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

This fall, many voters heeded the guidance from their local Leagues, county auditors and the U.S. Postal Service to mail their ballots at least a week before Election Day. The intent was for ballots to reach elections offices early enough to be counted. 

But League members in Kittitas County aren’t convinced that the guidance was shared widely enough, and they question whether the seven-day guideline to reach the Election Office was sufficient. Among their reasons: anecdotal evidence of other mail being delayed, reduction in the number of postal sorting centers statewide, and the need for mail to be consolidated before it is shipped to sorting centers. 

So how long does it take a letter to get from point A to point B via U.S. mail? 

Members of the Kittitas County League have launched an audit of local postal systems to find out. They’re asking their members to send test mail to Board Vice President Charli Sorenson and include the date and time the letter or postcard is sent. Sorenson is recording sorting center/postmark and arrival date. 

“We hope to use the data to inform our election recommendations and probably to change our election graphics, like those we used in 2024, when we were suggesting something like only four days.” 

Sorenson said she and others are concerned that many voters don’t know that U.S. mail isn’t postmarked until it is sorted at a processing center that is sometimes hours away. She also noted that the USPS has reduced mail pick-up at some local post offices from twice a day to once.

Judy Hucka, Whidbey League president, far left, joins University of Washington Associate Professor Matthew Powers, Washington State University’s Jennifer Henrichsen, Ph.D., and TVW’s Austin Jenkins for a discussion about local news in the state earlier this month.

Local news is a key component of the League mission of empowering voters and defending democracy, Whidbey Island League President Judy Hucka told an audience at the University of Washington on Nov. 13.  

Hucka, a member of the state Local News team and an advocate on the state Lobby Team, was invited to present at the university’s Department of Communication Journalism and Public Interest Communication program Autumn Mixer. 

Austin Jenkins of Northwest News Network and host of TVW’s “Inside Olympia” program moderated the panel, which also featured associate professor Matthew Powers of UW’s Center for Journalism, Media & Democracy and Jennifer Henrichsen, Ph.D., the chief researcher for a major Washington State University study on Washington’s news ecosystem. She is also an assistant professor at WSU. 

Hucka said the League study “The Decline of Local News and Its Impact on Democracy” was the first comprehensive look at the decline of local news outlets in the state. It was completed in 2022.  

The study led to state and national League adoption of the policy position allowing Leagues nationwide to advocate for legislation and other solutions to the local news crisis, Hucka said. She also explained how the position has led to LWVWA advocacy of several bills in the Washington Legislature. 

The panel explored the state of journalism in Washington today and how to use research and knowledge to strengthen democracy and local news.  

Dozens of UW journalism students and Seattle-area journalists attended. 

Hucka is a former journalist and adjunct faculty at UW, where she oversaw a training program that placed student journalists in Olympia to report on the Legislature.  

For more information about the League’s work in local news, contact News Team chair Dee Anne Finken.  

The News Team meets the third Tuesday of each month. 

Cynthia Stewart, LWVWA Board first vice president and Advocacy Chair, receives the 2025 Dorothy Roberts award at the state League convention in June in Clark County. The award recognizes commitment, dedication, and passion for the mission of the state League and salutes the recipient’s work in the wider community that has brought recognition to the League.

By Angela Gyurko, Nominating Committee Director, LWV of Washington

“What made you first step into a leadership position?” I asked Cynthia Stewart, the LWVWA board’s first vice president. Her answer caught me by surprise.  

“Someone asked me to.” 

Stewart first joined the League in 1972, staying active until 1977 when she returned to the workforce to support herself and her three children. When she retired in 2009, she stepped back into League work, noting that many of the people she had met in the 1970s were still friends and still active. 

“I enjoyed the grunt work,” she explained, “doing the typing, copying, and addressing newsletters when all that work was done by hand. When I came back in 2009, LWV Thurston County was doing a study on governance in Thurston County. There were three cities, a small population, and a lot of repetitive structures that didn’t seem to make sense. I dove right in, helping with the study, and doing newsletters and mailings.” 

“But how long,” I asked her, “before you first joined a board?” 

For Stewart, it was one year after she rejoined the Thurston League that she first served on their board. Three years after that, in 2013, Stewart first served on the LWVWA board. 

