Increasing Capacity at All Levels  

During this biennium, we made substantial efforts to increase operational capacity at all levels. This work is a continuation of our Transformation Roadmap and lays the foundation for our new strategic framework. Some of the highlights of this work include:  

• We simplified the ways that Leagues interface with the National Office by implementing standards like DocuSign for facilitating grants to Leagues, online forms for making requests, and direct deposit for all transactions to improve the speed and security of financial transfers between LWVUS/LWVEF and state & local Leagues.
• We released new versions of the Roster Manager Portal, which included dozens of enhancements, like member count dashboards, member transfers, and a new support and help section.
• We forged new partnerships with companies that can provide data from state and local Leagues directly to the National Office. This will greatly reduce the time consuming and manual processes related to membership management.
• We cultivated an adaptable IT infrastructure at the National Office, which allowed for a rapid and nearly seamless transition to remote work in the face of a global pandemic. This allowed the National Office to continue to work on important advocacy, litigation, and educational efforts without significant disruption and enabled us to better support our state and local Leagues during the pandemic.
• We established an organizational membership with BoardSource, a 30-year-old national nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring and supporting excellence in nonprofit governance and board and staff leadership. Membership is open to all League leaders free of charge and offers access to educational webinars, ask-an-expert services, and other resources. Since March, 81 League leaders have set up BoardSource accounts.  
• To establish a culture of effective data use, we hired a Director of Evaluation and Outcomes, who is charged with improving data collection, reporting, and data use across all levels of League. We also launched a Data Ambassadors program, with Leagues participating from 15 states. This group works to help build our evaluation and outcomes portfolio at the League.  
• We have made substantial efforts in diversifying our funding streams. For example, in 2019 we had the most successful Giving Tuesday campaign since the League started participating in Giving Tuesday, raising over $52,000! Additionally, Giving Tuesday Now for COVID-19 response raised more than $18,000 for our work supporting elections during the pandemic.
• We have made substantial efforts in advancing our donor relations, including reorganizing our databases for more effective outreach.

Raising the League’s Visibility

As the League’s visibility continues to rise, we strengthen our position as a trusted entity, and greater visibility means more opportunities for additional partnerships at all levels of League. Our dynamic CEO raises the organization’s profile through her media interviews and speaking engagements and, through our increased visibility on litigation at the state level, LWVUS has strengthened our partnership with state Leagues in elevating their media visibility.

LWVUS has worked directly with state Leagues to support their media relations by drafting press releases, building press lists, and providing messaging strategy around rapid response situations. LWVUS has built communications capacity for local and state Leagues with regular webinar workshops, talking points, press release and letter templates, communications toolkits, sample social media content, a merchandise portal, and other messaging guidance available on the League Management Website.

The national office has invested heavily in both our native social media strategy and implementation, as well as our digital advertising strategy. Over the course of the biennium, LWVUS expanded its digital footprint to include additional social platforms, such as a VOTE411 Instagram account and a LWVEF Twitter account.

Additionally, LWVUS undertook a nationwide brand refresh to help establish a unified look of the organization and to create a trusted visual face that will establish brand recall with our supporters (and those we hope will soon become supporters).

“She Is Me” Digital Campaign

As part of raising the League’s visibility in our 100th year, LWVUS launched a digital campaign to celebrate League work through the personal stories of our powerful members. The main purpose of the campaign was to generate awareness of the League of Women Voters among new audiences, focusing on cultivating the next generation of LWV supporters. The campaign is comprised of a microsite—lwv.org/sheisme, paid social media advertisements, an email series for new engagers, a promotional video, and tools and templates for local and state Leagues to participate with their own member stories. She Is Me was unveiled at Council in July of 2019 and launched on August 15, with a plan to continue through the end of 2020, unveiling new member stories each month.

Women Power the Vote Day of Action

The February 14th, 2020, Day of Action was a moment in which Leagues all over the country joined in one voice to commemorate our historic achievements while demonstrating our power to empower voters and defend democracy. Leagues in all 50 states and DC hosted more than 350 events celebrating ‘Women Power the Vote’ in the days surrounding our organization’s 100th birthday. Field activities include rallies, petitions, lobbying, education events (voting rights, census), delivering valentines, letter writing, activities around redistricting and People Powered Fair Maps™, and proclamations.

The national staff created an extensive Day of Action toolkit with resources, graphics, templates, historical resources, and more for Leagues to build their own custom events whether in-person or on social media. The national staff also provided a partnership toolkit with social media graphics and messages, asking trusted partners and media to promote the Day of Action and share the hashtag #WomenPowerTheVote.

