Central to transforming the LWVWA into a “infrastructure builder,” as the state board of directors voted to do in April, is the creation of a new leadership structure featuring an executive director.  Amy Peloff, state League administrative director, was unanimously approved for the post earlier this month.

Peloff holds a Ph.D. from the University of Washington in Women’s Studies and a master of public administration from Virginia Commonwealth University and is a familiar face — or at least a familiar voice — to many.

For eight years she has overseen daily operations, implemented technology solutions, improved efficiency, streamlined communications and solved seemingly hundreds of last-minute crises, with good humor and great aplomb.

Peloff starts in her new role Aug. 1.  Above, she enjoys a bouquet given to her by the state board at its July 11 retreat in Snohomish.

Watch the August issue of In League for a profile of the League’s new executive director.

In an interview with a nine-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, two LWVWA leaders offer a comprehensive look at perhaps why fewer Americans vote than people who live in other Western democracies — and at specific challenges facing voters in Washington state. 

In “Who Keeps Their Voice in 2026?” longtime Pacific Northwest journalist Jeff Renner talks with LWVWA President Karen Crowley and Democracy and Redistricting Reform Issues Chair Alison McCaffree,who shine a light on both old and new barriers to voting. 

The 27-minute interview is one of the latest productions of Challenge 2.0. The multi-media series is produced by Paths to Understanding, a non-profit organization that, among other issues, is dedicated to fostering civic engagement.  

Despite the 19^th Amendment having extended voting rights to women more than 100 years ago and other legislative advances, restrictions and manipulation of voting districts continue to stymie voters. 

What’s more, the challenges keep coming, this year in the guise of the SAVE Act (a bill that requires people to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections), recent Supreme Court decisions and initiative efforts in Washington. 

For a quick peak, check out, at the 6:00-7:00 minute mark,how opposition to voting rights “has never stopped”; at the 7:25-9:40 mark,how “any threat to voting rights is a serious threat” and the false fear that people who should not be voting are voting; and, from 21:00-23:00 “the only way we’ll change that is, in fact, for you to participate.”   

By Dee Anne Finken, Communications Portfolio Director, LWV of Washington

Voters might feel a tad overwhelmed when they learn how many Supreme Court candidates are on their Aug. 4 primary ballots. Five of the nine seats on the bench are up for grabs with primaries in four of the five races happening next month for a total of 14 candidates. 

Last month, Seattle Times editorial page editor Kate Riley underscored the size of the pool of hopefuls in an essay headlined“Supreme interest in WA high court candidates in 2026 election.”  

Atop a story in the edgier Stranger was this summary: “The Washington State Supreme Court Races Are a BFD This Year.”Below that headline featuring the acronym fora “big deal” was another:“They’re the Most Important State Races in 2026 and No One Knows Anything About Them.” 

Anew feature on the state League website seeks to eliminate that awareness problem. It’s a link that gives finger-tip access to online, individual, six-minute interviews, pre-recorded live, with the Supreme Court primary candidates.

Providing voters ready access to information about candidates, including candidates for the court, has been a key mission of the League since its beginning.Last month, at the Washington state League’s Council in Lacey, Justice G. Helen Whitener put extra emphasis on the task. She discussed the importance of voting in what she termed a “pivotal time” in the nation and in Washington state. (Whitener is not up for re-election this year.)  

The plethora of primary candidates for the court also was an incentive for coming up with a novel approach for informing voters, said state board member Marlene Niemeier, who spearheaded the online project.   

It would have been impossible to set a single date for all of the candidates to turn out for a forum,” said Niemeier, who was assisted by President Karen Crowley, former state board member Shelley Kneip, and state League Administrative Director Amy Peloff.  

Inspired by Whitener’s message at Council, Niemeier and her colleagues contacted all of the court candidates and informed them of the plan to conduct and record one-on-one interviews, scheduled at the candidates’ convenience.  

Two days before the individual virtual interviews began on July 6, all 14 candidates were sent questions that were prepared by League members with assistance from legal professionals.  

Asking the candidates four of the prepared questions, four League members conducted the interviews. Interviewers wereWendy Colbert from Snohomish League; Eileen McCracken from Bellingham-Whatcom; Amy Eastonfrom Clark; and Peggy Watt from Skagit County. 

Candidates were also asked questions for the League’s Vote411.com site, which will feature those additional answers beginning July 15. 

 “This is a project we’ve long wanted to do,” said Peloff, who designed the pages and handled the coding.

