The VOTER~January 2026

Coffee with the League
Jan. 5, Monday, 9-10:30 a.m., Garden Room at Latte Da, 205 E 39th St., Vancouver Registration recommended.(Log in first.)
Please login & fill out the Member Survey about Coffee with the League too!

Member Meeting
Jan. 10, Saturday, 10 a.m.-noon, CDM Caregiving Services, 2300 NE Andresen Rd., Vancouver & Zoom
Volunteers are needed.

Member Orientation
Jan. 12, Monday, 3-4 p.m., Zoom, Registration recommended. (Log in first.)

LWVWA webinar “Techniques Used to Sway Opinion”
Jan. 20, Tuesday, 6:30-8 p.m. Zoom registration link included in the Member version.

Election Observer Training
Jan. 21, Wednesday, 2-4 p.m., Clark County elections Office, 1408 Franklin St. Registration required.

Lobby Week, Olympia
Jan. 26-30 Member registration link included in the Member version.

Member Meeting
Feb. 14, Saturday, 10 a.m.-noon, CDM Caregiving Services, 2300 NE Andresen Rd., Vancouver & Zoom

LWVWA webinar "Get to Know Artificial Intelligence"
Feb. 24, Tuesday, 6:30-8 p.m., Zoom registration link included in the Member version.

"You Can Run for Office!" panel discussion
March 8, Sunday, 1 p.m., Vancouver Community Library, 901 C St.

Happy New Year, Clark County League members! We’re off and running on what promises to be an active and memorable year.

The Washington State Legislature begins its session Jan. 12, and League members will be advocating for issues that affect the citizens of our state. You can learn more in this issue about how to get involved in Lobby Week, Jan. 26-29. Register for virtual sessions covering a range of topics from health care to immigration to climate change; find out how you can meet with local legislators in person in Olympia, and stay up-to-the-minute by signing up for the League’s weekly Legislative Action Newsletter.

This month also offers an opportunity to become a smarter consumer of media and news: The state League’s Media & News Literacy series continues

with an interactive Zoom session Jan. 20 titled “Techniques Used to Sway Opinion.” Explore the different forms of persuasion and build skills to help you become more aware of when you’re being influenced and how to resist. The series concludes Feb. 24 with “Get to Know Artificial Intelligence (AI).” You’ll find all the details inside, including how to register.

Looking a bit further ahead, planning for our 2026 candidate forums will begin in April. Primary election forums take place in June and July; general election forums in September and October. The Candidate Forum Committee is seeking a co-chair to work alongside chair Melanie Handshaw in planning and emceeing these events. Attendees tell us the candidate forums are a valuable way to evaluate candidates as they respond to questions from a respected nonpartisan organization.

LWVUS Monthly Update

LWVUS signed a letter along with 257 partner nonprofit organizations in opposition to the federal government silencing them because they disagree with the federal administration.

The national League -- along with LWVWA, the Clark County League, and many other state and local Leagues -- submitted comments objecting to the Social Security Administration’s proposal to share its data with the Department of Homeland Security.

Blog Subscriptions

I hope you are already familiar with our Observing Government blog written by members of the Observer Corps. If you are not familiar, Observer Corps members attend council, board, commission, and advisory committees to listen, learn, observe, and report back to the League with factual information about the proceedings. Some of their reports are included in the Observing Government blog as a service to the public.

We have links to the blog on our website menu and on the home page. Did you know you can also subscribe to the blog and receive an email every time a new report is published?

Here’s how to subscribe:

click on "Blogs" in the menu and then “Read Blog” or click on the "Take me to the blog" button on the home page
look under the Blog Title "Observing Government"
click "Subscribe"
enter your email address
click "save"

CITIZEN 411: AAUW with Kathy Bender
and Kathi Pickett

Join Rachel and Tracy to learn about the American Association of University Women, our new League partner and one of the nation’s oldest organizations supporting women students. Higher education is under attack with restrictions, reviews and reduction of student grants. What might happen to the Department of Education – or Title IX or IV? What will this mean to students over the next years? AAUW has scholarships and initiatives to do something about it! When they talk about diversity, they use DEIA – the A is for Accessibility