As local Leagues prepare for 2024 Program Planning, they should be aware of the state League's bid to have LWVUS adopt our positions on Local News through a concurrence process. Each local League can assist this effort by submitting individual requests to LWVUS to adopt the positions by concurrence.   

The Decline of Local News & Its Impact on Democracy is a seminal study that was completed by the LWVWA last year. The Study shows that the loss of local news can have serious consequences for communities in a variety of ways:

• In areas without a local news source, there are fewer candidates running for office, a lower voter turnout, and decreased civic engagement.
  
• Without a local news watch "watchdog," the cost of government can increase through the decline of bond ratings.
  
• There is an increase in political divisiveness when information is limited.  
• Finally, a lack of local news sources can result in public health challenges because messaging is limited. 
  

The LWVWA Study was disseminated to all of the local Leagues, and a statewide consensus process gave rise to the adoption of advocacy positions for rebuilding local news.
 
Because the League is a grassroots organization, each of the local Leagues will have an opportunity to suggest programs to LWVUS through the 2024-2026 Program Planning Survey. When filling out the survey, we encourage each local League to complete the following process:

1. Select "yes" when  promoted with the question “Would you like to recommend another program item, in addition to or instead of the Campaign for Making Democracy Work®?"—this will prompt a drop down menu with two additional questions.
   
   
2. Select "representative government" in response to the question,"please check which of the four LWVUS issue headings your recommendation would fall under."
   
   
3. You will then be prompted to provide a statement describing the scope of the recommendation. The LWVWA has prepared language for that statement:

"The LWVWA’s study The Decline of Local News and Its Impact on Democracy showed local news media outlets are declining at an alarming rate. This loss impacts our democracy, including: (1) fewer candidates running for office; (2) lower voter turnout; (3) increased political divisiveness; (4) decreased civic engagement; (5) increased cost for government; and (6) public health challenges.  These issues are occurring nationwide.

Based on this study, LWVWA adopted positions, including this position in brief: “The League of Women Voters of Washington believes it is the responsibility of the government to provide support for conditions under which credible local journalism can survive and thrive.” 

National adoption of the LWVWA positions on Local News would provide the basis for League advocacy on national, state, and local legislation aimed at rebuilding independent local news outlets and expanding news media literacy. No resources are needed for adopting this concurrence.

The League of Women Voters of Washington supports credible and ethical local journalism—in whatever format it is published—as it is essential to our democracy. We support efforts to ensure everyone has access to the information necessary to cast an informed ballot and believe credible local news sources are integral to this pursuit.

The LWVWA also believes media literacy and news education, including support for journalism students, are essential. These opportunities should be expanded in schools and throughout communities. We believe support for the viability of local news may take a variety of forms and control of the content published must remain exclusively with the news organizations.

The League of Women Voters of Washington believes that everyone should have access to comprehensive, credible local news—and that barriers to access should be removed. These barriers include, but are not limited to, geography, economic status, and education.

We encourage each of the local Leagues in Washington to participate and support our national consensus effort!

If you have any questions about this, please contact Shelley Kneip.

If you are interested in the exciting opportunity to serve on the LWVWA Board, but cannot figure out if you will have time for it (board work is a minimum of 15-20 hours per month, but varies by position and interest). Here are some tips for processing this dilemma: 

• First, be clear that it is something you would enjoy doing.

• Make a list of your present commitments with your schedule and actual time involved.

• Go to the Nominating Committee website research the specifics of the board commitment.  

• Talk with previous board members—they will be honest with you!

• Make a list of people you have who would be willing share some of your present tasks and talk with them about your desire to serve on the state board.

• Take another look at your present schedule and see if, given the new information, adjustments can be made.

Make your decision based on what is best for you!

You might be wondering—it's the end of 2023, why are we getting new districts now? 

In August, a federal court judge declared Yakima Valley Legislative District 15 discriminatory against Latino voters under the 1965 Voting Rights Act. District lines must be redrawn before the 2024 elections. The Governor and Legislative leadership declined to call the Legislature back in session to convene a new redistricting commission. And, despite a request for more time from Republican minority leadership, Judge Lasnik of the U.S. District Court has decided to move ahead with a process to hire a special master who will assist the court in redrawing the lines. 

To comply with the court order, legislative maps must be redrawn to have a true “opportunity district” for Latino voters—a district where a candidate supported by Latino voters can prevail. A preferred map shown during the trial has Eastern Yakima and Eastern Pasco tied together with smaller cities in the Yakima Valley and includes the Yakama Nation Reservation. To implement this map, four surrounding districts must be changed, and it could change as many as nine or even twelve other districts.  

The timing will be tight. By the court’s own order, the maps must be submitted to the WA Secretary of State by March 25, 2024, so that the process can move forward for the 2024 election.  