Because judicial races are technically nonpartisan, they historically haven’t generated much attention.  Moreover, most voters don’t have the intricate legal knowledge of how the judicial system works, prompting Niemeier to note, “After all, how do you know how to vote for a judge?”  

Riley, the Times editor, wrapped up her essay last month with a call to action: “Educate yourselves on these races.” 

The League feature allows you to do just that. 

By Karen Crowley, president, LWV of Washington and Janet Lenart, president, LWV of Seattle King County

Special to The Seattle Times

What does it take for a democracy to succeed?  

This is a vital question as we approach the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in the face of a constitutional crisis.* 

More than anything, a successful democracy depends on informed citizens. To responsibly exercise our right to vote, we need accurate information about the issues of the day, from economics to education to the environment.  

We also need to know where candidates stand on the issues, and how the outcome of our votes will impact our communities.   

Since its founding, the League of Women Voters has dedicated itself to educating voters. Our nonpartisan candidate forums, now underway across the state as the primaries approach, are a perfect example. The forums have been a trusted community resource for decades. 

But long before the League came into being — in fact, before the United States came into being — Americans relied on newspapers as their information lifeline. The League believes we cannot celebrate our nation’s 250^th birthday without also acknowledging the importance, the very necessity, of the free press. 

In 1776, America had about 40 newspapers — the “mass media” of the time. Their print runs totaled 600 or so, but many more people benefited as they heard the contents read aloud in public squares.  

Pamphlets were another key news source: Thomas Paine’s famous Common Sense had the largest circulation of any book in American history, in proportion to the population. 

The Declaration of Independence made its way into Philadelphians’ hands courtesy of the Pennsylvania Evening Post. And newspapers were pivotal in building and sustaining support for the Revolution.  

“In establishing American independence, the pen and the press had merit equal to that of the sword,” wrote David Ramsay, a historian of the time.  

The founders recognized this when they sat down to write the U.S. Constitution. The First Amendment reads: “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” 

Of course, American journalism has changed dramatically since. Print and broadcast news outlets proliferated in the 20^th century, and social media in the 21^st.  

But local news reporting has declined sharply in recent years. Numerous studies tell us the U.S. has lost more than 3,400 newspapers and 75% of newsroom jobs in the last two decades. More than 200 U.S. counties are now considered “news deserts.” 

In fact, most Americans now live in communities that are severely under-covered by local news outlets, according to a sobering report just released in mid-June by the nonprofit Rebuild Local News and the media database Muck Rack. Specifically, their Local Journalist Index 2026 found that reporting about key civic issues, including healthcare and education, falls short in favor of more sensationalist crime news. 

Four years ago, the League in Washington completed an extensive study of how the loss of local journalism chips away at our democracy in the form of reduced voter participation, less community involvement, higher government costs and greater political polarization. 

Because of this study, the League — at both the state and national levels — has adopted public policy positions in support of local news. Our positions do not call on government to pay for rebuilding the news ecosystem, but simply to ensure conditions exist that allow news to survive.    

Since our founding 106 years ago, the League has championed the education of voters.  Part of that effort requires a free and independent press to provide us with facts that enable us to hold our leaders accountable. 

I hope you will join us in celebrating and supporting the work of your local news outlets, as we enter our next 250 years. Subscribe, read, share, discuss, comment — and, of course, vote. 

*Leadership of the nonpartisan, nonprofit League of Women Voters of the United States announced on April 17, 2025, that the Trump administration’s disregard for congressional authority and governmental checks and balances and defiance of Supreme Court orders related to the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States had plunged the nation into a constitutional crisis.  

Crowley is president of the League of Women Voters of Washington and Lenart is president of the League of Women Voters of Seattle King County.  

By Susan F. Martin, co-president, LWV of the San Juans

Most Americans are familiar, at least in broad strokes, with the Declaration of Independence, the backbone of our democracy. Signed by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the Declaration formally severed the political bonds between the 13 American colonies and the British Crown. It is the founding argument for self-government. 

The Preamble to the Declaration is known throughout the world: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. 

This concept of deriving power from the consent of the governed was in direct contrast to the interests of the British Crown and most other monarchies at the time of the American Revolution. 

The declaration goes well beyond the preamble in setting out the reasons the colonies should be independent. In fact, the remainder of the document sets out the colonists’ grievances against King George. Previously, the colonists tended to accuse Parliament of wrongdoing, rather than the king. 

The declaration makes clear that the king was at fault, as his history was one of “repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.” 

In support of this conclusion, the declaration lists 27 specific abuses that justified independence. Some grievances related to what is now known as the separation of powers. The king was accused of dissolving colonial legislatures and obstructing the administration of justice. For example, the document stated that the king made “Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.” Also, the king “has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.” In addition, “he has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.” 

