The League of Women Voters Anchorage organized a Democracy Fair last January. This is the Municipality of Anchorage's Ombudsman table at the fair. Another one is planned for this fall.
Friends ask why I spend so much time volunteering with the League of Women Voters (LWV). Consider the mission: Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy. At no time in my 76 years has this work been more important.
Voting is truly threatened. Our democracy is teetering, as a determined federal administration seizes power, ignores the rule of law, defies court rulings and dismantles institutions. They're not the first administration to attempt a power grab, and we're not the first generation of Americans called upon to say "no-not on our watch!"
The challenges feel overwhelming. But each of us can be part of the pushback, a brick in the wall protecting our democracy.
Like all 800 local and state chapters, and the national organization, LWV Anchorage is nonpartisan, nonprofit and grassroots. Nonpartisan means we do not endorse or oppose candidates or political parties. But we are definitely political. We work to protect and expand voting rights and ensure everyone is represented in our democracy. We defend democracy through advocacy, education and litigation.
Established in 1920, the LWV US grew out of the suffrage movement. It has welcomed men as equal members since the 1970s. LWV Anchorage, formed in 1950, pre-dates statehood and was a formidable civic force in Anchorage through the 1970s.
Even without paid staff, there's still much we are doing to empower voters and defend democracy.
Host public forums and educational events
One of the newest and most exciting of our initiatives is the Democracy Fair, a one-day event that features speakers, films and nonpartisan booths, focusing on myriad topics related to democracy. The first Democracy Fair in January was a huge success, judging from the feedback. We are in the planning stages of Democracy Fair 2.0 and working with Get Out the Native Vote and a national group, Veterans for All Voters. The event would be in the fall.
Register voters
LWV Anchorage has registered voters as a core element of its work. We also work with local elections officials to safeguard ballot boxes and deliver ballots to housebound voters. LWV Anchorage reaches out to people through tables at community events. These "tabling events" allow us to chat with other Alaskans in comfortable, no pressure environments. Our tables usually include a League volunteer trained to register voters.
Educate voters
Democracy demands that voters be informed; educated voters are empowered voters. LWV Anchorage educates voters in several ways. In cooperation with the Municipal Elections Office, we publish the Ballot Review, a guide to every municipal election. It includes information about candidates, ballot measures and propositions, how and where to vote and election resources. The Ballot Review is mailed to every household in the Municipality of Anchorage and is the only source of comprehensive information currently available to local voters.
We also educate voters through partnerships with other nonpartisan nonprofit organizations. These partnerships organize public forums on topical issues, produce public service announcements for traditional and social media, and cooperate on get out the vote (GOTV) campaigns.
Engage youth
Anchorage Youth Vote, a program of the Anchorage League since the early 2000s, is a youth-run organization based in Anchorage. Its mission is to provide a non-partisan venue to engage youth in the democratic process and educate youth about the rights and responsibilities of living in a democracy.
Youth Vote projects and programs may include candidate forums, campaigns to educate young people on the democratic process, mock elections for high school and middle school students, engagement education and workshops.
LWV Anchorage offers a service to Anchorage high schools in which a League member visits government or civics classes – with the teacher's permission – to register students in person and provide nonpartisan information about voting, elections and the importance of voting in municipal elections.
We plan to work more closely with the Anchorage School District to expand the service to all high schools, as well as private and charter schools.
I recite our activities as examples of the small acts that-if multiplied many times over-can save our democracy.
