Introduction to League 101

Our first League 101article, “League Resources Available to All Members,” introduces members to Impact on Issues, a biennial publication of the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS), and a few other important League principles and practices.

Becky Newman, Coast Articles Coordinator
coastarticlescoordinator [at] lwvorangecoast.org

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League Resources Available to All Members

Among the many benefits of being a member of the League of Women Voters are  the vast resources of unimpeachable information about the public policies which we all value. These resources are organized into four key areas: Representative Government, International Relations, Natural Resources and Social Policy.

To delve into the multiple subtopics in each of those key areas, you simply navigate to the national League of Women Voters website at https://www.lwv.org/. There you can research any public policy topic, from a high-level summary to an intricately detailed presentation.

Impact on Issues:

This is followed by a six paragraph summary of League Principles.

The bulk of the remainder of the publication is a concise summary of the League positions on major policy issues, including the historical background and significant actions and achievements by the League in that area.

Speaking with One Voice:

This topic is worth more reading in Impact on Issues and in future articles in our series, but for now keep this important fact in mind! 

You can access this publication for free by downloading the PDF from the LWVUS website at https://www.lwv.org/ at Impact on Issues 2022 - 2024. Or, if you’d prefer a hard copy, you can obtain it for the bargain price of five dollars on Amazon.

Election Impact Reports:

The Election Impact Reports of the national League of Women Voters are another excellent resource. 

Following every major U.S. election, the League develops a detailed report of our various activities.  For the 2022 Mid-terms the report is called: Powering the Midterms - 2022 Midterm Elections Impact Report. Some of the exciting statistics from that report include:

• Number of voters provided election materials: over 27 million
• Number of voters protected through legal action: over 17.4 million
• Number of candidates covered in voter guides  over 52,000 

Notably these figures are collected at the national level and don’t necessarily include activities at the state and local Leagues.

Informing Voters:

The over 27 million voters were contacted by the League throughout the year, communicating through advertising, canvassing, email, mail, phone calls, social media, and texting. These efforts helped people register to vote, confirm their registration information, find their polling place and/or drop box locations, learn about early and absentee voting options and make a voting plan.

Protecting Voters:

The rights of nearly 17.4 million voters around the country were protected in 2022 thanks to the legal action of the League. 

• We were active in 73 cases in state and federal courts.
• State and local leagues representing 29 states and the District of Columbia served as plaintiffs, intervenors, and amicus brief partners. 
• Leagues filed or joined 36 cases, had 26 come to resolution, and were still fighting in 47 at the close of the year.

It is exciting to know that our League dues are so effectively applied toward our goals of “Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy.” (https://www.lwv.org/ )