LWV of the United States

League of Women Voters^®
of Mississippi, Inc.

Where hands-on work to safeguard democracy leads to civic improvement!

Issue Studies. Issue Positions. Action & Advocacy. National Voter.

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. The League of Women Voters of the United States operates at the national level, studying issues and advocating for policies that affect the whole nation, with grassroots support from state and local Leagues.
Click here to view national League Leadership or League Staff.

Issue Studies

The League of Women Voters takes up new studies every two years to explore important issues with implications at the local, state, federal, and/or international level.
The most recent study undertaken explored the the advisability of using the National Popular Vote (NPV) Compact among the states as a method for electing the U.S. President.
Two criteria were established for a successful consensus study.
1) Participation: 51% of local Leagues participated--meeting the pre-determined goal of 33%.
2) Consensus: 50% of the local Leagues achieved consensus--failing to meet the pre-determined goal of 66%.
Not only did an insufficient number of Leagues reach consensus, but several Leagues expressed concerns and/or misunderstandings about the process.
Click Recommendations to the LWVUS Board about the NPV Compact Consensus for more details.
Look here to view the Consensus Response Report or an Analysis of the Study Report.
Click on National Popular Vote (NPV) Compact Study for detailed information about this study and the resources provided for it.

Issue Positions

The League of Women Voters of the United States have developed position statements over the years on a number of issues covering a wide range of topics. Please select one of the links below to learn more.
Representative Government Promote an open governmental system that is representative, accountable and responsive.
International Relations Promote peace in an interdependent world by working cooperatively with other nations and strengthening international organizations.
Natural Resources Promote an environment beneficial to life through the protection and wise management of natural resources in the public interest.
Social Policy Secure equal rights and equal opportunity for all. Promote social and economic justice and the health and safety of all Americans.
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The League of Women Voters recently completed a two-year Immigration Study aimed at helping communities understand the implications of immigration at the local, state, and federal level. As a result of this study, the LWVUS has developed the following, and their newest, position statement:
Immigration Position The League of Women Voters believes that immigration policies should promote reunification of immediate families; meet the economic, business and employment needs of the United States; and be responsive to those facing political persecution or humanitarian crises. Provision should also be made for qualified persons to enter the U.S. on student visas. All persons should receive fair treatment under the law.

Action & Advocacy

FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO TAKE ACTION!
National Priorities

Global Climate Change The League believes that now is the time to act on global climate change. We can reduce global warming pollution by using existing technologies to make power plants and factories more efficient, make cars go farther on a gallon of gasoline, and shift to cleaner technologies. Cities, states and individuals are already adopting many of these solutions, which also reduce our dependence on oil, reduce air pollution, and protect pristine places from oil drilling and mining. State and local initiatives are proving that answers exist. To reinforce and expand on those efforts, the League urges federal action that reduces global warming pollutants on a national and global scale.

Health Care Reform The League believes that quality, affordable health care should be available to all U.S. residents. Other U.S. health care policy goals should include the equitable distribution of services, efficient and economical delivery of care, advancement of medical research and technology, and a reasonable total national expenditure level for health care. Furthermore, the League believes that all Americans should have access to a basic level of care that includes the prevention of disease, health promotion and education, primary care (including prenatal and reproductive health), acute care, long-term care and mental health care.

DC Voting Rights Citizens of the District of Columbia have no representation in the U.S. Senate and only a nonvoting delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives. A basic principle of democracy is at stake. U.S. citizens living in the capital of the free world deserve to have full voting representation in the bodies that make their laws, tax them and call them to war.

Election Administration When the 2000 election exposed the many problems facing the election system, the League leaped into action. Bringing our coalition allies together, the League worked to ensure that key reforms were part of the congressional debate. With the League's special expertise, we argued for improved voting systems and machines, provisional balloting and other safeguards, and improvements in voter registration systems, poll worker training and administration.

Campaign Finance Reform The cost of political advertising has skyrocketed in the past two decades and has played a major role in driving The League strongly supports legislation to fix the public financing system for presidential candidates and to establish congressional public financing. Escalating campaign costs drive out potential candidates and require those running for office to spend too much time raising money + too often from special interests.

CEDAW The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1979. The treaty commits ratifying nations to take concrete action to improve the status of women and to reverse discrimination and end violence against women in their own countries and around the world. The United States has never ratified CEDAW, making it one of the few countries to fail to do so. The League believes that the United States should ratify CEDAW.

Civil Liberties There are fundamental principles that guard our liberty -- from independent judicial review of law enforcement actions to prohibitions on indiscriminate searches -- that must be preserved. Basic civil liberties must be protected as the nation seeks to guard against terrorism and other threats to national security.

Ethics and Lobbying Reform The last Congress passed new ethics and lobbying laws. Now is the time to ensure that the ethics process works to fight corruption and to limit the undue influence of special interest lobbyists.

Redistricting Reform Redistricting reform is an issue that goes to the heart of our democratic system of government. Representative democracy depends on the voters freely choosing their elected officials. When, instead, officials choose their voters, our system cannot work for long.

The National Voter

Read the current issue or archived issues of The National Voter.
Get the latest issue of the LeaguE-Voice, the new electronic newsletter published by the League of Women Voters of the United States. Sent monthly, the newsletter includes timely action alerts and press releases as well as program updates and upcoming events. All past issues are available online at LWV of US website in the News & Events section!

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: August 7, 2010 22:15 PDT.