With its unprecedented step on April 17 declaring the United States faces a constitutional crisis, the League of Women Voters also unveiled its Unite and Rise 8.5 Initiative.

League leadership has determined the way forward in the wake of unceasing assaults on our democracy is nonviolent resistance and continued commitment to the nonpartisan principles that have been a bedrock of the League since its founding more than 105 years ago.

The Unite and Rise 8.5 initiative is based on findings by the Harvard University-based Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights that nonviolent protests engaging at least 3.5 percent of a population have never failed to bring about change. The center also found that nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts.

This is why the League is aiming to activate 8.5 million people across the U.S. Approximately 245 million people voted in the 2024 General Election—and 3.5% of this total is 8,575,000 people, prompting the 8.5 reference.

To succeed, all Americans who value democracy and constitutional rights – Democrat, Republican or Independent--need to make their voices heard. Your voice matters and you are welcome to join the Unite and Rise initiative. You do not need to be an active voter or League member. New faces and new spirit are welcome.

Sign Up for Unite and Rise

A Multi-Pronged Approach

The initiative utilizes a multi-pronged approach, including civic education and engagement, public mobilization, partnership-building and legal advocacy, to educate voters and drive change.

To support the initiative in Washington state, the LWVWA has created a Resisting Threats to Democracy webpage that provides key information for taking action now, when your voice and efforts matter most.

The webpage provides information about rallies and protests (as well as resources at those events), about how to get ready to take action and what kind of actions you can take once you’re ready.

We need a diverse group of people taking action in many ways.

Check back often for updates.

Visit Resisting Threats
to Democracy Webpage

With activities ignited by legislators in Texas and the governor in California, League of Women Voters members across the nation are wrestling with the question of mid-cycle redistricting.

At all levels of our tri-federated structure—local, state and national—the League believes that redistricting should only happen every 10 years and be based on population. Furthermore, the process should always put communities of interest before partisan advantage.

For that reason and others, the League strongly opposes the “gerrymandering arms race” that began earlier this summer when Texas lawmakers succumbed to President Trump’s demands to redraw districts to benefit Republicans and Gov. Newsom in California responded with a push to have districts redrawn in California to benefit Democrats.

The “arms race” continues with activity and discussions elsewhere, including in Florida, New York, Nebraska, Ohio and New Jersey.

The League believes these tactics disenfranchise voters, especially Black and brown voters.

While opposing mid-cycle redistricting, the League affirms that any redistricting process must include these guarantees:

Transparency Is Vital

• All states undertaking mid-cycle redistricting must adhere to transparent, nonpartisan standards that protect voters and communities.
• Legislators and commissions must hold public hearings, release draft maps and provide clear explanations for any proposed map changes.
• All redistricting deliberations must occur in open forums, subject to state open meeting laws. Members of the public must have access to draft maps, data and decision-making processes at every stage.
• Public hearings and opportunities for feedback must be guaranteed in all affected communities. States should hold hearings in the evenings and weekends to increase access.

Communities

Legislators implementing new maps must protect people over political interests. States must avoid practices that dilute or divide communities that have been historically and continuously targeted by manipulative map-drawing:

• Majority-minority districts
• Native American reservations
• Young voters in colleges and universities
• Rural and agricultural communities

Finally, officials for the national organization officials have asserted, “If you harm our communities, the League of Women Voters will fight back in court and at the ballot box."

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In Washington, we note the state is very unlikely to redistrict at this time. A federal lawsuit forced the redrawing of Washington legislative maps in 2024. And state lawmakers are unlikely to convene a special session to call the Redistricting Commission back into session to redo Congressional maps.

To learn more about redistricting in Washington and the League’s efforts to improve the process, join the Redistricting Reform Task Force, which meets at 2pm the third Monday of each month. Links can be found on the LWVWA event calendar.