For the next redistricting cycle in 2031, Washington State deserves a better process. The LWVWA Redistricting Reform Campaign Taskforce is working to maximize opportunities for people to engage in the redistricting process and to ensure the broadest possible representation with a process that is transparent and accountable. LWVWA positions call for a commission that “…produces maps that are apportioned substantially on population, are convenient, contiguous and specific standards for fair representation should be assured. ”The Redistricting Task Force believes a state constitutional amendment is needed to change the composition of the commission to improve to the commission processes.  

 Step Up! Join our movement to reform the way Washington State does redistricting. Attend a 2-hour training and receive critical information about how you can make a difference. Local Area Action Teams are starting in every corner of our state. Training topics will include local team development, redistricting reform talking points, community outreach strategies, the latest on the new legislative maps, and much more. 

Join us on Saturday, November 18 from 10:00 AM-12:00 PM for this don’t miss training! Register here.

For questions please contact Alison McCaffree, Redistricting Issue Chair. 

Each year, the LWVWA Lobby Team participates in planning and conducting two events related to the Legislature—the Action Workshop and Democracy Lobby Week. This year we are also incorporating the Speak Up School, which has been a separate event before.  

In December of each year, the Lobby Team conducts an Action Workshop, where League members and interested members of the public learn about what issues are likely to come up in the upcoming legislative session and get tips about League positions to support.  For an agenda for this year’s event, click here.

Register for Action Workshop

The Speak Up School on January 6 from 9:00am to 12:30pm will provide information about how to use the legislative web site, track bills, comment and other things members need to know; plus it offers training in developing and presenting testimony. 

In January, the Lobby Team works with Fix Democracy First (FDF), a partner organization, on Democracy Lobby Week. During this week, League and FDF members have an opportunity to attend evening and daytime sessions. During the evening sessions attendees get more details about specific bills that we are supporting and during the day time sessions, they have an opportunity to meet with their local legislators in support of these bills. 

Watch our website for registration links, which will be announced soon.

The League of Women Voters is a grassroots organization, and some of our most important work comes directly from local Leagues. This is especially true in program planning. Program planning sets the agenda for activities at the local, state, and national levels—and it all starts locally.  

Each year, usually in January, local Leagues get together and plan the “programs” for the upcoming two years. The “program” is defined in the LWVUS bylaws as:  “action to implement the principles and those governmental issues chosen by the convention for concerted study or concurrence and action.”  A proposed program may include studies, concurrence with another League’s position or educational programs.  

Every year, a local League can propose its own programs, like planning its “to-do list” for the upcoming year. The program is approved by membership at a local league’s annual meeting. In odd-numbered years, local leagues also propose programs for implementation at the state level, for example, a statewide study of local news. The state board will then recommend which of these proposals should be undertaken, and a vote is taken to approve the proposed two-year program at the state convention. All program planning processes should incorporate a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) lens into the analysis. 

In even-numbered years, local leagues can propose programs to the national league through a survey posted on the LWVUS website. Learn more about program planning at the national level here. In addition to information about the process, you can review the survey form and register for program planning webinars early next year.  

This year, the LWVWA is requesting the local Leagues support the LWVUS adopting, through concurrence, the LWVWA positions on The Decline of Local News. You can find information about this study and positions here.

We will be sending out more information in December on this issue, so be on the lookout!

LWVUS points out in its Membership Leadership Development Handbook that “how groups learn to handle conflict sets the stage for everything they do together. Research has shown that conflict resolution can spiral up or down." The Handbook recommends that Leagues adopt a conflict resolution policy to prepare for addressing the inevitable conflicts that cannot be easily resolved. 

 
LWVWA adopted a policy for conflict resolution at its October Board meeting. The policy began as a complaint resolution process but moved beyond that into a much broader policy. Based on guidelines provided in the LWVUS guidance on complaint processes, it addresses conflicts at the state League level—among Board members and in LWVWA committees, including the Lobby Team. It does not address conflicts at other levels of League. But the LWVWA Board of Directors hopes that this document can serve as a model for local Leagues, if they don’t already have a policy of their own. 

The process in this policy is based on the concept that the best resolution is among those directly involved, and at the earliest possible time. It provides a path for formal intervention and support, should the conflict not be resolved at the lowest level. 

We encourage our members to read the new policy in the LWVWA's Policies and Procedures here. See page 10 in that document for the policy summary and Appendix C for the policy in total. For more information, contact Shelley Kneip or Cynthia Stewart. 

Also take a look at the Membership Leadership Development Handbook. Among its many other features, It has a wealth of information about conflict, including about causes, types and ways to resolve it.   

The League of Women Voters is such an interesting organization because there are established processes in place to move ideas to action at all League levels: local, state and national. Program is hugely important in the League. Visit LWVUS, 2024-2026 Program Planning Instructions to learn more about what's going on.

There is often overlap and intersection among Leagues as we engage in this Program Planning. Concurrence is a good example. Different Leagues take advantage of the hard work other Leagues have done to adopt new positions for use in their community.  