In addition to the digital engagement, the LWVUS placed an ad in the main section of the Washington Post. The ad was a letter to the women of America that reached the 474,000 daily readers of the Washington Post. LWV also published an op-ed in Ms. Magazine and posted an essay celebrating our centennial in Electionline (project of Democracy Fund). As part of the Day of Action, LWV also launched a new interactive 100-year historical timeline on LWV.org and unveiled a She Is Me historical video.

VOTE411

Since 2006, the League of Women Voters Education Fund has operated VOTE411.org, which provides registration deadlines and tools, absentee and early voting information, polling place locations, voting hours, and more. Late last year, the League of Women Voters launched the newly redesigned VOTE411 with expectations to serve approximately 6 million voters in 2020.

The newly redesigned VOTE411.org website included updated technology, a better user interface, and new content, including a First Time Voter Checklist. Through the redesign process, LWVEF worked with state and local Leagues around the county, as well as voters themselves, to ensure we provide the information voters and Leagues need.

With months to go before the much-anticipated November 2020 general election, we are already seeing unprecedented levels of interest from Americans seeking out the information they need to vote.

Tracking changes to the election process across nearly every state due to COVID-19 has become a priority in 2020. From postponed elections, to changes to rules around mail-in and in-person voting options, to polling place changes, VOTE411 provides voters with updated information on a daily basis. We created a specific Coronavirus page, with information in both English and Spanish, that outlines any changes voters will face as well as posted state-specific alerts at the top of all state pages. These alerts will continue to be updated through the 2020 General Election and beyond, as needed.

LWVEF partnered with National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) in late 2019 to pilot a program to translate state-level voting information on VOTE411 into Spanish. The initial pilot focused on six states (CO, FL, MI, NC, NY, and TX) before their Presidential Primaries in early 2020.

Providing extensive content in Spanish has long been our vision for VOTE411, and we are proud of the investments we’re making to make the site more accessible. Finally, high-impact partnerships developed to support VOTE411, plus our recently announced 2020 Webby People’s Voice award for Best Government and Civil Innovation Website, will help this information reach more voters.

Programmatic Funding for State and Local Leagues

LWVUS/EF board and staff prioritized financial support for state and local Leagues, via pass-through grant funding in priority programmatic areas, at notably increased levels in the 2018–2020 biennium. All told, grant funding was offered to Leagues in every single state plus DC, with a total of nearly $1 million invested throughout the country.

Grants were offered on a variety of topics and programs, as well as on both the 501(c)(3) and, for the first time, the 501(c)(4) sides of the organization. Major pass-through grant fund programs this biennium included People Powered Fair Maps™ as well as multiple grant programs supporting voter protection work, League capacity building, voter registration among underrepresented communities (chiefly, new citizens and first-time youth voters), and more.

Beyond the critical financial resources provided through these pass-through grant programs, LWVUS/EF provides intensive hands-on support and training to participating Leagues, ensures alignment and data tracking across the organization, and facilitates the sharing of best practices and lessons learned among all levels of the organization. We are actively working to plan continued high levels of pass-through grant funding to Leagues in the next biennium and are applying lessons learned, particularly around data tracking and program evaluation, to ensure these programs remain successful for all involved.

Training and Organizing

As the national office has focused our efforts on supporting state and local Leagues in their work to build community-based power, we have made intentional strides to build staff expertise, modernize our approach, and better support Leagues through a wide range of new training and engagement options. During the biennium, LWVUS/EF was proud to establish a national Organizing team within the Mission Impact department.

We now have a highly experienced National Organizing Director, an Organizing Manager, and two Organizers on staff. Together with other staff members, the Organizing team has transformed the national office’s approach to state and local League support.

Key work included our historic 100th Anniversary Day of Action, which required a series of community calls to help prepare and coordinate activity, and over 800 individual calls to state and local League Leaders by the entire National team.

The organizing team expanded capacity to provide individualized support to states focusing on ballot initiatives through People Powered Fair Maps™.

In the coming months, the Organizing team will continue to support efforts surrounding COVID-19. Monthly community calls, launched in May 2020, are a space to share updates, resources, and ideas about how we continue to engage and organize during this crisis. Interactive bi-weekly online trainings, launched in April of 2020, are designed to build League capacity in four primary areas: leveraging digital tools, leading in the online space, building community online, and mobilizing to action.