By Kate Lunceford, LWVWA Issue Chair for Forests

A six-city, Washington tour sparking the launch of a campaign to secure constitutional protection of environmental rights in the state starts Sept. 14 in Seattle.

The Constitutional Change for a Livable Future: The Green Amendment Tour  also will stop in Olympia (Sept. 15); Vancouver (Sept. 16); Yakima (Sept. 17); Richland (Sept. 18); and Spokane (Sept. 19).

LWVWA supported the call for an amendment to the state constitution to establish protection for environmental rights during the 2023-2024 Legislature, based on the League’s positions on forests and resource management.

The amendment recognizes and elevates citizens’ rights to clean air and water and a stable climate to an inalienable standard.

Furthermore, the amendment would set a foundation for sustainable practices and reinforce the state’s responsibility to safeguard the environment for the benefit of its citizens.

The amendment would provide broad guidance that ensures thoughtful government decision-making, substantively and procedurally. It considers environmental impacts early in the process when prevention of pollution, degradation and environmental harm is most possible.

Two other states—Montana and Pennsylvania—have passed Green Amendments. In Montana. 16 youngsters—ages 2 to 18—succeeded in a lawsuit against the state—Held v. Montana—based on the amendment. The plaintiffs argued that the state's support of the fossil-fuel industry had worsened the effects of climate change on the lives and in doing so, had deprived them of their constitutional rights.

The state Supreme Court upheld the ruling last year.

The tour will feature Maya van Rossum, founder of the national nonprofit, Green Amendments: For the Generations.

Kate Lunceford, LWVWA Issue Chair for Forests, is a retired Certified Property Manager most recently with Trammell Crow Company. She owned the bakery Rudy's Patisserie in west Baltimore, MD, for 10 years. She began managing commercial property with the shopping center where one of her bakery outlets was located. Kate joined LWV of Snohomish County in 2013 where she found talented, interested people engaged in the work of strengthening democracy.

Her interest in forest issues grew out of the LWV of Snohomish County’s Tree Campaign. LWVSC is shepherding an Urban Tree Canopy Policy in the 2024 county Comprehensive Plan Update. Laws and policies governing urban trees in state law led to the question of whether trees in urban areas and in forest lands could be better managed to provide climate mitigation and biodiversity.

The League of Women Voters of Washington this summer introduced a new series of workshops in response to the constitutional crisis the national organization has declared.  

Appropriately titled Democracy Power-Ups!, the workshops are designed to provide members with added tools for speaking up and working to protect democracy. 

“The challenges facing us as a nation are grave. We want to ensure that League members—as capable as they are—have the tools and skills to respond effectively,” said Karen Crowley, state League president.

LWVUS leadership on April 17 declared a constitutional crisis, stating “the foundational principles that have sustained our democracy—checks and balances, the rule of law, free and fair elections—are under direct and sustained threat.”

The state League's initial trainings include a series of four Media & News Literacy Educational Workshops and a separate workshop on writing letters to the editor.

The media literacy workshops are all online and feature interactive, skill-based exercises for participants, according to project manager Brenda Mann Harrison. “We are at a time when it is becoming harder to know the real facts,” she said. “This training will help participants discern what is true and what is false.”

Harrison noted that League members who designed and teach the media literacy workshops have more than 40 years of combined experience in media literacy education.

At present, the online workshops are open only to League members, but Crowley said the League may make them available to the public in time. “We very easily see these as trainings that libraries, community media and civic organizations may want to share with their audiences.”

In mid-September, the League will present a workshop on writing letters to the editor. Crowley noted League members in many communities already have a reputation for being frequent letter writers. “But with the spate of unconstitutional Executive Orders, the dispatch of National Guard members to our cities and the unceasing false attacks on the validity and accuracy of elections, we believe now more than ever we need to speak out and call for adherence to our basic rights.”

The letter-writing workshop is also interactive and will be led by two professional journalists. Crowley noted that letters to the editor remain one of the most read sections of newspapers, both print and online versions.

