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Our Work
Grassroots Driven. Impact Focused.
About our work
The LWVC works in broad, diverse coalitions across the state to advance progress, with a focus on our key issues. Whether we are organizing locally or in Sacramento advocating, our focus is making change that drives a more equitable California. A California in which every person has a say in the government that represents them, every person has equal opportunity, and every person has access to their human rights.
While Making Democracy Work is one of our core focus areas, our issues are broken down into three main categories: government, social policy, and natural resources. We are actively working in our communities and in our legislature on all of these areas.
key issues and the grassroots
Our current Priority Issues are Making Democracy Work, Criminal Justice/Legal System Reform, Housing/Homelessness, and Climate Change/Sustainability.
In the winter of even numbered years, members across California begin the program planning process by reviewing all existing positions and current issues with their local League members. After discussion, each local League recommends positions to be retained, reviewed, updated, and/or deleted as well as those that the LWVC should emphasize for the following two years. In the spring, the LWVC board of directors evaluates the responses from local Leagues along with current state issues and available financial and human resources. The board develops a proposed League program. The proposed program could include issues for emphasis using existing positions or possible development of new or updated positions through the study process. “Program” describes our key issues for the upcoming two years. In May, delegates to the LWVC Convention vote on the Program and set the direction for the coming two years.
About our Positions
We act on some of the most important and challenging issues facing California. However, we only act on an issue when we have a position addressing that issue. League positions reflect the consensus of the membership after studying an issue, debating it, and voting to adopt a specific position. These positions, enacted and evolved by members over the lifetime of the League, are the guideposts for all of our actions on issues. If members have not studied and come to consensus on an issue, we have no position and no stand on that issue.