This category showcases how Leagues activated their grassroots network to empower voters and advocate change around key issues, such as protecting voting rights or increasing voter registration and turnout.  

LWV of Colorado

Election security is always a vital issue, but the doubts raised by the Big Lie have heightened awareness and doubts about this topic. To combat rampant mis- and disinformation, LWVCO has undertaken a number of actions: 

• Media articles – statewide. Both our President and Executive Director had articles on election security published in Colorado Politics, a major statewide publication. 
• Litigation - in response to reports of canvassers, some openly armed, going door to door spreading allegations of voter fraud and intimidating voters, LWVCO, with strong support from LWVUS, gathered two of our closest partners, NAACP and Mi Familia Vota, and filed suit against the US Election Integrity Plan and its three founders. An Associated Press exclusive led to more than 2500 hits within 30 days of the file date and continues. 
• Education – civil discourse, news literacy, and Colorado’s election security have been major topics of statewide educational presentations and discussions since the 1.6.21 insurrection. 
• Legislative advocacy - LWVCO’s lobbyist corps was instrumental promoting or opposing passage of key bills regarding access to and security of the ballot: 
  • Multilingual Ballot Access For Voters – support; Governor signed 6.28.21 
  • Election Recount Requests – oppose; PI’d 3.29.21 
  • Voter Proof of Citizenship Requirement – strongly oppose; PI’d 3.28.21 
  • Voter Transparency in Ballot Measures – strongly support; Governor called a meeting with LWVCO ED and Advocacy Director after threatening to veto and learning of our position. He signed the bill 7.7.21. 
  • Ballot Access For Voters With Disabilities – support with amendments. LWVCO volunteer lobbyists partnered with a diversity of advocacy organizations, including the Colorado Federation of the Blind, to ensure that access was balanced with security by limiting use of electronic ballots to those with print disabilities rather than any disability. Signed by the Governor 5.21.21 
  • Contribution Limits School District Director Candidate – strongly support; signed by Governor 4.13.22 
  • Vote Without Fear Act – support; signed by Governor 3.30.22 
  • Protections for Elections Officials – support; passed by Senate third reading 4.22.22
  • Many others 
• New position – after discussing a potential concurrence put forward by LWV Oregon on election security, a committee of members statewide, led by President Karen Sheek, studied and drafted a new position, which was adopted by statewide membership on 2/7/22. The committee hopes to have this position adopted nationally.

LWV of Virginia

Virginia is one of the few states that was able to realize redistricting success. In Virginia, a constitutional amendment has to pass twice with an election in between before going on the ballot. The legislation passed the first year because neither party knew who would be in the majority. After the majority was established, we had to battle that party to bring the legislation to the committee and then to the floor for a vote. Years of work (with a partner org) meant that voters supported the measure but until it passed on the ballot, we were battling the majority party up to and including on election day. The legislation formed a bipartisan commission comprised of half legislators and half citizens. This is the first time citizens were able to actively participate in the process--via serving on the commission, via written or oral testimony, and via submission of maps. We held many trainings to teach the public about mapping tools and giving input. We wrote LTE's. A dedicated group of members blogged about each meeting; both commissioners and legislators (as well as regular voters) depended upon our blog for an overview and to keep up to date. The resulting maps did not consider incumbent addresses but did consider communities of interest. The new districts also provide many opportunities for first time candidates and minority candidates.

LWV of Washington

The Be a Voter Campaign is a voter outreach project highlighting local Leagues working together with the state League, statewide outreach, materials in Spanish, a social media campaign and a partnership with a major newspaper, The Spokesman-Review. The Be a Voter Campaign is  a research-based project providing a broad suite of tools for local Leagues to use across  the state of Washington. With uniform messaging, an accompanying  Be a Voter graphic  and the LWVWA logo on voter outreach tools, local Leagues achieved messaging synergies across a statewide audience.

The LWV of Washington worked with local Leagues to develop voter outreach tools and graphic that local Leagues could download from the state website. The state League encouraged members to use these tools to help spread the word. The tools include full- and half-page printer-friendly flyers and bookmarks, some voter education materials are also in Spanish, such as a flyer promoting VOTE411. 

The Be a Voter social media campaign, which was active leading up to the 2021 election, featured 33 mis- and disinformation info bites—short factoids regarding elections in Washington state. The state League also worked with local Leagues to develop a toolkit with the social media info bites for local Leagues to use. To prepare the 33 factoids of our mis-disinformation article and social media campaign, the League asked our Office of the Secretary of State (OSOS) to share the major questions that voters had brought up during the 2020 election. State League volunteers organized these queries and drafted responses. The OSOS reviewed the questions to ensure accuracy.

The mis- and disinformation factoids were featured in the Your Vote publication, a “tabloid” that was produced in partnership with The Spokesman-Review, the major newspaper in Spokane, Washington, and most of Eastern Washington. Your Vote, which also included selected voter information articles, was made available to the public in a PDF format in Spanish and English. 

All of the Be a Voter materials are available to download from the LWV of Washington website.