League members from Clark and Seattle-King counties teamed with award-winning singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper in mid-August for two concerts, where the performer, most often-identified by her songs “Time After Time” and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” continued her call for fundamental rights. 

With stops Aug. 17 at the Cascades Amphitheater in Ridgefield, just north of Vancouver, and Aug. 19 at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, Lauper spoke out in support of work by the Human Rights Campaign, Planned Parenthood and the League of Women Voters. 
 
The concerts were part of a 25-stop tour in North America this summer, the second leg of Lauper's “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour,” launched last summer. Although the tour has been identified as her final, Lauper has said she is not retiring and will be open to occasional performances. 

Clark League member Teresa Torres explained how the events came about: “We understand she wanted to partner with three groups that she felt very strongly about, and so she reached out to the national League to invite us to be on hand. Originally, Cyndi wanted us to promote voter registration. She feels very strongly about the SAVE Act, too, and so we talked about that.” 

A feminist, Lauper has been a longtime supporter of LGBTQ rights and is known for statements like “nobody is free until everybody’s free” and for calling for supporters to vote in every election.
 
League members dressed in purple t-shirts provided by LWVUS and distributed merchandise featuring the Vote 411 logo. 

“It was so positive,” Torres said. “People approached us and said ‘I know about the League. You are great.’” 

Torres said most people the Clark group encountered were registered, but a number needed to update their address.   

The Journal of the San Juan Islands published this essay by San Juan League president Susan Martin, who explains how the League stays true to its 105-year-old commitment to nonpartisanship while working to defend democracy. 

Martin, professor emerita of International Migration at Georgetown University, most recently led the LWVWA’s immigration study, “Welcoming Immigrants in Washington State.” The article was published Aug. 21. 

The League of Women Voters, a non-partisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of public policy issues, and influence public policy through education and advocacy. At the root of the League’s actions is our love for democracy.  

Many residents in San Juan County have participated in the League’s candidate forums. As a non-partisan organization, we do not endorse candidates or political parties. In fact, the presidents and chairs of Voter Services are barred from making contributions or taking other actions that may indicate a preference for one candidate or party over another. Maintaining our non-partisanship is one way that we empower voters and defend democracy.  

Being non-partisan does not stop the League from taking positions on issues that affect our democracy. When we adopt a position, it must be based on serious research and analysis. During the past two years, the San Juan League chaired a study that led to a new position for the League of Women Voters of Washington State titled "Welcoming Immigrants in Washington State.” Our local League also participated actively in building consensus for positions on studies conducted about local news and democracy, elder care in Washington and reforms of the federal judiciary.  

When we see assaults on democracy, we do not stay quiet. In April 2025, the national League declared that the United States is facing a constitutional crisis. As Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters, and Dianna Wynn, president of the U.S. League, stated: "The foundational principles that have sustained our democracy—checks and balances, the rule of law, free and fair elections—are under direct and sustained threat. In this extraordinary moment, we cannot proceed with business as usual. All Americans—no matter who you voted for in 2024—need to come together, stand united, and fight back to save our democracy. We cannot afford to fail the generations to come.”  

Since this declaration, the League nationwide is taking steps, along with allied organizations, to educate, advocate, and, when necessary, litigate in defense of democracy.  

In May, the League launched the Unite and Rise 8.5 initiative, which aims to mobilize 8.5 million voters using the power of voter engagement as a cornerstone of our democracy. Unite and Rise 8.5 showcases the many ways voters can drive change, including through advocacy, mobilization, civic education, and engagement. For example, the League is urging members of the U.S. Senate to defeat the SAVE Act, as its passage would make it more difficult to vote in Washington state and elsewhere in the country.  

Leagues across the country also have sued to stop voter suppression, challenging those who seek to restrict Black, brown, female, disabled and other Americans from making their voices heard in our democracy. The League—including the League of the San Juans, will continue to offer voter forums, register voters, provide civics education to children and adults, and provide information based on evidence, not party alignment.  

