At the local level, League
of Women Voters' members make it their business to monitor activities
in local government, from the City Council to the School Board. We
research the issues thoroughly before reaching consensus and adopting
positions. In addition, we work with the state and national Leagues
to help them reach their goals, confident that their positions have
been adopted through the same careful research and study as our own.
Following is an overview of the scope of our work:
Inform --
The League is famous for its candidate debates, and we also sponsor
public issue forums. We supply the media and policy makers with
thorough and balanced analyses of key issues, and the voters with
factual information on candidate positions at election time.
Lobby --
Although we are nonpartisan, when, after study and discussion, the
League of Women Voters takes a stand on an issue, we mobilize every
resource available to us to turn that stand into public policy.
We write letters, supply expert testimony, and organize grass roots
lobbying efforts. We make it a point to know the decision makers
and to make sure that they know the League's position and the reasoning
behind it.
Initiate --
League involvement in an issue can result in the introduction and
passage of legislation that turns the consensus position into law.
Encourage --
Most importantly, the League promotes the participation of every
citizen in the process of democratic government, from voting in
elections, to understanding issues, to registering opinions with
lawmakers.
Recruit --
Abraham Lincoln said it and Sir Winston Churchill reiterated that,
"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, still
remains the sovereign definition of democracy." Yet democracy in
practice often falls short of democracy as an ideal. The League
of Women Voters strives to help make democracy more than a form
of government but a way of life for all citizens. Will you help
us? We need you.