There’s a perception that a person has to serve a certain number of years or participate in a certain number of activities before they are “qualified” to be a League leader. I came into the League with that perception, but as we talked, it became clear that the person willing to do the on-the-ground grunt work is often the best person to try their hand at leading.  

“It helps everyone when leaders serve at every level,” she told me. 

Stewart is definitely an expert at this, and her experience highlights the importance of rotating between local League duties, local League leadership, and state League leadership.  

The recipient of the 2025 Dorothy Roberts award, Stewart has served two terms on the LWV Thurston County board, three terms as president of LWV Tacoma-Pierce County and three terms on the LWVWA board. She’s also served on the Advocacy Team since 2009 and is the current Advocacy Chair. 

“I always want to be contributing,” she told me.  

If you feel like now could be your time to step up and lead, consider this your invitation.  

Talk with your local League about their leadership needs or check out the LWVWA Nominating Committee website to learn more about serving at the LWVWA level.  

The strength of the League has always been its members. And leading is a great way to learn about all the possibilities for engagement and involvement that exist within the League. 

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

Getting a job, going off to college, joining the military, or making a commitment to volunteer in the community are typical steps a teen takes to become an adult.   

So is voting for the first time.  

Which is why League members in Clark County have turned to high school career fairs for a location to register young adults and promote civic engagement. 

“We fit right in … with businesses, colleges, the military and nonprofits,” said Sara Bennett, who leads the Clark County League’s high school Voter Services outreach.  

In past years, League volunteers in Vancouver have met roadblocks in securing time in civics and social studies classrooms to talk about voting.  Sometimes, the obstacles were challenges in coordinating volunteers, reluctance about classroom visits after the Covid pandemic, or teachers whose lesson plans were already full. 

But this year, between Oct. 27-Nov. 7, Vancouver School District career counselors welcomed League volunteers for the second time to 10 annual high school career fairs. 

Arriving two by two, League members showed up with promotional items, including tabletop flags, magnets, flyers, business cards and, of course, candy.   

Side by side with college representatives, human resource officers and military recruiters, the volunteer pairs staffed tables where they draped purple or blue tablecloths, displayed a League banner and handed out literature with a QR code that linked to Vote.gov for students to register.   

At some locations, students – freshmen through seniors– strolled around the multi-purpose room, stopping to chat with visitors.    

To prompt conversations, League members asked students to jot down an answer on a 2-inch-by-2-inch sticky Post-It note to this question: “Why will you vote?” All the responses were then displayed on a foam-core board. 

“Some of the students are very thoughtful,” said Bennett.  “Some said they wanted to vote for world peace.” 

The responses varied widely but they were always enjoyable. Some students appeared surprised to learn they could pre-register at age 16 and vote at 18. 

Many asked lots of good questions, she said. Other students seemed reticent to talk. 

“Across the board, though, the kids have been super polite,” said Bennett. “It’s always a very, very good experience.” 

Bennett smiled when she recalled a couple of students at a career fair who pointed out to the League volunteer that it was Election Day. 

Bennett said the assignment is good for newer volunteers because the duty isn’t overly challenging. 

She recommends anyone interested in high school outreach start by asking the school office manager or head secretary to connect them with whoever is in charge of career and college fairs. 

“And get to the school early because sometimes parking can be challenging.” 

In Vancouver, League volunteers this year typically visited two schools, one for up two hours in the morning and another stint in the afternoon at another school. 

For more information about LWV Clark County's outreach to high schools, email Bennett at Sfbennett622@gmail.com.  

Eleven members from LWV Snohomish County took the new Sound Transit light rail from Lynnwood to Seattle on Sept. 27 to see Suffs, the Tony Award-winning musical about the women who led the fight to vote in the United States. 

It was a busy day as the Snohomish League also held its annual Fire Up! kickoff meeting in Everett that morning. 

“It was a day of empowerment, history and entertainment,” said Jen Winckler, communications director for the Snohomish League.  “As the League tirelessly pushes forward, it was good to hear reminders of the ‘before’ story from the perspective of the original suffragists.” 