Please join us in this important work. All residents of San Juan County are welcome to attend our voter forums and informational meetings on issues of importance to all of us. 

We encourage you to become a member of the League to get even more information about the state of our democracy from the national, state and local leagues. You can become a member online (https://portal.lwv.org/membership) or send a check to LWVSJ, PO Box 784, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. To ensure that everyone interested in protecting democracy is able to join, the League has a "pay-as-you-can" policy.  

As Carrie Chapman Catt, who first proposed the creation of the League of Women Voters, stated so eloquently, “Everybody counts in applying democracy. And there will never be a true democracy until every responsible and law-abiding adult in it, without regard to race, sex, color or creed has his or her own inalienable and (sic) unpurchasable voice in government.”  

This is still our mission and the reason that it is up to all of us to protect our democracy.  

The 2025 election season is here! Starting with the August Primary.

Local Leagues across the state, have been (and will continue to be) holding candidate forums and other opportunities for voters to hear directly from the candidates on their ballots. Local Leagues are also hard at work updating Vote411.org, a comprehensive one-stop-shop for aiding voters in everything from registering to vote to providing the info they need to cast an informed, empowered ballot.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization which does not endorse candidates. Instead, it offers Vote411 as a tool to enable voters to make their own informed choices. All candidates for a race receive the same questions and voters can see their responses displayed side-by-side for comparison

The rest of this article will be a collection of candidate forums and other voter resources to help you get prepared for the 2025 election season.

Check out our online voter tools!
Find registration info, ballot drop box locations, and other information to help you be an informed voter. View our voter tools.

Find Local League Candidate Forums
View our calendar with the currently scheduled local League candidate forums and forum recordings. Check back throughout election season, as this calendar will continue to be updated. View the calendar. 

To check in with a specific local League to see their candidate forums or other resources for voters, click on the local League below:

• Bellingham/Whatcom County
• Benton/Franklin Counties 
• Clallam County
• Clark County
  
• Jefferson County Unit-at-Large
  
• Kitsap County
  
• Kittitas County 
• Mason County 
• Pullman Area
  
• San Juans
  
• Seattle/King County 
• LWV Skagit County
• Snohomish County
  
• Spokane Area 
• Tacoma/Pierce County
  
• Thurston County
  
• Whidbey Island 
• Yakima County 

Below is a round up of some of the ways the League has stood up and spoken out against threats to democracy in the United States in the month of June.

Standing Up For Voting Rights

• The LWV of Florida and partners seek an injunction to halt a Florida law that guts the ballot initiative process with sweeping restrictions. 
• The LWV of North Carolina and partners seek to intervene in a NC voting case brought by the DOJ which wrongly challenges the eligibility of 200,000 voters. 

Speaking Out for the Rights of Protestors, Politicians, and Public Officials

• The right to peacefully protest and express dissent against the government is enshrined in the US Constitution, and the League spoke out firmly in support of this right.
• The League publicly condemned violence against activists at a courthouse in Boulder, CO—as well as the use of federal force against protestors in Los Angeles County, CA. 
• LWVUS and the LWV of Minnesota reasserted that political violence has no place in our democracy and condemned the tragic political assassination of Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her family and the shooting of Minnesota Senator John Hoffman and his family. 
• The League publicly expressed concern about actions taken against US lawmakers, including the indictment of Rep. Monica McIver and the violent removal of Sen. Alex Padilla.
• The LWV also spoke out about President Trump's direction to the DOJ to investigate former President Biden, a political rival. 

Democracy Issues

• The League and partners filed legal briefs urging federal courts to invalidate an illegal executive order seeking to revoke birthright citizenship.
• The LWV strongly spoke out against SCOTUS using its shadow docket to allow the Trump administration to deport migrants without due process. 
• A healthy US democracy requires ALL of its members to be able to live freely and access their fundamental rights, ongoing attacks against the LGBTQIA+ community present a threat to democracy. The League publicly, and loudly, affirms that democracy depends on transgender rights. 

