This was my first LWV convention of any kind, and I was honored to represent our chapter in D.C. There were SO many issues covered at Lobby Day, in the breakout sessions, in the plenaries and by the keynote speaker. Whether sitting in a small room for a breakout, or in the huge ballroom (the same one in which the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner is held), I was impressed and moved by the energy and dedication of those who had worked so hard to make this a meaningful and productive convention.

On Lobby Day, June 27, I joined 19 other California delegates in a half-hour conversation with two members of Senator Alex Padilla’s staff. The topic was the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (HR 14 and SR 4). Senator Padilla was a co-sponsor of SR 4, so the focus of the conversation was how we could help get the bill passed. The staffers knew we were at a convention with politically-minded people from around the country, so their request was that we talk to folks from states where their representatives have not yet signed on to the bill and ask them to apply pressure to support it.

That evening, before the Presidential debate (which I watched on a huge screen with hundreds of other delegates in the ballroom), there was a panel discussion on One Person One Vote (OPOV).  I learned about the unfair, racist and outdated history of the Electoral College, and became even more dedicated to OPOV. The two means of getting to OPOV being pursued and supported by LWVUS are 1) National Popular Vote (NPV), requiring 270 Electoral votes (only 61 more are needed) and 2) an amendment to the Constitution that eliminates the Electoral College and establishes and OPOV means of electing the President and Vice President. The debate as to which is the best route is similar to the one faced by women’s suffrage supporters; most folks I talked to support also taking a two-pronged approach to this issue.

I also attended a few sessions on engaging and empowering youth voters. One featured a panel of student LWV members, who agreed that starting as a paid intern was a great intro to LWV, but that food and meaningful projects were nearly as valuable as cash. All sessions emphasized the importance of using clear language (for example, using “issue agnostic” instead of “non-partisan”) and having experiential elements that give youth the actual feel of being either included or excluded as a voter.

I look forward to sharing some of the tools and materials I brought back from the convention. AFTER the November election, that is.

Thank you for electing me to the Board and for sending me as your delegate to the LWVUS National Convention!

The program goal was to increase voter participation and offer unbiased resources for students to practice well-informed voting. This grassroots initiative is all about taking action to make a difference - a key to fulfilling Missouri State's public affairs mission.

The program has been very successful.  Learn more at their website: Paws to the Polls

The ENGAGING YOUNG VOTERS session featured 3 programs: 

The Alameda County LWV’s development and execution of their excellent online game: VerifyIt that engages students and adults in civics in a fun way. This game is available to any league to post on their own website.  Check it out here: VerifyIt.

Solano County LWV’s Democracy Matters program that gives youth hands on experience in the governmental process.  They host student Observer Corps, Mock Elections and train them to register voters.  It is a thorough and fun program that has been very successful.  Learn more here: Democracy Matters.

Marin LWV’s Student Elections Ambassador Program recruits students to register their peers to vote in partnership with the Marin Registrar of Voters and the Marin Office of Education.  This program has trained almost 200 Elections Ambassadors since 2018 who have registered thousands of their peers.  Check it out at: Student Elections Ambassador Program.

The RETHINKING YOUR WEBSITE session was hosted by the Greater Pittsburg LWV.  Their team of 10-12 had no previous knowledge of website design, code or content development.  Over time 2 of their members learned how to work with Club Express to develop their inspiring site.  The other members of the website team work on content. 

Their self-trained web masters have successfully gained thousands of views for their materials by maximizing Google Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  The majority of the session was illustrating how that is done.  It was a very informative session!!

The LWV STUDY PROCESS session focused on the Washington DC LWV’s study, “The Decline of Local News and Its Impact on Democracy,”.  The team of researchers committed to a two-year review process.  One member worked full time for the full two years to prepare this study for vote.  They used over 500 sources and reviewed over 150 newspapers to gather the information needed for their study to be voted upon and become a position.  Once at that point the study was brought to a vote at the convention.  The study must be approved by a majority of attendees in order to become a position.  Once approved, all LWV members must support the position.  

The path to a position is impressive and should reassure every LWV member that our positions are well researched and support LWV US goals.

From Chris Riezenman

I was a virtual observer at the National Convention.  There were many programs of interest. I’ve highlight two here.