The play was performed at 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle. Winckler said the Snohomish League members who attended the play wore League t-shirts, prompting a number of compliments from others who attended.  

Suffs launched its 27-city North American tour in early September in Yakima.

Snohomish League member Wendy Colbert welcomes other area League members to a Civics Storytelling Booth at the Everett branch of the Everett Public Library this afternoon from 3-5 pm. 

Colbert said participants will have an opportunity to record a short personal story using a prompt related to civics, such as “I feel politically powerful when …” or “One piece of advice I’d give to the next generation …” 

The event is hosted by the Office of the Secretary of State’s Civic Engagement Program. Your recording will be archived and, with your permission, may be used in civic education materials.  

Sign Up to Tell Your Story

Yakima County League members who marched in the Sept. 20 Yakima Valley Sunfair parade included Joy McKinney, who dressed as a solar panel, and Janis Luvaas and Cindy Olivas, who carried signs urging people to vote. 

“There were lots of spectators watching the event and sitting or standing, from young to old and some with three generations of family members,” said Olivas, the Yakima League president. 

“It was great to see Native Americans, Asians, Latinos and Caucasians side by side watching the parade.  By the end of the route, my voice was hoarse as I was getting out the message in English and Spanish for people to vote.”  

Olivas said she encountered a number of parade watchers who expressed their appreciation for the League getting people to vote. “It was a proud moment to represent the League of Women Voters of Yakima County and the state of Washington,” Olivas said. 

McKinney walked with the Yakima Climate 350 and Citizens’ Climate Lobby of Yakima organizations. 

Are you a person with strong skills in data management? Interested in a highly rewarding project to help Washington citizens make sure they select candidates whose views are more likely to mirror their own? 

Maybe you’re new to the League and you’d like to get to know the political landscape in communities throughout the state. 

The LWVWA is seeking a volunteer project manager to lead its statewide VOTE411 effort.  VOTE411, of course, is the award-winning online platform created by the LWVUS Education Fund to ensure voters in each state have timely and accurate election information every cycle.   

Each state’s VOTE411manager oversees the project from planning and data entry to outreach and launch. Job tasks include developing questions for candidates, processing candidate responses, marketing, ensuring the program maintains its quality standards, balancing timelines and allocating resources. 

Beatrice Crane has led Washington’s VOTE 411 since 2019 and is planning to turn the role over to another leader. The timeline is for a new manager to start in January 2026 with Crane remaining on hand through the year to assist with the transition. 

 “I have enjoyed learning more about the state and its election system and interacting with candidates,” Crane said.  “And it’s been gratifying to end up with a product that does what it’s supposed to do.” 

To apply or learn more, email Karen Crowley at kcrowley@lwvwa.org.

“Revenue and democracy will be the most prominent two,” Stewart said. With democracy being the League’s mission and revenue vital to all legislative decisions, Stewart said all the other issues will be addressed with those realities in mind. 

The Lobby Team consists of League members who serve as issue chairs and have background or experience in about areas in which the League has taken positions after extensive study. 

Issue chairs represent the LWVWA in testimony for and against legislation, coalition-building and other advocacy work.  They are supported by advocates who also have expertise in specific subject areas.  

During the legislative session, the Lobby Team prepares the weekly Legislative Action Newsletter detailing the background and progress of bills of interest to the League and providing subscribers with opportunities to take action on the legislation. 

Register Today

The LWVWA has begun a vigorous “Decline to Sign” campaign to block what Advocacy Director Cynthia Stewart calls the most significant challenge to democracy in Washington she’s seen in her lifetime.    

IL26-126 would require all voters to have an enhanced drivers’ license or provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship in person. Voters who don’t would see their registration canceled. 

More information about the campaign against IL26-126 can be found here. Additionally, Stewart, state League first vice president and chair of the Lobby Team, is available to speak with local Leagues and other groups about the initiative and why the League opposes it so vehemently.  

Contact Stewart here if you’d like her to present to your local League or other group.  

Finally, all local League Communications managers have been provided a social media tool kit to help garner support for the campaign against the initiative. Individual League members are asked to share the posts from their local League website to their personal accounts. Contact LWVWA staff Carolyn Stewart here for assistance.  

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