Another set of grievances focused on the impact of King George’s actions on the populace. For example, the king was accused of sending “hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.” He was also condemned for protecting the military “from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States;” for “depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury;” and transporting colonists “beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences.” 

Economic and social harms were also discussed in the grievances. The king was condemned “for cutting off Trade with all parts of the world” and “for imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.” The latter led to the well-known call for “no taxation without representation.” The declaration also faulted the king for obstructing the laws of naturalization and discouraging migration to the colonies, thereby endeavoring “to prevent the population of these States.” 

Having named the various ways in which the king harmed the colonies, the declaration recalled the repeated petitions sent to the king, Parliament and British public “all unanswered.” The signers of the declaration, upon declaring the colonies free and independent states, then mutually pledged “to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.” 

To anyone who has attended protests of the current administration’s policies, the grievances may sound familiar.  

Millions of patriotic Americans fear for the loss of our democracy. The separation of powers that the Constitution promised is fragile, as is the due process that has been at the core of our representative government. The economic and social harms raised by the founders remain areas of debate. When and how the country will again be a “nation of immigrants” is also under threat. 

As in 1776, we the people must continue to remind our elected representatives that they have a responsibility to protect our democracy. The League of Women Voters is committed to empower voters and defend democracy. 

As Benjamin Franklin responded when he was asked if the United States would have a republic or a monarchy after the signing of the Constitution, “A Republic, if you can keep it.”  

Being an informed and committed voter is the best way to keep our republic. 

Susan F. Martin is a member of the board of directors of the League of Women Voters of Washington and a co-author of the League’s study, “Welcoming Immigrants to Washington State.” 

The Washington Voting Justice Coalition (WVJC), as it does each summer, is seeking participants for listening sessions to help gauge the interests of people across Washington on a variety of policies. 

The coalition, a collection of community organizations and individuals who advocate for policies like same-day voter registration and voting rights restoration, is looking for 40 participants. 

“This information will help decide our priorities, how we talk about democracy reform to community members, and shapes feedback that we communicate to lawmakers,” said Marqué Love, a representative for the effort. 

Love said participants will be asked their views about voting, the electoral system and voting policies. 

To be selected, an individual must be a Washington state resident, participate by camera and microphone over Zoom and be available for a two-hour session.  

Participants will be selected by July 28 and will receive an online $50 Visa gift card.  

Listening session times are Aug. 11 and 12 from 5-7 pm. 

Apply on the WVJC website. 

By Kathy E. Gill, LWV of Snohomish County

As we enter the countdown toward the July 29 Zoom session with Heather Cox Richardson, we're encouraging local Leagues to hold their own discussions in the days before or after the event.  

To help, the book club committee has developed a set of discussion questions. It’s another good excuse to connect with fellow members! 

There’s another bonus coming for attendees! We are giving away a signed, first edition of How the South Won the Civil War! You must be present (near the end of the conversation) to win. 

A reminder that Richardson is a professor of history at Boston College and an expert on 19th-century America. Her nightly newsletter, Letters from an American, reaches more than 6 million readers, and she hosts videos on both YouTube and Facebook. 

Her latest series, 250 to 250, consists of one-minute videos “that emphasize the agency of everyday people to change the country.” 

Find the local League discussion questions for How the South Won the Civil War at https://bit.ly/HCR-questions. Here’s an example: 

Indigenous rights have been a particularly prominent issue in Washington state. How has the fate of Native American groups affirmed or contradicted this book’s premise? 

Registration is still open. You might consider a group viewing at your local library – that’s what one League is doing.  

A note on the discussion questions: The primary driver behind this set of questions is Nancy Beardsley, a Missouri native who recently moved to Olympia from the Washington, D.C., area. She says the Thurston County League has been a great education in state and local politics.  

“I would hope the questions inspire readers to consider whether they agree with her view of American history, and if they do agree, how should they respond to the challenges our country now faces,” Beardsley said. Beardsley holds a graduate degree in Russian literature from the University of Michigan and spent her career at Voice of America in Washington, where she worked as a feature writer and book editor. 

On Washington’s southwest coast, with world-class bird-watching, great razor clamming and the stunning Quinault Rainforest nearby, Grays Harbor County offers visitors a bevy of natural treasures.   

In the early 1900s, the region was considered the West Coast’s lumber capital. But as logging declined, Grays Harbor became better known for its tourism and commercial fishing.  

