages 6-8. The Local Program in its updated entirety will be available soon.
Massachusetts Ballot Question Process - 2019 to 2020
In 2019, LWV Wellesley formed a study group to participate in the statewide study of the ballot question process in Massachusetts. The scope of the LWVMA study was to review the Massachusetts laws and regulations that govern statewide citizen-initiated ballot questions (initiative and referendum process); consider the consequences of current laws and regulations; and propose concrete next steps that LWVMA could take to enact change, if the study results in recommended change. This study incorporated the intersection of the League’s areas of mission: voting and advocacy. LWVMA had not studied the initiative and referendum process in MA and had had no positions on this aspect of voting/elections.
During the fall of 2018, the LWV Wellesley group met semimonthly to read and discuss materials in preparation for a consensus meeting held in January 2019. The LWVMA approved a position on the MA Ballot Question Process at the annual state convention on June 8, 2019.
Other Studies
Studies from across the nation are in our League of Women Voters Education Fund Clearinghouse for studies.
What Is The Study Process?
- Study Committee members fashion consensus questions that are then asked of the membership as part of a study kit. Kits often include articles, books, data in the form of charts and graphs, videos, suggested speakers, discussion questions, and other resources. Members use the study kit internally and often with their community to better understand the issue.
- Consensus is the overall decision-making process by which substantial agreement among members is reached on an issue. Often this happens over the course of several meetings, but may include surveys and other methods. If the members reach consensus, the board forms recommended positions based on that consensus. Those recommendations are submitted to the Study Committee.
- The Study Committee then reviews all the submissions. It works to form a consensus statement - the statement resulting from the consensus questions - that becomes a recommended position.
- That recommended position is then reviewed and voted on by our members (usually by delegates at our Convention). The proposal may be approved, amended, or be rejected at that time.
- If a position is adopted, firm action can then be taken on the particular issue addressed by the position. Without a position, action can not be taken on that issue.
Read the national Guidelines for LWVUS Studies.