Making Democracy Work®

The mission and work of the League of Women Voters has never been as important as in the past biennium. The Campaign for Making Democracy Work® has succeeded in improving voters’ rights while fighting back challenges to those very rights throughout the county.

From 2018–2020, League advocacy and litigation highlights included:

• Mass media campaign for the For The People Act
• Increased advocacy and litigation portfolio, which includes voting rights, redistricting and census, money in politics, and improving elections
• Increased improving elections work, with nearly half the country engaged in litigation to expand voter access
• Introduction of People Powered Fair Maps™ campaign
• Advocacy campaigns for the For the People Act, the Voting Rights Act and Voting Rights Advancement Act, election security, the census, redistricting, and more

Advocacy campaigns were carried out by Leagues at every level: LWVUS board, staff and volunteer Lobby Corps, state and local League leaders, and League members in the fifty states and DC.

At the same time, LWVUS and state Leagues defended democracy through litigation. In nearly half of states, the League of Women Voters has engaged in the legal process to protect voting rights, improve elections, and achieve fair redistricting. In cases ranging from prolonged matters to emergency hearings, the League of Women Voters has engaged as plaintiff or amici in litigation efforts covering redistricting, voter ID, voter registration, the Pence-Kobach ‘Election Integrity’ Commission, climate change, immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, voter access, and voter purges.

Protecting Voters

The League of Women Voters continues our core work to expand voting rights and fight voter suppression in the 2018–2020 biennium by advocating for proactive reforms such as permanent and portable statewide voter registration, expanded early voting, vote-by-mail, online voter registration, improved polling place management, and adherence to existing pro-voter laws. Additionally, Leagues continue to oppose voter photo ID laws, advocate against barriers to the voter registration process, work to prevent last-minute Election Day obstacles, and help millions of voters get the information and required documentation they need to vote.

In the 116th Congress, LWVUS mounted a major lobbying campaign in support of HR 1, the For the People Act. The legislation addresses many of the pillars of the Campaign for Making Democracy Work® including key provisions to break down barriers that prevent Americans from registering to vote. LWVUS worked closely with Congressional sponsors and coalition allies to help shape the bill’s language, while LWV engagers and LWVUS Lobby Corps contacted their Representatives and Senators in support of the legislation, and state Leagues testified in district hearings. The For the People Act passed the House of Representatives in March 2019 and awaits action in the Senate.

LWVUS also lobbied the US House and Senate to support HR 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act, a stand-alone bill to restore the Voting Rights Act (VRA). HR 4 passed the House of Representatives in December 2019 and awaits action in the Senate.

In October 2019, LWVUS CEO Virginia Kase testified before the House Administration Committee’s Subcommittee on Elections on voting rights and election administration. Leagues across the country also weighed in on the importance of full restoration of the VRA during the Subcommittee’s field hearings in North Dakota, Florida, Ohio, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

As Congress considers stimulus packages to deal with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the LWVUS continues to urge the House and Senate to allocate $4 Billion dollars for elections, including funding for voter education, voter registration, early in-person voting, expanded access to absentee mail-in ballots, and polling place adjustments.

During the biennium, the League of Women Voters continued our defense of the National Voter Registration Act. In April 2020, a federal appeals court panel upheld a lower court decision in favor of the LWV of Kansas, who had argued that Kansas voters do not need to provide citizenship when registering to vote. The court agreed and found that the citizenship proof requirement violates the US Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and the National Voter Registration Act.

Constitutional Conventions

The League has worked closely with national partners to fight efforts in states across the country to convene a Constitutional Convention. LWVUS and Leagues in states calling for Article V conventions have worked together to publish op-eds, testify in state legislatures, lobby legislators, and hold public events around the dangers of a “Con-Con.” The League continues to be vigilant in guarding against Constitutional Convention resolutions in other states.

Money in Politics

Since the Citizens United and McCutcheon Supreme Court decisions, the League has been working hard to raise awareness about the influence of money in politics. The League has supported federal legislation on campaign finance, submitted public comments to the FEC, and built relationships with partner organizations and on Capitol Hill. The League continues to support transparency through increased disclosure and public financing, as well as the prohibition of under-the-table coordination between super PACs and candidates.

The League also supports the creation of a new and more effective enforcement entity to replace the dysfunctional Federal Election Commission (FEC).

