Observer Corp Toolkit

Overview

The League has been a champion of government transparency since our founding in 1920. It is one of our core principles and a vital part of our mission. Our efforts in this area reinforce our reputation of fairness, nonpartisanship, and trust. Experience has shown the importance of the League being present to watch—and to take action when necessary. 

Decisions that determine how our schools will be run, where district lines will be drawn, at what level community safety programs will be funded, and how voter challenges will be handled impact our lives and are vital to our well-being. Now more than ever, these kinds of decisions need to be made with public input and oversight. One important way to ensure that is to observe government meetings. 

Leagues can learn how to develop and execute an observer corps with our toolkit! Click the button below to automatically download the PDF.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD: OBSERVER CORPS TOOLKIT

What is an Observer Corps, and why do we need it?

An Observer Corps is a structured way for individuals to exercise their right to know and provide a valuable service to both the League and the community. Observer Corps helps ensure that individuals are aware of the decisions that impact their lives and their communities, and it promotes government transparency and accountability. Observers keep elected and appointed officials on notice – someone is watching what decisions are being made and how they are being made.

While the primary reason for creating and maintaining an Observer Corps is to promote and ensure a healthy democracy, there are also numerous benefits for Leagues that have Observer Corps: member engagement, community engagement, advocacy strategy development, media visibility, and more. 

By looking at how an Observer Corps can benefit the larger community, the program’s range and scope of influence can be better understood. Observer Corps benefits the community by: 

• Creating a civically engaged and empowered cadre of watchdogs;
• Connecting individuals (observers and others with whom their observations are shared) with government;
• Promoting open, transparent, and accountable government;
• Fostering public trust;
• Connecting elected/appointed officials with their constituents;
• Educating the public about issues impacting their communities and their lives; and
• Identifying areas where action or improvement is needed.

The Role of an Observer

An observer is an individual who attends a governmental meeting, notes what happens at the meeting, and reports back to the League. By attending public meetings of governmental bodies/agencies/committees, observers learn more about what their government is doing. They learn about the issues facing their community and how issues are being addressed. 

Ideally, observers are monitoring both the issues being discussed as well as the process by which they are being discussed. While not every item up for discussion will relate to a League’s priorities, ensuring that the meeting is being conducted in an open and acceptable way is critical to all of the League’s efforts and the health of our democracy. The information observers gather can help inform advocacy actions and mobilize community partners. 

Observer Corps are not vehicles for individuals to work personal or partisan agendas. Observers generally do not “act” on issues in these meetings. Unless serving as a designated spokesperson for the League, observers should not provide commentary or testimony on issues on behalf of the League. Instead, observers attend meetings to gather information. 

Goal Setting

Leagues should establish clear goals for their Observer Corps to ensure that they get the biggest return on the investment of their most precious resource: their members’ time. 

There are three main areas that Leagues should consider when establishing their goals:

1. What governmental bodies, agencies, or offices will it monitor;
2. What types of information will observers be monitoring; and
3. What will be done with the information collected?

What Governmental Bodies

Observers can attend a myriad of meetings (in-person or remotely, or even after the fact through recordings) — state legislative, executive agency, local board of elections, city/town councils, county commissioners, school boards, zoning/planning boards, and others. Since it is impossible for an individual League to monitor every office or agency within its jurisdiction, Leagues must prioritize their efforts and choose which agencies or offices they will observe. One way to do this is to employ questions similar to those that are used to help focus a League’s legislative or programmatic work: 

• Where can the League have the most impact—on what issue or office/agency?
• Is there an office or agency that is of particular concern (e.g., some scandal, allegations of corruption, or hotly contested issues)?
• What office or agency has jurisdiction over the issues that are considered the organization’s areas of expertise or strength (e.g., voting systems)?
• What issues have high member interest and what office or agency has jurisdiction over them?
• What is the “hottest” issue in the community and where (through what office or agency) will it be resolved?
• Does a volunteer observer have a particular interest or strength that can be utilized?
• Where would the League’s impact be most visible?
• Where would the issues addressed via the governing body and issues that are priority for the League intersect?
• Where is the climate “ripe” for change or input?

Types of Information

There are two broad categories of information that an observer can collect:

1. Process and protocol and;
2. Content

Process and protocol encompass several components

• Who is there | Are the members of the board, commission, or agency present? Has a quorum been met to take a vote? Is appropriate staff present? Are members of the media present? Are members of the public present? Are other organizations present?
• How is the meeting being conducted | Was the meeting announced in advance? Was the agenda available in advance of the meeting? Is the agenda being followed? Are the proceedings being conducted in a professional manner? Are items being discussed— or do decisions appear to be “cut and dried”? Is there adequate opportunity for public input? What is the overall tone or atmosphere? Was the meeting streamed or made available to remote participants? Are rules and procedural information shared and made available to the public?
• Where is the meeting being conducted | Is the venue accessible? Can the proceedings be heard? Can the space accommodate members of the public?  

The second set of information relates to the agenda items themselves. What issues are being discussed? Did they approve some action? If so, does it relate to any of the League’s priorities or positions?  

Content includes these components 

• What was discussed during the meeting? | What were the highlights of the meeting? Was there a stand-out topic? Who presented on that topic? What was the general content focused on? What decisions were made? What were messages heard in the testimony in opposition or support of the topic? What comments or questions were posed to members of the committee or agency? What was the final vote and action taken? Who will be affected by the decisions made?
• Was there a connection to an LWV position? | Was an LWVUS or state League position connected with the issue discussed?  

Both sets of information are important as they inform the League about where possible follow-up action is needed. 

Reporting Your Observations

The notes taken about your observations will inform your observer report. These reports will go to state and local Leagues to advise the voter services committee and board of opportunities for action based on League positions. Reporting takes an inventory of the meeting process while also holding local officials accountable. Through observer reports, the community receives a snapshot of how to improve access to and confidence in how decisions are made that impact civic life. 

What Will Be Done With Information Collected

Knowing what will be done with the information is key to knowing what information to collect. While different situations will require different actions, there should be some consistent venue for sharing the information collected — e.g., a podcast, a social education series, a column in a local newspaper, articles in the monthly League newsletter, a report distributed to members, or updates on the League’s website. 

While attending and observing governmental meetings is useful, sharing what is observed is where the Observer Corps can have their greatest impact. It is critical to plan in advance, think through, and commit to sharing what observers learn as widely as possible through media outreach, engagement of public officials, and public education efforts.