By Mary Coltrane, 1st Vice President, LWV of Washington 

The LWVUS 2022 convention occurs this year in Denver and virtually Thursday, June 23 through Sunday, June 26, with the plenary session beginning Friday, June 24. The national convention is the LWVUS equivalent to a local League annual meeting or a state League convention. They deal with budget, bylaws, and programs—the nuts and bolts of all League work. The LWVUS convention occurs every other year at the same time as the LWV of Washington’s state council, which this year is June 10-12; the national League council occurs the same year as our state convention.  

The national convention is always exciting. This year it will be a hybrid—virtual and live—it will be interesting to see this! If you’re wondering how programs work at the LWVUS, you will find out at the national convention, as a delegate or as an observer, virtual or in-person. Delegates bring back this information to share with others in their League.  

You can track developments via the League Update (Leaders’ Update) newsletter, so be sure to sign up for this important information. The League Update is sent out every other Thursday afternoon. Here is an excerpt from the April 7 League Update. 

The LWVUS board is recommending the read option of the Campaign for Making Democracy Work as a LWV Program for 2022–2024. More than 300 Leagues participated in the LWVUS program planning process, and 100% of Leagues voted that the LWVUS should continue prioritizing the Campaign for Making Democracy Work in the next biennium. Leagues had the opportunity to indicate if there was another position or policy that the LWVUS should work on. Staff will use those recommendations to shape the watchdog issues for the LWVUS to respond if issues come up related to those topics. The Program Planning Committee will host a webinar on May 5 at 4 p.m. ET (registration details to follow) to explain in more detail the proposed program, including recommended concurrences as well as other concurrences and requests for studies being put forward by Leagues. A new platform has been created for the LWVUS and Leagues proposing studies and concurrences to post information on their proposals and for all League members to review and engage in discussion. For questions, email us at progplan@lwv.org.  

The LWVUS continues to update information, so make sure you’re in the loop by signing up for the League Update.