LWVUS COUNCIL 2025 REPORT
Hannah E. Parker and Lawson Wetli attended the 2025 League of Women Voters of the US (LWVUS) Council event held June 27-29. Below is our summary of the event for the League of Women Voters of South Carolina (LWVSC) Board.
In addition, we want to highlight something that came up regularly over the course of the Council – that Leagues that have staff (like executive directors) operate very differently, and have substantially different options, compared to Leagues that do not have staff. A number of us encouraged the LWVUS to provide additional funding to states that do not have staff in order to make Leagues like ours more effective and impactful.
DAY ONE
Commitment to DEI Is Central To Our Mission
Most of the first day was devoted to DEI training. LWVUS CEO Celina Stewart highlighted that there are over 10,000 recent new League members, and DEI is (among other things) crucial in setting a consistent tone and creating a welcoming environment for new members. She, and everyone, emphasized that DEI is central to our mission and to defending democracy and that it is both a national issue and a local responsibility.
Action point: We might want to think about what it means, in terms of actionable steps, to help local Leagues access DEI training and operationalize DEI in their Leagues and communities.
Representatives of Everyday Democracy led the training. In the morning’s general training, they focused on strategies that might be helpful, such as working towards collective leadership (rather than top-down decision-making) where feasible; approaching decision-making using a DEI lens; and addressing what effective community engagement looks like.
In the afternoon, there were breakout sessions, and Hannah and Lawson attended two of them (“Addressing Interpersonal Challenges” and “Operationalizing DEI and Community Engagement”).
Among other things, Hannah and Lawson focused on a challenge for South Carolina (building and maintaining a leadership pipeline) and on goals that could help improve it.
Action point: Hannah and Lawson discussed the following potential action steps to address South Carolina's leadership pipeline challenge: *Having a survey (presumably annually) for board members and coalitiion partners, *Putting together a board retreat (with Hannah and Lawson willing to survey other state Leagues to get ideas from them about how best to do it), *Revisiting the strategic plan to try to identify and engage new pools of leaders, * Considering new tactics (e.g. house parties focused on identifying leadershiip).
DAY TWO
“Transformation During This Moment in Democracy”
Celina Stewart, LWVUS CEO, and Dianna Wynn, LWVUS President open the day with a Fireside Chat wherein they discussed the implications of the current constitutional crisis. Highlighting the league’s 105-year history of grassroots movement building, and the Board’s process for defining a constitutional crisis, the league leaders stressed the importance of amplifying our core values – empowering voters and defending democracy – through a steadfast voter education through non-partisan, diverse, equitable, and inclusive efforts (i.e., partnerships, activism, and other commitments). Attendees were invited to revisit and commit to the league’s Oath to Democracy in solidarity.
Regional Discussion on Transformation
LWVSC shared space with league leaders from Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, New Jersey, D.C., and other areas to connect and leverage their current best practices during the Transformation. Specific topics included culture and learning/resources. Leagues discussed wins and challenges in attracting, engaging, welcoming and developing members at all levels; and shared tools developing core competencies (governance, fundraising, operations, mission-critical work, and required resources).
Help Shape the Future of League Leadership
The 2024-2026 LWVUS Nominating Committee met with their liaison states to formally introduce themselves and also field questions from state leaders on the process for applying for and serving on the LWVUS board and Nominating committee. Applications should be available in the Fall. FAQs are available here.
Power Mapping
In the league’s concerted effort to build a movement of 8.5 million individuals to unite and rise up against the anti-democratic actions of this administration, attendees revisited the concept of power mapping and created power maps that would more appropriately apply to the current Unite & Rise 8.5 initiative. All leagues are further encouraged to reengage within their communities (intra/inter-league, state, local, and regional groups, individuals, and allies) to see how those with shared goals can unite, mobilize, and rise for democracy.
Action point: Ideas for potential coalition partners that came up from other Leagues included: bar associations, public defenders groups, food banks, local booksellers, art communities and more.
Federal Judiciary Study
Kimberley Fraser, chair of the Federal Judiciary Committee, presented the newly adopted Federal Judiciary position. Kimberley shared the committee’s research and background process, including a League-wide town hall. 321 Leagues participated in the Federal Judiciary Study, representing 45 states and DC.
Takeaways for the federal judiciary, the League supports the essential principles of:
Transparency: Federal court documents, proceedings, and rulings, including those in “shadow docket” cases, should be open and available to the public within the bounds of the law, recognizing the need for limited exceptions, such as legally protected sensitive information.
Accountability: Federal judges and Justices should be held legally and ethically responsible for the integrity of their actions, with enforceable consequences for violations.
Independence: Federal judges and Justices should act in accordance with the Constitution and statutory and case law, free from the influence of the other branches of government and free from shifting popular and political opinion.
Ethics: Federal judges and Justices should adhere to ethical standards of conduct that apply universally at all levels of the federal courts. There should be a meaningful enforcement process with judges and Justices subject to penalties for failure to comply with the standards. The League believes that standards of conduct for federal judges and Justices should include requirements to disclose non-judicial income; other financial benefits including, but not limited to, gifts and hospitality; and investment holdings.
The position is now available on the Impact on Issues page on the League Management Site
Building Your Action Calendar
Leagues are encouraged to plan their year with intentionality towards DEI, partnerships, elections, and civic holidays – with a goal of planning, prioritizing, and taking purposeful action in carrying out the mission of the league. Attendees were asked to take a holistic approach to planning their respective calendars by considering not only elections (seasons and cycles), but also legislative deadlines, communication types, resources required/available, training, and frequency.
DAY THREE
Centering Activism
Throughout Council, LWVUS delivered a message that the League is unusually well-positioned to connect with our activist roots and step in to defend democracy from a grassroots, nationwide level in this time of constitutional crisis. The “Unite and Rise” campaign and playbooks are efforts of the national League to make this activism as do-able as possible for local and state Leagues.
Mobilizing Collectively on a Regional Basis
The third half-day focused on gathering together as regional groups and giving feedback to LWVUS. South Carolina was grouped with the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. One purpose of grouping us was to connect us with one another so that we will be better able to mobilize collectively as a region.
The “8.5” in “Unite and Rise 8.5” comes from 8.5 million, which is the number of people representing 3.5% of the US population, and it’s the League’s nationwide goal to connect with and activate this many people. (This comes from work by Erica Chenoweth suggesting that civil resistance that involves 3.5% of the population is likely to be effective – here’s a summary of the concept.)
Action point: For South Carolina, the 3.5% number is 192,500 (based on a population of 5.5 million). We could set this as a statewide goal if we so choose and could help local Leagues identify what their 3.5% population numbers are.
Some of the common concerns that arose in our regional breakout group included the challenges of encouraging activism within local Leagues that are often more focused on things like voter registration (and perhaps not comfortable with more-activist roles).
Resources and Council slides
