TODAY: League of Women Voters Launches ‘Unite and Rise 8.5’ Initiative

LWV Launches New Initiative to Mobilize 8.5 Million Voters Through Advocacy, Civic Education, and Engagement

May 1, 2025

Washington, DC — Today, the League of Women Voters of the United States, a century-old nonpartisan organization, launched a powerful new initiative, Unite and Rise 8.5, which aims to engage and mobilize 8.5 million voters through advocacy, civic education, and community engagement. On April 17, 2025, Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters, and Dianna Wynn, president of the League of Women Voters, took the serious step of labelling our current moment a constitutional crisis, and concurrently announced the Unite and Rise 8.5 initiative.

“In first 100 days of the Trump administration, as our constitution and rule of law have been assailed, the democracy movement has been on the defensive,” said Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States. “Today, that changes. Unite and Rise 8.5 embodies a proactive, positive vision of what America can be — something that anyone who cares about democracy, no matter their party affiliation, can participate in. More than 105 years ago, women of all political leanings fought together for the freedom to vote, and the unprecedented political moment we find ourselves in today demands we take action to lead a movement again.”

Over the next year and a half, Unite and Rise 8.5, which expands the League’s existing power-building work, will encourage Americans to reinvigorate our civic life through education and engagement, public mobilization, partnership-building, and policy advocacy.  

Unite and Rise 8.5 builds on LWV’s pro-democracy actions of the past three months. For example, on April 30, League members from Washington DC, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia gathered at the US Capitol to meet with their representatives in a coordinated all-member lobby day to demand that Congress protect the rule of law, defend the Constitution, and end the overreach by the executive branch of government.

To learn more and be part of the movement, check out our Unite and Rise 8.5 landing page.

Background: LWV launched Unite and Rise 8.5 because our country is in a constitutional crisis — and it is up to all Americans, no matter their political leaning, to engage, mobilize, and push back against anti-democratic threats.

According to Harvard political scientist Erica Chenoweth, 3.5 percent of a population can successfully pressure a government to accommodate their movement, leading to policy change. Approximately 245 million Americans were eligible to vote in the 2024 general election; 3.5 percent of these eligible voters is roughly 8.5 million voters. The League’s initiative will test the theory that it takes 3.5% of a population to protect democracies.

The Unite and Rise 8.5 initiative is a part of LWV's Women Defend Democracy campaign.

Link here

Terrifying, Unacceptable, and Dangerous: LWV’s Response to the Arrest of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan

April 25, 2025

On April 25, 2025, federal agents arrested Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan at her courthouse for allegedly obstructing the unlawful arrest of Eduardo Flores-Ruiz. In response, the League of Women Voters CEO Celina Stewart released the following statement:

“Make no mistake: the targeting of Judge Dugan is terrifying, unacceptable, and dangerous. Federal agents arresting a sitting state court judge undermines the sanctity of the judiciary and threatens us all.  

"Amid an alarming intensification of the targeting of noncitizens by this administration, this act is a clear attempt to silence and intimidate anyone who stands up for the rights of noncitizens. Today's action creates a chilling ripple effect that erodes faith in institutions meant to protect and serve us all.

"In this incredibly divisive and dangerous moment, it is up to all of us — no matter our political leaning — to fight for our neighbors, our communities, and the vision of the country we want to live in.”

To read the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin's joint statement with other pro-democracy organizations in the state, click here.

Link here

League of Women Voters of California Seeks to Protect Mailed Ballots in California

April 21, 2025

San Diego, CA — Hundreds of thousands of California voters could have their ballots wrongfully discounted, according to a motion to intervene filed by the League of Women Voters of California (LWVC) on Friday, April 18 against a lawsuit seeking to block counting mailed ballots received after Election Day.  

The LWVC, represented by the ACLU and the ACLU Foundations of Northern California, Southern California, and San Diego & Imperial Counties, seeks to intervene in a lawsuit brought last month by California Congressman Darrell Issa. Issa’s suit alleges that the state is violating federal election laws by allowing voters who cast and mail their mail ballots by Election Day to have those ballots counted if they are received within seven days after Election Day. Issa’s lawsuit, if successful, would require voters to mail their ballots well in advance of Election Day or risk that their vote will not be counted.

In 2014, California legislators voted to implement a grace period of three days after Election Day for mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be delivered. After a temporary extension to 17 days during the COVID-19 pandemic, state legislators in 2021 settled on the current window of seven days post-Election Day.

“California’s vote-by-mail system follows a common-sense principle: voters who mail their ballot in by Election Day should have their vote counted,” said Chris Carson, president of the League of Women Voters of California. “This dangerous lawsuit seeks to rob Californians of the opportunity to make their voices heard in the way most accessible to them – and the League of Women Voters of California will not stand for that.”

“Across the country, we are seeing a sustained attack on the freedom to vote – and Rep. Issa’s alarming lawsuit is just the latest example,” said Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States. “We all know mail can take days to reach its destination, and no Californian – or American – who casts their ballot in time should have their vote disregarded because of that. Our democracy is stronger when everyone can participate. What are anti-voter groups and politicians so afraid of?”