• Endorsed the Anti-Corruption and Public Integrity Act, which imposes a lifetime lobbying ban on Members of Congress, cabinet members, the President, and the Vice President
• Submitted a letter in support of HR 1043, which prohibits House members from serving on the boards of corporations
• Advocated for HR 1, the For the People Act, which establishes disclosure and public financing systems for Congressional candidates
• Continued to support the Honest Ads act, which updates the definition of “electioneering communications” and requires social media to monitor political ads for foreign influence
• Submitted a letter to the House Appropriations Committee, urging them to remove special interest friendly riders from the Fiscal Year 2020 budget
• Sent three action alerts regarding the FEC’s rule-making around online advertisements
• Collected 8,601 signatures to send to the FEC

Redistricting

In 2018, Convention delegates reconfirmed redistricting as a key piece of the Campaign for Making Democracy Work®. Throughout the biennium, LWVUS and state Leagues have continued to fight partisan and racial gerrymanders by leveraging tools like advocacy and litigation to reform state redistricting processes.

Litigation efforts have been extensive, with cases in Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Nevada   reaching the highest levels. In the summer of 2018, the US Supreme Court issued a disappointing decision in Gill v. Whitford, a partisan gerrymandering case that challenged Wisconsin’s state legislative maps. The court ruled that the individual plaintiffs did not have standing to challenge a statewide map, and the case was remanded back to the district court level. In August 2018, the League won a judgement overturning the North Carolina maps, which set up a new showdown at the US Supreme Court the following summer.

Advocacy efforts during the biennium focused on reform, building grassroots support, and transparency and participation in the redistricting process. In July of 2018, LWVUS initiated a grant that invested $120,000 in twelve state Leagues for the purpose of building support for redistricting reform and educating voters about the need for redistricting reform in their states. In Missouri, Colorado, Utah, and Michigan, Leagues used the funding to lead coalition efforts around ballot initiatives that would establish independent redistricting processes. The League was a key partner in these efforts, and ultimately every initiative was supported by a majority of voters, achieving victory in every state.

In March 2019, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the combined cases of Rucho v. LWV North Carolina and Rucho v. Common Cause, which were also combined with a partisan gerrymandering case from Maryland, Lamone v. Benisek. Together, the cases presented the court with a menu of options for establishing a standard it could use to determine partisan gerrymanders in future cases. On the day of the arguments, LWVUS and Common Cause cohosted a rally outside of the Supreme Court, where advocates, members of Congress, and elected officials called for an end to gerrymandering.

On June 27, 2019, the Supreme Court declined to set a standard to rein in partisan gerrymandering. The League was disappointed, saying in a statement, “the court missed a crucial opportunity to strengthen our republic.” This decision also overturned key victories that the League had won to redraw partisan gerrymandering maps in Ohio and Michigan.

Following the disappointing decision in the Rucho case, LWVUS launched the People Powered Fair Maps™ campaign, a multi-million-dollar, multi-year, nationwide campaign aimed at creating fair, transparent, people-powered redistricting processes to eliminate partisan and racial gerrymandering in every state and DC.

The People Powered Fair Maps™ campaign work looks different in each state, but the program is comprised of five major focus areas: ballot initiatives or referendums, protecting state constitutional provisions, state legislative reforms and defense of existing processes, federal advocacy for the restoration of the Voting Rights Act, and civic education and engagement. Each state was asked to engage in at least one of the five focus areas through advocacy, education, organizing and mobilization, partnerships, litigation, and/or protective or defensive actions.

At the federal level, Leagues continue to support the passage of the Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA), legislation that would restore the Voting Rights Act. The passage of the VRAA will ensure that states will not have to endure a redistricting cycle without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act in place. The VRAA passed the US House in December 2019 but is still awaiting a committee hearing and vote in the Senate.

No matter the focus of their redistricting efforts, every state League’s work is built on the foundation of civic engagement and education. State and local League leaders continue to be thought leaders and subject matter experts in redistricting while building strong relationships with community members. Leagues will engage residents in their immediate and adjacent communities and in coalition with community partners.

Census

In August 2018, the League sent a letter to the Department of Commerce urging them to remove the citizenship question from the 2020 Census form. The League asserted that the question would jeopardize the accuracy of the Census in all communities, an outcome that the nation will have to live with for the following ten years.

The League joined lawsuits challenging the citizenship question in New York and Maryland. In June 2019, the US Supreme Court ruled in Department of Commerce v. New York to block the inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census. Days later, the Trump Administration announced the 2020 Census forms would be printed without a citizenship question.

In March 2019, LWVUS submitted substantive comments to the US Census Bureau on the 2020 Address Canvassing operation. Later that year, the League joined the Census Project and other national and state organizations calling for full funding of the 2020 Census in the FY20 appropriations bills.

