With 94 days until the election, the air is charged with anticipation. Democracy is calling, and the League of Women Voters of California is ready to answer. This July, we harnessed this momentous time, capturing a renewed energy to engage voters. From writing the Easy Voter Guide to reflecting on the pivotal impacts of our advocacy, we are fired up, working hard, and prepared to get every voter to the polls.

There is a grinding type of intensity with legislative advocacy, even when the legislature is on break, as it was in July. Urgent meetings, time-sensitive negotiations, close reading of complex policy proposals, and looming deadlines keep our team busy. Yet, sometimes in the midst of this intensity, there are moments that bring clarity to the “why” of our commitment to this work. That moment came this month when one of our advocacy team members forwarded this article to Dora, with a note “The League helped save 3 lives. This is wonderful.”

You may recall from last month’s newsletter that in June, Helen Hutchinson, LWVC Area Director for Government and member of LWV Alameda County Council, joined local leaders and other advocates at a press conference at the Alameda County Courthouse in Oakland to demand resentencing in all death penalty cases because of prosecutorial misconduct that included the exclusion of Black and Jewish people from the jury. Knowing that our show of solidarity with criminal justice partners helped lead to the resentencing of three death penalty cases in Oakland deeply moved our advocacy team.

Dora shared her reaction to this realization, “I took a moment to step back, closed my computer, and let the significance of our work sink in. The work we did helped save 3 lives.”

Whether it’s securing the agreement of counties to pilot in-person voting in jails, trying to repeal the ban on public campaign financing, or fighting for state funding to help close California’s notorious voter participation gap, the end result of everything we do is to uplift and empower people. And sometimes, like with our sponsorship of the seminal Racial Justice Act, and our follow-through on its implementation, we see the lives that are changed because of this work. And this makes everything worth it.

Pulling Back the Curtain on the Easy Voter Guide – Volunteer Spotlight

Have you ever picked up an Easy Voter Guide and wondered who wrote the words inside? The Easy Voter Guide is a nonpartisan publication that provides easy-to-access, community-reviewed information on voter registration, voting, and statewide elections. Available in five languages and distributed by Leagues and community partners, it’s a vital resource for voters. This year, we had four new volunteers stepping up to contribute content for the Easy Voter Guide, including Madeline Chimento, who joined the LWV San Diego in October 2023, just a month after relocating from New Orleans.

Over the past several years, Madeline has been actively working to increase her civic and political engagement. She has participated in various activities like writing postcards and letters, attending text and phone banks, and canvassing. As a lawyer, she saw writing for the Easy Voter Guide as a fitting opportunity to utilize her skills while helping Californians make informed decisions when voting. In addition to her work on the Easy Voter Guide, Madeline is also involved in voter registration efforts through her local League.

Volunteers like Madeline are critical to our grassroots work – putting this indispensable tool into the hands of voters. Read our interview with Madeline here, and learn more about her motivation and commitment to California’s voters.

Energizing Voter Engagement with VerifyIt

As another tool to empower and engage voters, we are delighted to share VerifyIt - a civics, voting, and news literacy game developed by the LWV of Alameda. For everyone, but truly geared toward current and future voters ages 16-29, VerifyIt is a great way to test your civics knowledge, see if you can spot media disinformation, and more!