Following a week of workshops, The League of Women Voters of California online convention was called to order on Saturday, June 21st at 9:00am by Chris Carson, President.

The LWVC Convention is a gathering of League leaders from across California who come together to set the League’s direction for the next two years. At the convention, delegates approve the LWVC budget and programs, as well as connect with one another to share best practices, proven solutions, and words of inspiration for League work across the state. Each day, meetings were held digitally to discuss everything from increasing League membership to the importance of DEI. At this year’s convention, three presentations were made by various speakers relating mainly to the nation’s current political climate and expanding voter rights.

Standard procedure followed: establishing a Quorum, brief speech by the Parliamentarian, discussion of the Rules of Convention, and agreement on the Order of Business.  The rest of this first day would be a discussion of the standard business items to prepare for a vote on Sunday.

Spotlighting Dynamic Speakers

The convention’s first speaker presentation came from Justin Levitt, a voting rights scholar and civil rights lawyer who has worked as a professor for several years at Loyola Marymount University. He began his presentation by remarking on the true power of the ballot in America, in both an individual’s rights as well as the symbolism of it in American society. With this, he addressed how we are continuing to improve the system of voting, just as the founding fathers cited it would. Levitt then transitioned to talking about the key role of democracy in America and the threat currently facing it. He touched on how the American people have begun to notice this threat to their civil liberties and that this has resulted in widespread backlash. Levitt quickly moved into several specific areas where he believes our republic needs work. First off, he used the 2020 election as an example of how the amount of funding given to those in charge of the polls needs to be revisited. Secondly, he touched on how limitations have been placed on voting, which hinder many Americans’ ability to cast their vote easily. Third, he mentioned how the drawing of electoral districts by certain incumbents can lead to imbalances and discrimination. Next, he recognized how the claim of rigged elections by politicians can have incredibly poisonous impacts on American society and directly lead to hyperpolarization. Lastly, he touched on how social determinants of democracy, such as civic connection or the national census, are major parts of the republic that must be focused on more highly. He ended his talk by reiterating the work that still needs to be done to better the republic. “[It is] on us to keep on making it better for all of us. Democracy is an action verb, even if it’s not your full-time job. ” Levitt remarked as he closed out his presentation.

The next presentation was made by Dora Rose, the LWVC Deputy Director and an over 30-year-long voting rights activist. She began her presentation by emphasizing how the current United States government is directly infringing on the rights of the American people, whether it be by deploying troops to combat peaceful protests or majorly restricting voting rights. She hammered the point that despite these infringements, the League of Women Voters will not be intimidated. Rose then went into depth, describing actions the LWV has taken recently to protect and improve voting rights and access, such as attempts to make voting for those in county jails more accessible. “Protecting voters is not optional, it’s who we are,” Rose remarked. To conclude, she stressed that the League will continue on this mission to fight for democracy, and called on all those watching to do their part to fight as well.

The final presentation was given by Dianna Wynn, the President of the League of Women Voters of the United States. Wynn first reflected on the day the LWVUS board publicly declared the nation to be in a constitutional crisis, stating she was proud of the board for its statement, but saddened that the statement needed to be made. She conveyed her concerns on the rising presence of an authoritarian government in the United States and its detrimental effects on voting rights across the nation. Despite these concerns, she expressed hope for the future, emphasizing the resilience of the collective LWV when working together to defend democracy. She shouted out some of the major accomplishments of the LWVC and the LWV as a whole, highlighting the thousands of hours devoted to voter registration and education during the last election. She then went into depth explaining some of the key goals of the League’s new “Women Defend Democracy” campaign, which centers around creating a stronger democracy in America. These goals included: providing democracy education, protecting voting rights, abolishing the Electoral College, fighting for reproductive freedoms, and protecting democracy organizations and institutions. She underscored the importance of each individual aspect and how they’ll greatly benefit our democracy as a whole. To close out, she stressed the importance of the grassroots activism the League is built on, especially in our current political climate, and encouraged viewers to make their voices heard. She explained that in the League of Women Voters, no one person is working to accomplish their mission alone. “When you join the League of Women Voters, you join a nationwide alliance of activists,” Wynn emphasized as she ended.

Sunday, following Saturday’s discussion of issues, there was a 100% vote to retain all existing LWVC positions. Recommend Issues for Emphasis for 2025-2027 followed:  Making Democracy Work in California was adopted for education & advocacy with 98% agreement,  Climate Change and Sustainability, including a focus on Water Resources with 98%,   Housing & Homelessness with 97%,  Criminal Justice with 97%, and Immigration with 98% of the vote.  The ByLaws changes which followed, were described as “housekeeping,” and were adopted without controversy.  Similarly, the Budget was passed.