Aberdeen, the area’s most populous city, gained 1990s fame as the birthplace of Kurt Cobain, lead singer of the grunge band Nirvana whose“Smells Like Teen Spirit” was a global hit.  

Now, Grays Harbor has another identity: The board of directors of the League of Women Voters of Washington in late June approved its formation as the state’s 20^th and newest League local. Its formal recognition by the national League is expected any day.    

Thirty-five members — many more than the minimum eight members that League bylaws require to become a local--were on hand the evening of June 17 for the group’s organizing meeting at the Hoquiam Timberland Library.  

There, Hoquiam resident Lisa Chappell is president of the new local League, which for now, will be a unit at large. Vice president is Cynthia Winder and secretary is Kat Bryant. 

As state board First Vice President Nancy Halvorson explained, a unit at large is one of two types of local Leagues. A stand-alone local is responsible for its own bylaws, corporate filing and treasurer accounts, for instance, while a unit at large relies on the state for some of those administrative duties. “The idea behind a unit at large is to make it easier for a League to form,” she said.  

That same evening, also as bylaws require, members reviewed and agreed to abide by the state League’s nonpartisan and diversity, equity and inclusion policies, added Halvorson.  

Halvorson’s role shepherding the new local into being has given her a front-row seat on what’s happening in the organization. Describing Grays Harbor County members as spirited and ready to work, she added, “They’ve very enthusiastic and educated and involved. They know the issues in Grays Harbor, and they are very active in the community.” 

Among those new members are two city council members, two former Grays Harbor County commissioners, and a former deputy county auditor. A former editor of the local newspaper, The Daily World, also has expressed interest in moderating an upcoming candidate forum and college officials have indicated a willingness to partner on the forums. 

Halvorson was impressed by the speed at which the Grays Harbor local came together.  

In late March, Chappell was attending a No Kings Rally in downtown Aberdeen when she met Dale Larson, a former Grays Harbor College faculty member. Larson, who taught English and philosophy, was voicing his concerns about threats to the democracy. 

In short order, Larson connected Chappell with others at the rally and from there was born the plan to establish a local League. 

Chappell, a former social work provider,immediately got to work. “In 58 days, I lived, breathed and slept the League,” she said.   

She reached out to everyone she knew to drum up interest. 

“I attended every meeting and community gathering that I could. I told everyone I spoke with about LWV and I invited them to our event and handed out flyers,” she said. “I attended the Home and Garden Show at the county fairgrounds and shared the news with everyone there. It was exciting because many people told me that they had already heard about the meeting, and one woman showed me that she even already had the meeting on her calendar!” 

In late May, slightly less than two months after the No Kings rally, the group held its first meeting. Fifty people attended. 

Before night’s end, determined not to lose the momentum, attendees had set a date for a subsequent meeting. Then came the organizing meeting, where the elections were conducted. 

“Lisa is a driving force,” said Halvorson, whose praise for Chappell is endless. “She is so effective at communication and people just want to help and want to help her.” 

Voting rights and voter participation rank high among the issues facing the75,000 people who make their homes in Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Montesano, Ocean Shores, Westport and surrounding areas.  

“Oh, my gosh. We have an incredibly low voter turnout in our county,” Chappell said. Referring to statistics from the Washington Secretary of State’s Office, she noted that Grays Harbor had the fourth lowest turnout of the 39 counties in the November 2025 general election. Grays Harbor only bested Franklin, Yakima and Grant counties. 

Environmental issues are on the list of concerns, too, heightened by proposals to build a data center and a wood pellet factory.  And with Grays Harbor featuring a bounty of bodies of water, local members are concerned about the health and well-being of shorelines, too. 

A local League in Grays Harbor is not entirely a new development.In previous years, a small local League served the community. Chappell served as secretary and then co-president.  

“It was a very small group of us, back in 2011-2012. We were small, but all of us got candidate forums going and voter registration and guest speakers,” she said. 

The group disbanded in 2017 or so, said Judy Davis, a former Washington state League board member who moved to Aberdeen a few years ago after retiring.  

Some blame a downward turn in the economy for the group’s folding. But Davis, having been active in Leagues in eight states and a former member of the national board for six years, said the disbanding could just have been part of evolution.  

“Sometimes Leagues die and then they are reborn.” 

From all indications, the new Grays Harbor local League is looking at a long and prosperous future. 

By Dee Anne Finken, Communications Portfolio Director, LWV of Washington

Less than a week after returning from the June 25-28 LWVUS national convention in Columbus, Ohio, state League President Karen Crowley had a ready description for the 32 members who represented Washington at the biennial event. 

