First-Time Voter Checklist (Blog) 5/12/2022 Casting your first vote is exciting -- and sometimes confusing. But it doesn't have to be. Follow this easy guide from VOTE411.org to make your…
With Liberty and Justice for All (Except DC) (Blog) 5/10/2022 This blog was written by members of the League of Women Voters of DC District citizens do not have the liberty that folks across the US have. …, This has been a problem for centuries; for instance, it wasn’t until 1888 that the right to trial by jury was extended to District residents. It…
Remarks on the Leaked Roe v. Wade Draft Opinion (Blog) 5/5/2022 On Tuesday, May 5, the League's national organizing director, Alma Couverthie, spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court regarding the leaked draft…, Those of us who believe in the promise of our democracy also believe in the power of elected officials to protect the rights of the people. Yet this…, Abortion rights are rooted in the implied Constitutional right to privacy. If Roe and Planned Parenthood are overturned, other personal…, Our ability to participate in our democracy is dependent on our autonomy over our own bodies. The League of Women Voters signed on as amicus…
ICYMI: League CEO Speaks at Greenleaf Christian Church (Blog) 4/28/2022 Bishop William Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign and national board member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored…, But Nehemiah understood the assignment. He also understood his privilege. See, he used his privilege, his Trojan Horse status, to bring impacted…, When I was starting to understand my purpose, I happened to be working as a community organizer. It was then I learned about power — power…, But we don’t need those that mock us to tell us how to heal America. We don’t need them to tell us how to fix our lives. Because we know — we…, Greenleaf Worship Celebration from Greenleaf Christian Church on Vimeo.
Arab American Women in Democracy You Should Know (Blog) 4/26/2022 April is Arab American Heritage Month! This month (and all year long), we celebrate the rich and diverse culture and contributions of the Arab…, Charlene Mekled Elder: Judge In 2006, Judge Charlene Mekled Elder was appointed to the Wayne County 3rd Circuit Court by Michigan Governor…
How Changing Our Economy Can Protect Our Planet (Blog) 4/20/2022 This Earth Day, many of us are asking one question: “What is my role in addressing climate change?” We see countless articles listing the “top ten…, Linear processes “take, make, and waste,” by taking materials from the earth, making a product, and moving it to a landfill at the end of its useful…
Women's Equality and Ending Sexual Violence (Blog) 4/13/2022 Content Warning: This blog discusses sexual violence and assault. Over the years, the United States has made significant social and legal…, Our role in ending sexual violence mirrors our role in making democracy real for all of us — we must continue to uphold our values of equity…, Even with the above laws in place, it is clear – we need the Equal Rights Amendment. While the ERA doesn’t focus on sexual violence, it sets a…
Being an Election Worker: 101 (Blog) 4/11/2022 One of the most important ways you can get involved in promoting the freedom to vote and keeping our elections fair and accessible is by serving as…, IL: All the way through college there was never an inkling that I would work in government. Then the perfect storm came along in 2011; there…, Did anything surprise you about the experience? What did you learn? PS: I never expected the work to be so satisfying. To see firsthand how…
3 Cases of Redistricting Reform: 2018 vs. Today (Blog) 4/5/2022 Partisan gerrymandering, i.e., designing electoral maps to benefit a particular political party during the redistricting process, goes against the…, Missouri: The Clean Missouri Initiative and Amendment 3 In 2018, voters in Missouri passed the Clean Missouri initiative, a ballot measure…, Bramer and Steiger also voiced concern that Amendment 3 broke with 150 years of precedent by only counting voting-eligible adults as part of the…, Proposal 2 also included several other pro-voter reforms, including automatic and same-day voter registration, as well as no-excuse absentee voting…, Utah: Proposition 4 In 2018, voters in Utah passed Proposition 4, which created a seven-member independent redistricting commission empowered…
Racial Gerrymandering and the 2021-2022 Redistricting Process (Blog) 3/31/2022 Every ten years following the census count, our nation undergoes the redistricting process. Redistricting is the process of drawing state, local, and…, Previously, voters of color were protected from gerrymandering by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA). Yet in the last decade, the Supreme Court…