Effective Storytelling and Relational Organization to Empower Young Voters to Action

This was a dynamic presentation by Nile Bass, a regional organizer for LWVUS.  Nile spoke of the power of storytelling in relation to organizing.  We can motivate others into action through stories, through narratives. Her work deals with the age group between 18 and 29.  She discussed the practice of “Relational Organizing” which “leverages one’s personal network of friends, family, neighbors, co-workers and other acquaintances to develop a shared sense of purpose, values”. As networks of trusted messengers are get smaller and mis/dis/mal information rises, people look to family, friends and local leaders for information.  Working from within those networks has traction. A 2022 ACRI study found that, “specifically on voting rights and democracy, the majority said they actively have sought information, 1 in 3 took action and 1 in 5 changed their stance. “Her presentation focused on the power of personal stories to make connections across race, age, gender and political divides and moves people into action.

Stories have to power to:

Foster empathy and connect individuals across diverse backgrounds

Humanize abstract issues, making them relatable and urgent

Galvanize collective action and solidarity

Transform statistics into human experiences

Encourage participation in movements for social justice and equality”

She stressed the importance of reaching young people from all walks of life, not just focusing on the college bound. Many young citizens that go straight into the workplace after high school and some who don’t graduate at all, but go straight to work. We need to include them in this conversation. She suggests reaching to community groups, veteran organizations, labor unions as ways to reach this overlooked audience.

She encouraged sharing personal stories that center on human experience. Human experience resonates. Find a shared context or moment that connects you with the individual or group you are interacting with and center your story around that. Everyone can participate in a human conversation. Emphasizes the idea that one must “claim authorship of one’s own story and learn to tell it to others so they can understand the values that move you to act. ”. In this way, you can move others to act as well.

Social media platforms are powerful.  More important in rural communities.  Likelihood of voting increases when they can connect both social media and traditional platforms. YouTube, and TikTok are top venues. Highly accessible across economic strata. Don’t be afraid of TikTok – it is engaging a lot of young people in novel and meaningful ways – take time to explore it.

She is very focused on getting young voters to turn out and engage in their communities.

I recommend that anyone interested check out the work she is involved in.  She will also be making her presentation deck available.  Meanwhile, you can learn a bit about her work here:  https://slsvcoalition.org/meet-an-slsv-partner-nile-blass-league-of-women-voters/

Supporting Youth Leaders:  A Panel of Youth Members

A great group of 9 panelists representing Youth Councils from local Leagues in AK, ME and OR presented.  Ages were as young as 15 to early 20’s and all were very enthusiastic about their work with the league.  They duly noted the lack of youth presence overall in most league chapters, and recommended paid internships for high school aged students as the most effective way to bring young people in.

Most became involved with their local league because of a paid, high school internships.  Through that exposure and all they learned in their internship work, they each developed an interest in civic engagement that has stayed with them.  Many of them had stayed on with their league for several years after their internship ended.   They stressed the value of inviting younger teens (pre-registrants) to engage with the League even before they can actually vote, by helping with local league activities, attending town halls, writing letters and being involved in local issues. 

Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America. by Steve Inskeep, 351 pages,| Oct 3, 2023

A compelling and nuanced exploration of Abraham Lincoln’s political acumen, illuminating a great politician’s strategy in a country divided—and lessons for our own disorderly present.
In 1855, with the United States at odds over slavery, the lawyer Abraham Lincoln wrote a note to his best friend, the son of a Kentucky slaveowner. Lincoln rebuked his friend for failing to oppose slavery. But he added: “If for this you and I must differ, differ we must,” and said they would be friends forever. Throughout his life and political career, Lincoln often agreed to disagree. Democracy demanded it, since even an adversary had a vote. The man who went on to become America’s sixteenth president has assumed many roles in our historical consciousness, but most notable is that he was, unapologetically, a politician. And as Steve Inskeep argues, it was because he was willing to engage in politics—meeting with critics, sometimes working with them and other times outwitting them—that he was able to lead a social revolution.

August  15. 2024: Moderated by Judie Coleman

A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan, 2023, 404 pp.

This historical thriller tells the riveting story of the Klan's rise to power in the 1920s, not in the old Confederacy, but in the Heartland and the West, including California. The powerful Klan took radical steps to suppress Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants. A cunning con man drove that rise in power, and it took a woman to stop him and bring down the Klan. This book contributes to a greater understanding of our own age.