LWVUS also launched a Census action kit, which outlined a three-phase grassroots census plan across the country: census education, get out the count, and watchdog reporting. In the months leading up to Census Day on April 1, 2020, Leagues around the country shared information with their communities and joined Complete Count Committees. LWVUS joined the Census Counts coalition and became an official partner of the US Census Bureau. The League also co-branded an info card with the American Library Association to reach the public with information about how to participate in the 2020 Census.

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

In this biennium, LWVUS actively worked to reach the 38-state threshold of ratification for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) by supporting the work of state Leagues in Illinois, Nevada, and Virginia. Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the ERA in January of 2020. LWVUS also worked to remove the timeline placed on ERA ratification through special action with Congress.

Following Virginia’s ratification vote, LWVUS made removal of the ERA timeline a legislative priority. LWV sent additional letters to the US House and Senate to pass legislation introduced in Congress to remove the ratification deadline and engaged the LWVUS Lobby Corps to meet with offices around the issue. As the legislation moved through the House of Representatives, LWVUS sent a memo of support to the House Judiciary Committee supporting mark-up and passage of H.J. Res. 79, which removes the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

In 2019, LWVUS also joined the ERA Coalition, which is made up of 36 organizations across the country fighting to realize the ERA. In the spring/summer of 2020, the League launched a pass-through grant campaign with Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina, and Utah to sway Senators to support S.J. Res. 6 (companion bill of H.J. Res. 79). LWV.org also hosts an ongoing ERA action alert directed at the US Senate.

National Popular Vote

Delegates of the 2018 National Convention voted by resolution to add advocacy for the National Popular Vote (NPV) Interstate Compact to the 2018–2019 Campaign for Making Democracy Work®. If enacted, the NPV Interstate Compact would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes across all 50 states and DC.

The LWVUS NPV Task Force was established in May 2019 to evaluate state League support for the NPV Interstate Compact. Background information on NPV was distributed to the state Leagues, along with a survey to help determine the level of interest and member awareness regarding the NVP bill and Interstate Compact. The Task Force found that there was, in fact, enough interest and support within the state Leagues to provide them with valuable educational resources to further encourage ongoing support of the NPV effort.

Since its inception, members of the Task Force have attended various NPV-related events across the country to gauge the national interest and study the strategic framework for passing the NPV Interstate Compact. Many interviews were conducted with League leaders and members who consider themselves NPV activists. The Task Force has completed its work and will officially disband at the end of Convention 2020.
In January 2020, Chair Toni Zimmer directed the Task Force to prepare educational materials and conduct a Convention workshop to showcase its findings. These evergreen resources will be available for Leagues to use on the LWVUS NPV Task Force Information and Resources webpage. These resources will include a comprehensive PowerPoint Presentation, access to an NPV-specific Listserv for members, and an up-to-date NPV Blog that will include member profiles, NPV-related news, and shared member experiences.

United Nations Observer Corps

LWVUS actively continues to participate in the Campaign for Making Democracy Work® globally through the United Nations Observer Corps. LWVUS enjoys UN Special Consultative Status through the UN’s Economic and Social Council. Our UN Observer Corps leverages partnerships with UN Agencies, member states, and other affiliated non-governmental organizations.

The Corps works to promote women’s leadership and participation in democratic political processes and gender equality for all women and girls. The international work also includes the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the Impact on Issues positions promoting climate sustainability, universal healthcare, and the prevention of human rights violations, including violence against women and girls. Through the biennium, the LWVUS UN Observers carried out the following programs, which involved Parliamentarians from around the world and influenced policy at national levels:

• Critical Mass to Gender Parity—Women in Decision-Making DO Make a Difference! CSW63 side event, organized in conjunction with Inter-Parliamentary Union, UN Women, Trinidad & Tobago, Canada, Albania and other NGOs
• Multisectoral Solutions to Prevent Forced Labour and Trafficking of Children Panel discussion, organized in conjunction with SRSG-VAC and Canada at the UN
• Violence against Women Politicians Program at the US House of Representatives, organized in conjunction with the Inter-Parliamentary Union
• “We Have Your Back”—Ending the cycle of online violence against women and girl leaders CSW64 side event, organized in conjunction with Inter-Parliamentary Union, UN Women, Trinidad & Tobago, Canada, Albania and other NGOs
• Influenced accomplishments of SDG5 (Gender Equality), SDG3 (Health & Well Being) and SDG13 (Climate Action) by using lessons learned at the United Nations (think globally) with Leagues (act locally)
• Enabled delegations to attend COP24, COP25, CSocD, IDoG, and CSW63
• Expanded reach and reporting to state League conventions and local meetings
• State and local Leagues worked on universal healthcare; local Leagues helped Girl Scouts with badge for Voting in America; Cities for CEDAW programs started in several states due to influence of League Delegates to conferences; NJ expanded its anti-human trafficking policies and solutions
• Delegates shared their experiences with state and local media as well as state and local Leagues

