By Lunell Haught, President, LWV of Washington 

I hear it takes soooo looooooooong to get anything done in the League. Sometimes that’s true—and there’s a reason—the League of Women Voters is based on democratic principles. We each have a voice, and it simply takes time to hear all the voices in a democracy. We could be an organization in which a few (a board or a staff) decide for the many, but we aren’t organized that way. Delegates attend the state meeting (convention) to decide what we want to do, how we want to use our resources, and who our leadership should be. We use Robert’s Rules of Order not to squelch people but to ensure that the lone voice can be heard and considered in decision-making. This means we really are a grassroots organization.  

We are organized this way so when the League “speaks” it is based on objective study, which informs the consensus process that goes into creating the positions we use in lobbying. This ensures we know what we are talking about and that the membership (grassroots) is behind an action. It takes time to do our own research and go through all the local Leagues to develop consensus. We do our own homework, and we pay our own way. That is part of why we are so respected.  

It sometimes takes a while to do things because the League is an all-volunteer organization. Most of us have full lives, care for others, and have jobs and obligations—the League is part, but not all, of our life.  

On the other hand, we can turn on a dime. It took us only a short time to adapt to the new environment caused by the pandemic, for example. We have staged meetings (council, convention, Action Workshops, Lobby Week, voter services, debates) involving hundreds of people who learned how to use Zoom technology within a week. With the help of one paid employee we have responded to requests, modified processes, tried new ideas, and created a statewide network of people interested and active in both new and continuing League work.  

The point is that some things do take time because we value doing our own research or adopting research studies and positions from other Leagues. We also value our credibility. We value our nonpartisanship, which is increasingly difficult. We value all the voices that make up our grassroots organization. 

If you want to try something new, please do. Very few things are written in stone. Suggesting ways to do things differently is refreshing, and it helps when initiating something new to find out what has been done before and how that worked. This is a sensitive time for many people; longtime members should feel their work is valued even when that work changes. Newer members should feel comfortable suggesting and implementing something new. The purpose is to figure out what works—for all—and to be open to ideas about how things are done. That’s the long and the short of it.