Recent & Current Issues Studied by the League of Women Voters
Before taking a position on an issue the League conducts studies first. Local Leagues are encouraged to participate in these studies.
League To Begin Two New Studies And One Update
Delegates to the 2013 LWVNY Convention voted to conduct two new studies and one update.
- A study on Term limits for members of the state legislature and statewide offices.
- A Ballot Access Study to examine how candidates get on the ballot.
- An update to our position on Constitution Convention emphasizing candidate selection.
LWVNY Study on Government Consolidation/Shared Services
The results of the statewide study on local consolidation and shared services have been approved by the LWVNY Board of Directors.
The League of Women Voters of New York State supports the efficient and effective operation of government. Consolidation of governmental units and the sharing of major governmental services may be a way of promoting the efficient and effective operation of government. In achieving this goal, the league supports a cooperative and transparent process in which citizens have sufficient and timely information with which to make informed decisions about proposed actions, and well-defined channels for citizen input and review. The full position can be found on the state League website.
Update on the Concept of National Popular Vote as a Means to Elect the President by Popular Vote
On May 1, 2009, the Board of Directors of the League of Women Voters of the United States released the following statement regarding their findings on the National Popular Vote Compact Study. The results showed that no consensus had been reached. The LWVUS made this statement:
The LWVUS affirms its support of the direct election of the president and abolition of the Electoral College, but the LWVUS has no position on the National Popular Vote Compact as studied in 2008-2009
Over 51% of Local Leagues participated in the study and consensus process, but the NPV Compact did not win the support of the two thirds required to achieve consensus.
UPDATE: Delegates to the LWVUS Biennial Convention held in June 2010 adopted a concurrence to support the concept of a national popular vote. The following statement will be added to the LWVUS position on how we elect a president:
We support the use of the National Popular Vote Compact as one acceptable way to achieve the goal of the direct popular vote for election of president until the abolition of the Eletoral College is accomplished.