The League of Women Voters is thrilled to launch our inaugural Good Governance Symposium Series!  Leagues across South Carolina, the NAACP LDF, and the Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce are collaborating to host this important public series.

As our nation sees unprecedented levels of partisanship division, now more than ever, thoughtful non-partisan discussion of public policy issues and topics is essential. It is a role the League of Women Voters is both committed to and well positioned to execute. This series will promote education and awareness relating to critical good government issues that impact national, state and local governance through five sessions. Each session will include accompanying “pre-reading” materials and will end with a “Call to Action” to advocate for state and federal legislation to help address these critical issues.  Each event requires a separate registration.  Recordings for all events can be found here.

• Session I: Voting Rights (Monday, March 1 at 6pm) - This important first session will lay the stage for our entire series. We will explore the history of the Voting Rights Act, attempts to dismantle the legislation, including the impacts of Shelby County v. Holder (2013), recent voting restrictions and solutions to move forward and ensure every person has a voice.

• Session II: Redistricting Reform (Monday, March 22 at 6pm) - Fair Maps are critical to our democracy. This session will offer a redistricting “101” to ground attendees in the importance of this topic. We will then hear from the League’s State Redistricting Working Group about actions the League will take and how you can help. The session will also explore local redistricting implications.
  

• Session III: Electoral College and Institutional Reforms (Monday, April 12 at 6pm) - This session will explore institutional reform options to the Electoral College and U.S. Senate, including the “Popular Vote Pact” and Filibuster reform. We’ll discuss the League’s position on a Constitutional Convention and share ideas for future reforms.
  

• Session IV: Dark Money and Campaign Finance (Monday, May 10 at 6pm) - Each year we see the outsized influence of “dark money” in campaigns, and each year it gets worse. Join us as we discuss the history of money in politics and solutions to prioritize transparency in our elections.  

• Session V: Election & Voting Systems and Approaches (Monday, June 7 at 6pm) - This final session will explore “out-of-the-box” approaches to increase representation in our elections. We’ll look at changes to how we vote, including: Rank Choice Voting, Jungle Primaries, Straight-ticket Voting, Single Member vs. At-Large Districts and Citizen-led Ballot Initiatives in South Carolina.  Register for this event here.