As there were no Resolutions submitted, the delegates took to the task of electing officers and directors to serve for the next two years.  The vote was just about unanimous.  Gloria Chun Hoo, LWV San Jose/Santa Clara, was elected as President, Lorrel Plimier, LWV Piedmont, as 1st Vice President, and Carol Moon Goldberg, LWV Sacramento, 2nd Vice President.  The newly elected Secretary was Suzanne Stassevitch, LWVSF, and the Treasurer was our very own LWV Berkeley Albany Emeryville President, Kandea Mosley, LWVBAE. We are excited to now have direct representation in the LWVC League. All Local Directors can be found on the www.lwvc.org website.

Next year will be the National Convention, which has plans to be held in-person in Ohio. The Action Fund fundraiser contest closed with the phoenix coming in first with the unicorn last.  The meeting was adjourned at 11:00am.

–Christine Wenrich

 

Workshop Summaries 

Voting Methods Workshop

What do STAR, Approval, Plurality, Cumulative, Ranked Choice, First-past-the-post, and Condorcet have in common? They are all voting methods. A number of these voting methods were covered in the LWVC convention workshop on Voting Methods led by LWVSF members. Some of these methods work well for single-winner races; others work better for proportional representation.
In addition to league members, Aaron Hamlin, a Voting Methods Expert, former Executive Director & co-Founder of The Center for Election Science participated in the workshop.
Attendees had the opportunity to experience some of these alternative voting methods directly electronically online during the workshop.
It was acknowledged that across the country we have converged on Plurality as the most common voting method adopted and used. Further education about alternative voting methods is very important, and incorporating an education campaign is vital when rolling out any voting changes to a populace which we all learned about in Alameda County during the last General Election.

–Elise Mills

Money in Politics Workshop

The workshop on Money in Politics – Campaign Finance Reporting on Tuesday, June 17 from 5  to 6 PM showed how to make useful graphs for the public to see what the sources of money to the campaigns of politicians are.  The LWV of Alameda takes the legally required reports from politicians and makes easily understood graphs for, I believe, its website.  A man in the LWVA showed the forms and what data he used and what graph apps he used.  He also said that he would be happy to show other people how to do this and what he has learned.  The sources of money are categorized by company, union, individual, etc.  It was illuminating to see how some candidates are supported solely by one interest group.

–Eric Arens

Upholding Democracy Through Justice Reform Workshop

The Criminal Justice Workshop at Convention 2025 was opened with some memorable words from Maxine Anderson, LWVSF,  with the statement, “as we enter this new era in our nation’s history, advocacy in the arena of criminal justice is more important than ever.”
The first presenter, Jeanne Brown, LWVSD, spoke on Juvenile Justice. The League believes that to decrease over incarceration of adults, we must do better in the youth system. She began with a short history which told of a negative report on juvenile incarceration from 2019 that led Gov. Newsom to sign the State Facilities Law (SB 823 & SB 9)2 which mandated that juveniles would no longer be sent to such facilities starting July 1, 2021, and that these state facilities would be closed down in June of 2023.
This closure led to the consideration of  “least restrictive environment” for youth, thereby moving them from the facilities to within their own county, closer to their families. Brown noted that only 7% of the youth referred to family courts were charged with serious violent offenses; some of these youth were moved to Youth Treatment facilities.  Other youth have shown to do well with diversion programs such as working in the community for non-profits. She said that kids will make mistakes and restorative justice is known to help. A new bill, AB 1376, will allow youth to be released on their own recognizance after being on Probation for 90 days. LWVC supports this bill in process. LWVC Bill Status Report
Brown noted that Alameda County has made a small but positive push toward education rights.  She emphasized that it is important for League members to get to know what is going on in their county’s juvenile justice system.
Next, Norma Nelson, LWV Sacramento, reported on sheriff oversight. Background issues mentioned  included Qualified Immunity, which protects police officers from being personally liable in civil lawsuits unless a clearly established Constitutional right is violated, as well as the  California’s Peace Officer Bill of Rights. She cited Weber’s AB 392 Use of Force law which mandated use of de-escalation skills and McCarty’s AB 1185 which gives guidelines for sheriff oversight and accountability boards.
The LWVC Sheriff Accountability and Transparency Working Group was established in 2022. Since then the group has affiliated with the California Coalition for Sheriff Oversight CCSO, an advocacy group composed of the ACLU, LWVC, and a number of local community advocacy groups. In the sheriff oversight process one of the most difficult and time consuming parts in the required Meet and confer.  If any changes are requested due to the establishment of oversight, all parties affected must meet, discuss, and come to consensus before going forward.
In closing, Carolina Goodman, LWVLA, told of services that work. The National Mental Health, @ phone # 988, is phone support for people in crisis  Referrals to local 911’s can be made if needed.  Oakland has two services:  MACRO run by the fire department and M.H. First, run by a group of mental health volunteers.
Because studies have shown that people in this legal system who can vote show less recidivism, LWVC sponsored the Bill AB 544 which would create a pilot program for vote centers in jails. However, this idea was dropped, at least locally.  Statistically, 60% of people in jail are awaiting trial and could vote.

–Christine Wenrich   archivist@lwvbae.org

 

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