League members came together at this year's LWVWA Convention in Vancouver, Washington to Stand Up For Democracy. Together, delegates took on the important work of electing incoming Directors and Nominating Committee members, passing a budget, updating our bylaws and finally, defining our Program of Work. We were presented with a rich selection of workshops and warmly welcomed and hosted by members of the LWV of Clark County. 

It was a full agenda that included powerful messaging from inspirational speakers. We heard from Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown who lifted us up with his commitment to justice and hope. Dr. Kate Starbird, Associate Professor at the University of Washington in the Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering, shared her research on how public 'sense-making' can lead to misinformation during crises. It was a sobering presentation. LWVUS President Dianna Wynn delivered the final keynote that lit a fire under the entire delegation. She encouraged each of us to be actively and visibly present in our communities. She reminded us that: "Nonpartisan is not neutral. We are a political organization." When asked what activism might look like, she urged us to be safe, then added: "From Seneca Falls forward, hope has always fueled activism. Hope isn't a lottery ticket you sit on hoping to win. Hope is an axe you keep by the door in case there's a fire and you have to break it down."

As I reflect on the three days of plenary sessions, I am struck by the connection of the theme of our Convention to the work—standing up for democracy. Delegates debated, submitted amendments, wrote resolutions, voted, debated again, and voiced their directions to the incoming board of directors. A convention is democracy in action. The process was passionate. The discourse was civil. In the end, the work reflected the wisdom of the impressive group of leaders. 

Members will be able to review recordings of many of the presentations and workshops on the LWVWA website soon. 

I am honored to have been elected your president and look forward to working with the Board to move the approved Program of Work items forward. Members said yes to these projects:

• Update the LWVWA's 1980 Indian Treaty Rights Study
• Update the LWVWA's 1970 Washington State Housing Study
• Launch an education project to assess the strength of democracy in Washington State—LWVWA State of Democracy: Washington report.

What's next? The new Board of Directors is coming together for an all-day retreat in July. We will review the input from Convention and do some creative dreaming about how the LWVWA can rise to meet the challenges facing us. How do we best use resources to support both local Leagues and the bold direction set by national League leadership? How do we chart our own transformation roadmap that mirrors the LWVUS Transformation Journey? We must deliver on the new Program of Work and set strategic priorities that carry us forward in powerful ways. 

We have big work to do. I will be keeping in touch with local League leaders and inviting input on these questions. I welcome your thoughts. Please reach out to me. 

We are living in historic, challenging times. Be hopeful. Be safe. Know this: when we work together with courage, we have everything we need. Together, we are enough. 

Karen Crowley, LWVWA President

By Mary Coltrane, LWVWA President

The League of Women Voters' program year is fast coming to a close. Local Leagues are holding their annual meetings and deciding on their new  leadership, budgets, and program for the upcoming year. They are updating their bylaws to align with LWVUS' bylaws around League membership. Gone is reference to per member payments. Members will no join and renew membership on the LWVUS website.

All these changes happen at the LWVWA as well. With Convention just a short time away, the Convention Planning Committee and the many volunteers from our host, LWV Clark County, are finalizing many details to ensure delegates have the best time ever.

We are facing extraordinary assaults on the democracy Leaguers cherish. The LWVWA Board of Directors wants delegates to walk away from this experience committed and energized to do the hard work that lies ahead.

The League, at all levels, continues its work—steadfast and committed, renewing and engaging. As we look ahead to the next biennium, it's worthwhile to look back at all we've done over the last two years. Many, many volunteers made this work possible. 

Not everyone can go to Convention, so here is the letter I wrote to the delegates welcoming them to Convention 2025. I hope you will be as impressed as I was as I tallied up all that the LWVWA did at the state level in the last two years. Welcome to Convention!