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Advocacy

From its inception in 1920, the League of Women Voters has been an activist, grassroots organization that encourages citizens to advocate for better government and for public policies that served the common good. This is reflected in the League’s mission to empower voters and defend democracy.

The League is proud to be nonpartisan, neither supporting nor opposing candidates or political parties at any level of government but always working on vital issues of concern to members and the public.

CONTROVERSY

The League’s nonpartisan stance does not mean that the League should not get involved in controversy. Someone may accuse the League of violating its nonpartisan policy because of what is viewed as a partisan position on a controversial political topic. Or a candidate may refuse to participate in a candidate forum or to provide information for a voter guide. A League will be a strong and effective political force to the degree that it can deal with and accept controversy, live with uncertainty, and avoid using its nonpartisan policy as a shield for not getting involved. Good planning, accurate information and remaining polite but firm will go a long way toward defusing such situations.

See Guidance for Leagues about Nonpartisanship and Partnerships.

Impact on Issues is a comprehensive (e.g. long) guide to all public policy positions for LWV. The opening pages are extremely helpful for guidance as to how we perform our advocacy work.

Contact the VP of Advocacy, advocacy@lwvmilwaukee.org for more info.

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What is Advocacy?

The goals of advocacy are to

Educate the public, voters, or policymakers on an issue or policy.
Influence public opinion — building support for or opposition to a position or policy.
Influence legislation, policies, or regulations.

Advocacy includes

Education.
Publicly supporting or opposing an issue.
Lobbying.

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Advocacy vs. Lobbying

Advocacy is a broader concept than lobbying. While lobbying can be part of an advocacy strategy, advocacy does not necessarily include lobbying.

Lobbying is the act of talking to elected officials or their staffs about the merits of your position. Your goal is to influence their position through your knowledge of the issues. Lobbying provides our legislators with direct access to information about how particular proposed legislation might affect their constituents – the people who live, work and vote in their districts.

Lobbying can also be directed to the general public by taking a position on specific legislation or administrative action and urging the public to contact respective government officials or employees or expressing a view on specific ballot measures.

It is important that the league’s nonpartisan voter services and lobbying activities must be kept separate. Voter guides and other voter materials must not contain statements of league positions.

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Advocacy Actions

Legislative advocacy includes

Memos to legislators.
Meetings with legislators.
Legislative testimony.
Action alerts.
Public policy briefs.

“Speaking with one voice” is one of the important tenets of the League. Members must not make statements on behalf of LWV or purport to represent LWV through any public medium, including online media, unless specifically authorized to do so.

That does not mean you should not contact your government representatives. Just the opposite. We ask and encourage our members to always take action as individuals (not as LWV members) to add strength of numbers to public policy we hope to see transformed.

What to say when you contact your elected representatives regarding a bill.

To act on our positions, we need to use reliable sources from academia, news sources and other organizations. The following links are extremely useful, some in using advocacy resources and some for up-to-date information on the status of public policy issues of interest: Advocacy & Action Resources.