“We’re an army of motivated leaders who share a vision of the League as bold, intentional advocates for democracy,” Crowley said without pause.   

Among the highlights of the convention, particularly among Washington members, Crowley said,was the national organization’s adoption of the LWVWA’s position on Immigrants’ Rights.The vote was overwhelmingly in support: 898 to 11. 

As Crowley announced on the day the LWVUS adopted the position, “The action paves the way for League members in all 50 states and in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to advocate for legislation to improve the lives of all residents, regardless of immigration status or citizenship.”   

She also noted the adoption marked the second time in two years that Washington membership has helped set the national organization’s public policy agenda. The LWVUS adopted the LWVWA position on Local News & Democracy at the national convention in June 2024.

Convention delegates took votes on the 2026-2028 program, budget, bylaw amendments, and the national board of directors. Former Washington state League president Mary Coltrane was elected to the national board.

Crowley said the League’s boldness can be seen in the six-pronged program that convention delegates adopted, titled “Defending A Democracy Under Siege.”   

The six areas of focus are voting rights, protecting elections, redistricting, immigration, individual rights, and the presidency.  The latter calls for work “to guarantee that presidential power is exercised within the constitutional framework of a dynamic balance between the three branches of government--checks and balances.” 

That last focus also calls for supporting the abolition of the Electoral College. 

Back in Washington, Crowley also said the sentiments of the Washington delegates closely align with those of the national organization, which is now in its 106^th year. 

“As our incoming national president Dr. Sania Irwin said, we agree that ‘The more power we share, the more power we build.’”  

Crowley said the emphasis on collaboration and working together expressed at convention was also prominent when Washington’s membership gathered in early June at the LWVWA’s State Council in Lacey. Council workshops featured discussions about disagreeing better, including a training on this challenging issue presented by Better Angels, and building skills as individuals and collaborators.This mirrors the national focus. Additional efforts are underway in the diversity, equity and inclusive areas, too, she added.  

But the emphasis must be on collaboration, including with groups like the NAACP, Girl Scouts and others.  “The work that needs to be done will not be done by any of us working alone,” she said. “We’re defending a democracy under siege.  And we can’t respond effectively unless we’re in broad partnership.” 

Despite its long history, Crowley said the League is still evolving at all levels – national, state and local.   

“We are non-partisan but we are not neutral and we will continue to very loudly state our positions. That’s really who we are as an organization, and there is no going back.” 

The Columbus event was Crowley’s third national League convention.  She attended the 2024 convention in Washington, D.C., and the 2022 convention in Denver.   

She said she was heartened by the growing number of younger members.  “They were there in force, advocating for the work they wanted to see us do.” 

The Washington state League had 2,460 members in November 2024 and now, only halfway through this year, the count is 3,133 members. 

Barb Tengtio, past president of the Seattle King County League, accepted the Building the Future Award on behalf of her local League, which the national organization saluted for its extraordinary membership growth. 

By Mary Coltrane, LWV of Seattle King County

When the LWVUS Nominating Committee opened nominations for the 12-member LWVUS board of directors this year, I decided to throw my hat in the ring. The process was thoughtful, and I was honored to accept a nomination. The slate of directors was adopted unanimously at the recent annual convention. This is a testament to the careful work of the nominating committee.  

I urge everyone with the smallest interest to consider applying for the 2028-2030 round of nominations to the National board when the opportunity is presented. 

In the meantime, I am so very pleased to serve on your LWVUS board for the next two years. What does this mean? Likely something a bit different to everyone. For me, it’s membership. I plan to work for opportunities that allow every member to  embrace the duties of citizenship via the League of Women Voters. Here are some ideas: 

1. One League: The League has an amazing structure that allows a firm footing at the local, state and national level. I will work to expand knowledge of this structure; this will maximize opportunities to engage in the important work of safeguarding democracy. 
   
   
2. Demystify the LWVUS board: the national board does important work. Among the jobs is serving as a liaison to several state Leagues. There are other off-board and on-board jobs as well. It’s my goal to shine a light on these jobs so members can better understand how the national League works.
   
   
3. Civic Engagement: Every member of the electorate plays a role in sustaining democracy—from voting, to running for elected office, and everything in between. This includes participation in all the civic groups that help keep our democracy strong. The League offers ordinary citizens an opportunity to take an active role working with partners and the general public to safeguard democracy. As a national board member, I will use my voice to lift and support this work.

There are many ways local Leagues interact with the national League. I would be glad to offer my ear to local Leagues as well. If your League would find it helpful to chat with me, please let me know!