Sharon Goldfarb led the 2026 program planning meeting meeting, during which the group discussed three proposed concurrences submitted by other Leagues to be introduced at the upcoming LWVUS convention and local issues to emphasize in the upcoming LWVBAE year.

National Emphasis: 

The three national issues for concurrence discussed centered on religious freedom and the separation of church and state, immigrant rights, and healthcare privatization.

First, the group reviewed the current position of the League on religious freedom and the separation of church and state, which is already embedded and assumed within other positions, such as the one on individual liberties that are guaranteed by the U.S. constitution. The Colorado League believes that there are limitations in the current position and they include the lack of explicitly stating that the separation of church and state is a bedrock of our democracy, the lack of any reference to religious nationalism as a current threat, and requires interpretation to support advocacy.  The new proposed position from the Colorado League explicitly affirms separation of church and state, names religious nationalism as a threat to democracy, and grounds the concurrence in the First Amendment’s establishment and Free Exercise Clause. When discussing whether we should support Colorado in their new proposed position, Kandea Mosely Gandhi stated that California leaders she consulted said that the current position is sufficient for advocacy and education. Ellen Wheeler also brought up concerns about supporting Colorado’s proposal without further study. While Candance Hyde-Wang made a motion to support the  Colorado proposal, the motion was later withdrawn.

Next, the group discussed the League’s current position on immigrant rights, which supports due process and equal protection, and applies broadly but lacks immigrant-specific guidance. Some limitations in our current position are there is no structural framework for welcoming systems  or coordination guidance for them. The Washington League’s  new proposed position is to recognize immigrants and refugees as integral to democracy, calls for coordinated, equitable, and accountable welcoming systems, and emphasizes immigrant-led voices and the importance of their meaningful participation. Candace Hyde-Wang thought the League needed stronger and better language to address the immigration issues in our country today, while Kandea Mosely Gandhi stated that the League already actively supports immigrants’ rights through coalitions, and an updated position won’t impact the work. The group ended up voting to support Washington’s new proposed position because they felt that the proposal might help Leagues that aren’t already active in supporting immigrant rights campaigns become more engaged in their communities.

The final concurrence was on health care privatization. Although the League supports single- payer, our current position does not explicitly refer to health care as a public good. The New York League’s proposed position explicitly defines health care as a public good, and supports de-privatization when private entities fail. The group discussed health care as a public good and a necessity. A motion was almost immediately passed in support of New York’s proposal.

Local Emphasis: 

The three main areas of local emphasis discussed and approved  in this meeting were Climate Change, DEI health care, and the Criminal Justice/Legal system. The group discussed wanting to change the Criminal Justice System to Legal Justice because they felt that the Criminal Justice team was becoming more of a social justice team as well.

The Board ultimately approved the recommendations coming out of program planning.