I am pleased to report to you that LWVWA is now engaged in taking our Local News positions to the LWVUS Convention where we will ask Leagues across the country to concur with our position. The LWVWA Board of Directors approved this effort at our October board meeting.

How did we get here?

Last year, LWV of Washington adopted two sets of positions and added them to our already existing positions: Local News and Shorelines. First came Program Planning, where members submitted ideas for consideration to their local Leagues; they forwarded them to the LWVWA Board to be evaluated before sending on to convention. At LWVWA Convention, delegates adopted these ideas in the form of scope and focus. Committees delved into the topics and produced studies. After much hard work, the study committees presented their work to the membership for discussion and consensus. Finally, the LWVWA Board of Directors adopted positions. These positions are now available for use by state and local Leagues in the public arena—in Washington state, that is. How about the rest of the country?  

Our Local News study found that there are stresses in local news across the country. Should all 50 states do a study on this topic so they can use our excellent positions in their communities? Not necessary. There is more efficient way to go: concurrence.

Program Chair Shelley Kneip is shepherding the work of bringing these positions to the June 2024 LWVUS Convention for concurrence, with the able assistance of the Local News Committee and its chair, Dee Anne Finken.  

There is much to learn about this process. For example, state Leagues can hold program planning meetings just as local Leagues do. Our state League hasn't done this in recent memory; what would it look like? We are delving into this and other questions about the process as we move toward the goal of Local News positions being adopted at the national level. If successful, LWVUS will be able to lobby at the congressional level, and all Leagues will be able to lobby for needed change at their state and local League levels. This is a powerful opening for change that empowers voters and defends democracy.  

This intriguing process is just one of the many ways to engage in the work carried out by the League of Women Voters. If you are looking for a way to take a more active role in League, please let me know and I will help you find your way.  

Mary Coltrane, LWVWA President
mary.coltrane@lwvwa.org

At our 2023 convention, members approved three new programs for the 2023-2024 biennium. This included two studies and a project. 

The two studies are:

1. "Caregiving in Washington State: What exists and what is needed to support seniors and other vulnerable adults and their caregivers." As defined by the study committee, the scope of this study will be “vulnerable adults sixty years of age or older who have the functional, mental, or physical inability to care for themselves and who still reside in their homes and communities.”  The Committee Chair is Karen Tvedt.
   
   
2. "Immigration and Immigrant Integration." The Committee Chair is Susan Martin.
   

The education project is:

1.  “Multi-Member Districts.” Committee Chair Kit Muehlman.

All three programs are underway and committees have been formed, but they welcome additional members.  If you’re interested in working on any of these programs, or learning more about them, please reach out to the committee chairs listed above.

State Board Action on Convention Resolutions: Closing the Loop

The League of Women Voters of Washington's 2023 Convention concluded last May with two resolutions and a budget amendment that required state Board follow-up. These include:

• A budget amendment directing the state Board to reach out to local Leagues to ask for input on  advocacy priorities;
• A resolution related to redistricting; and
  
• A resolution related to mature forests.
  

If you attended Convention, perhaps you wondered what became of these motions. The state Board dealt with these items at its September board meeting.

Here's what happened:

The Board reached out to the local Leagues to get views on the state League's advocacy as required by the budget amendment. Responses showed a fair amount variability. The state Board will evaluate legislative priorities with this input in mind.  

The Board adopted a plan to carry out the requirements of the Redistricting Resolution. The plan for the 2023-25 League biennium consists of the following:

1. Appointing a board liaison.
2. Coordinating fundraising with existing LWVWA fundraising efforts.
   
3. Undertaking a survey.
   
4. Incorporating redistricting in outreach to local Leagues.
   

The Board adopted a motion to establish the Redistricting Reform Task Force as a LWVWA committee. Alison McCaffree is chair and Martin Gibbons is the board liaison. Coordinating with overall state League fundraising and conducting a survey were also adopted by board motion. Committee work to accomplish this is underway. Contact Alison McCaffree for more information.  

Finally,  a Letter regarding mature forests was sent to Governor Inslee and others who were listed on the resolution. This letter urges the recipients to support an immediate moratorium on any further commercial harvest of mature forests on public lands in Washington State. In addition to carrying out this direction from convention delegates, the board established a Mature Forests Committee. Kate Lunceford has agreed to chair this committee. Contact Marty Gibbins for more information.

Vote411 has been published for the general election!

There are over 3000 races in this election, and although many are small, we had to find the correct information for each. Please be sure to check the information for your own races, so any errors can be corrected before a lot voters access the guide. With so many races, some errors are inevitable.

There are still some races that will not show up in Vote 411, because of the geographic information systems for some districts. This information determines who votes in the races, but it isn’t all included in the system yet. But we are continuing to work on getting it all in. Most of the missing races are water and sewer districts.  

This is a good time to check whether your candidates have responded, and encourage those who have not to do so. Ballots drop on October 20, and most voters will not check the guide until then. Let the candidates know that they can still submit, even though the guide has been published. 

And, as always, continue to spread the word about Vote411.org.