Annual League Leader Event - Voter Education, Local Journalism & You!

Join us virtually for our annual League Leader event Saturday, September 17, 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. Register here.

Inspired by the robust conversation at LWVMA Council about the collapse of community journalism, we’re following up with two interactive sessions, “Local League Members Supporting Community Journalism” and “How Local Leagues Use Community Media to Educate and Engage Voters.” All attendees will have the opportunity to attend both sessions. The goal of these facilitated sessions is to give you the opportunity to share ideas with your fellow League leaders on these important topics.

We would love to have representation from all of our 46 Leagues! There is no limit on the number of people who can attend from a local League. Please register here. 

Welcome Lily Sweeterman!

We’re pleased to welcome Lily Sweeterman, who has taken over for Taylor Grenga (Taylor begins law school at Northeastern this fall) as LWVMA’s Administrative & Program Assistant. An Ohio native, Lily is a recent graduate of the University of Dayton, where she majored in Criminal Justice Studies and Sociology. Read more.

What Happened at LWVUS Convention?

In addition to electing Dr. Deborah Turner for another term as LWVUS President, delegates elected new members to the LWVUS Board of Directors, including Massachusetts’ own Vedna Lacombe-Heywood. Congratulations to Vedna! Read more. 

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Resources

The dog days of summer provide a good time to consult the LWVUS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion resources you may have been meaning to watch or read. Read more.

In Memoriam: Virginia Navickas

All of us at the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts (LWVMA) wish to express our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and League colleagues around the state – especially to our friends in the League of Women Voters of the Worcester Area – on the passing of Virginia “Ginger” Navickas, a beloved member of our League community. Ginger was a dynamic and thoughtful League leader whose counsel and advice many of us sought right up until the time of her passing. Read more.

Poll Workers Needed! 

Poll workers are needed in many cities and towns. Poll workers are hired by local election officials. Contact your town clerk or city election officer for information on eligibility, hours, training and an application. Read more.

Youth Voters for a Thriving Democracy 

League of Women Voters of Maine and Tufts’ CIRCLE (Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement) shows us the impact youth voters made in past elections. See presentation here. If you are interested in doing a postcard campaign to youth voters, email Jen Goldman, LWVMA voter engagement committee, for a copy of the campaign.

VOTE411 - Please Encourage Your Local Candidates to Respond

We sent questionnaires to approximately 450 candidates for public office on July 20. We ask you to encourage candidates that will appear on your community’s ballot for the Primary and General elections to respond to the questionnaire sent July 20 for VOTE411.  You will help in our efforts to get as many candidate responses as possible by August 3 so that we can start promoting VOTE411 widely the following week. Read more.

Legislative Session Ends!

The legislature’s formal session ended Sunday, July 31, with the usual last-minute crush of bills and budget. The Legislative Action Committee’s specialists are still catching their breath, and we’ll have a rundown of how the 169 bills we supported fared on the website shortly. We did pretty well this session! Read more. 

Transformative Omnibus Climate Bill Passed by the Legislature

By the time you read this newsletter, we will know if H5060, an Act driving clean energy and offshore wind, was signed into law by the Governor. This bill builds on the sweeping bill – An Act creating a next-generation roadmap for Massachusetts climate policy, signed into law in March 2021. Read more.

Watch Webinar "The State of Massachusetts Gun Laws"

You can view the July 21 program, “The State of Massachusetts Gun Laws” featuring Representative David Linsky here. The main points are below. Read more.

Remote Meeting Access Update

The legislature extended the pandemic emergency provisions for remote access that were set to expire Friday, July 15, to March 31, 2023. Read more.

Thank Your Legislators

Your Senators, Representatives and their staff have had a busy two-year session, with over 9,000 bills filed, each requiring a hearing. In appreciation of their work, you may wish to send them a thank you note. Read more.

Election 2022 Toolkit for Local Leagues

Our Election 2022 Toolkit is now ready! The toolkit includes important dates, VOTE411 yard signs with QR codes that can be downloaded, sample social media graphics and more.

Ballot Questions Reminder

The League is not taking a stand on three November ballot questions, including the Fair Share constitutional amendment question. That means local Leagues cannot advocate for or against them and League members can work on them as individuals but not with League identification. Read more.

November Candidate Forum? Check for Non-Party Candidates 

Planning a candidate forum for the November election? Be sure to check whether anyone has registered to run as a non-party candidate. August 2 is the last day for non-party candidates for state and federal offices to submit nomination papers for signature certification, and August 30 is the last day for non-party candidates to file those nomination papers with the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Read more.

Need Larger Capacity for Virtual Zoom Forum? Zoom Webinar 500 Available

LWVMA has a webinar account available through October for local Leagues who need a webinar account with a 500-person capacity to hold virtual candidate forums. Please contact Brynne to reserve your dates. 

Revised Membership Brochure Now Available

To help with your membership recruitment efforts, we would love to send you up to 100 copies of the recently revised membership brochure. The brochure will soon be available in Spanish, as well (and we are hoping to have it translated into several other languages over the next several months). Please click here to order up to 100 copies which we will mail to you. Please click here to download the pdf and print if you require more than 100 copies.

LWVMA Website Resource Highlights

Candidate Forums - General Information

Voter Service Toolkit