Fighting Climate Change

The League continues to lobby the legislative and executive branches in support of strong environmental laws, while also supporting plaintiffs in a landmark climate change lawsuit. The LWVUS Toolkit for Climate Action provides state and local Leagues with current information and resources on environmental issues and opportunities to take action at the local and state level.

As the Trump administration rolls back environmental protections and the federal government retreats from the fight against climate change, the LWVUS has submitted comments to federal agencies in opposition to the diminishing of environmental regulations. In March 2020, the LWVUS objected to Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed regulations that would remove public participation in and science-based review of large federal projects.

A year earlier, the LWVUS and 87 organizations sent comments to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) regarding proposed rulemaking for procedural changes to the Coastal Zone Management Act (CMZA). The comments oppose rulemaking efforts to weaken state consistency review, which would make it harder for states to weigh in with concerns related to oil and gas leasing, exploration, development, and production processes.

Throughout the rulemaking process in 2018 and 2019, the League objected to the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule that repealed and replaced the Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan.

In September 2019, the League joined other concerned organizations to urge Senate leaders to increase funding for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Nonpoint Source Management Program, the primary federal program with a nationwide reach and a mission of cleaning up waterways impaired by nonpoint source pollution.

In 2018, as the Trump administration threatened to (and ultimately did) withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the LWVUS lobbied the House and Senate in support of HR 9, the Climate Action Now Act, to keep the United States in the Paris Agreement and to reinforce our national resolve to meet America’s climate action commitments.

Since LWV Convention in 2016, LWVUS has actively supported the 21 young people from across the United States who filed a landmark constitutional climate change lawsuit against the federal government in Juliana et al v. United States. LWVUS and LWV of Oregon filed a series of amicus briefs in the case as it made its way through the federal courts. In January 2020, the case was dismissed “reluctantly” by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. In March 2020, the LWVUS and LWVOR filed an amicus brief asking the 9th Circuit to convene a new panel of 11 circuit court judges to review the opinion.

The League has also participated in worldwide actions in support of environmental protection over the past two years. On April 22, 2020, the League of Women Voters joined other advocates around the world to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and the environmental laws that have protected the public health of millions of Americans for five decades. In December 2018, League delegates attended the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 24th Conference of the Parties (COP24) in Katowice, Poland. And in September 2019, LWVUS members and staff participated in the Global Climate Strike March in Washington, DC.

Building a More Inclusive Culture

The League is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in principle and practice. During the past biennium, the DEI Committee, which is comprised of national board and local leaders, has been focused on organizational culture change that will allow Leagues to more seamlessly apply a DEI lens to our mission work. Dimensions of diversity that have been emphasized in the League context alongside racial equity include intergenerational dynamics, socioeconomic differences, gender identity, and interpersonal engagement. Survey data and anecdotal evidence suggests that the Leagues who have made more progress in integrating a DEI lens into their work are the ones who have been most successful in retaining the surge in membership since 2016.

LWVUS developed and recommend the national student PMP waiver, which has allowed Leagues greater flexibility for how they engage with and bring students into the organization. As a result of the new initiatives taken by Leagues, supported by this waiver, student membership has experienced a growth of 243% since it was put in place.

Building on the training provided at Convention 2018 to 1,000+ attendees, the Board created a DEI action plan with consulting firm Diversity Dimensions, which has been used as a guide for the work of the biennium. This has included several key elements:

• Training webinars: hosted 15 DEI webinars with nearly 2,000 views
• Success stories: featured 10 League success stories in the League Update and on the League Management Site
• In-person training: provided implicit bias training to the LWVUS Board, Nominating Committee, and state League leaders; provided monthly trainings for LWVUS staff
• Online training materials: launched a 5-module DEI training series, accessed 521 times by League leaders; created an online guide for individual DEI work, organizational DEI work, and advanced learning, used by 880 users from 35 states
• Learning platform: initiated an online course pilot program on social equity with 50 Leagues
• State League support: developed DEI-focused action plans with 15 Ruth S. Shur Fellows, a group of experienced League leaders selected and prepared to serve as mentors and coaches to other Leagues around the country

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