“In his lawsuit, Congressman Issa openly admits that he wants to disenfranchise voters simply because they might not vote for him,” said Julia Gomez, interim managing legal director of the ACLU of San Diego & Imperial Counties. “He is putting his own partisan interests above elections that accurately reflect the will of the people and his arguments are meritless.”

“Many states sensibly allow voters who complete and mail their ballot by Election Day a few extra days for their ballot to arrive in the mail. But now election deniers are attacking those rules with a bogus legal theory based on century-old federal laws having nothing to do with mail ballot voting,” said Ari Savitzky, senior staff attorney at the ACLU Voting Rights Project. “This effort to cast doubt on voting by mail and on our elections will fail.”

Link here

LWV Declares United States in a “Constitutional Crisis,” Announces New Initiative to Mobilize Voters

April 17, 2025

LWV Declares United States in a “Constitutional Crisis,” Announces New Initiative to Mobilize Voters

Washington, DC — Today, Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters, and Dianna Wynn, president of the League of Women Voters, released the following statement:  

“It has now been 87 days since the start of the Trump administration. From the flagrant disregard for congressional authority and governmental checks and balances to the latest action of openly defying the Supreme Court orders to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back home, one thing is abundantly clear: our country is in a constitutional crisis.

We the people must fight back. That is why the League of Women Voters is launching a powerful new initiative, Unite and Rise 8.5.

Unite and Rise 8.5 will engage and mobilize 8.5 million voters between now and November 2026 to protect and preserve our democratic institutions.

The foundational principles that have sustained our democracy — checks and balances, the rule of law, free and fair elections — are under direct and sustained threat. In this extraordinary moment, we cannot proceed with business as usual.  All Americans — no matter who you voted for in 2024 — need to come together, stand united, and fight back to save our democracy. We cannot afford to fail the generations to come.”

About Unite and Rise 8.5: Starting May 1, the League will launch the Unite and Rise 8.5 initiative, which aims to mobilize 8.5 million voters using the power of voter engagement as a cornerstone of our democracy. Unite and Rise 8.5 will showcase the many ways voters can drive change, including through advocacy, mobilization, civic education, and engagement. The initiative is part of LWV’s Women Defend Democracy campaign.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to protect and expand voting rights and ensure everyone is represented in our democracy. We empower voters and defend democracy through advocacy, education, and litigation, at the local, state, and national levels.

Link here

League of Women Voters, Lawyers’ Committee, NAACP, and Equal Justice Society File Brief Opposing Executive Order Attacking Birthright Citizenship

April 11, 2025

Today, the League of Women Voters, NAACP, and Equal Justice Society filed an amicus brief urging a federal court to invalidate a recent executive order issued by President Donald Trump seeking to revoke birthright citizenship for individuals born in the United States to undocumented persons or temporary legal residents. 

Represented by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, this is the only amicus brief filed which explicitly centers racial justice. The filing emphasizes that birthright citizenship is not a matter of political debate or preference, but rather a right rooted in the purpose of the Reconstruction Amendments, which established and protects the full personhood and civil rights of Black Americans and other historically excluded communities. 

The amicus brief also makes the case that the executive order would erode American democracy by diminishing the ability for Black Americans and other communities of color to meaningfully participate in democracy. The order would drastically reshape the electorate and reimpose a racial hierarchy previously abolished by the Reconstruction Amendments.  

“The Fourteenth Amendment is unequivocal and clear: any person born in the United States is a US citizen,” said Celina Stewart, chief executive officer of the League of Women Voters of the United States. “This administration’s attempt to blatantly disregard the Constitution is deeply chilling, a direct attack on Black Americans, and fundamentally at odds with the promise of American democracy and personhood.”

“The Reconstruction Amendments were designed to ensure that Black and Brown people had the same rights and access as white people in this country. Together, they ensure that this nation would never re-live the horrors of slavery and the era of Dred Scott,” said Olivia Sedwick, counsel, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “This executive order is not only unconstitutional, but it is deeply ahistorical and regressive. If it is allowed to stand, this nation can no longer hold itself out to be the bastion of freedom and democracy to the world.” 

“This executive order is a direct assault on the Constitution and the fundamental rights it guarantees,” said Janette McCarthy Wallace, NAACP Chief General Counsel. By attempting to strip birthright citizenship from native-born Americans, it threatens to resurrect a shameful, exclusionary past and create a legally inferior underclass—disproportionately harming communities of color and silencing future generations in our democratic voting process. We cannot allow this dangerous erosion of our democracy to stand.”

“Birthright citizenship is foundational to ensuring Black Americans’ humanity, equality, and full place in our democracy,” says Mona Tawatao, Legal Director of the Equal Justice Society. “This is what the drafters of the  Fourteenth Amendment intended; the executive order to revoke this sacred right should alarm everyone who cares about equal rights and equal protection under the law.” 

Link here

A Dangerous Step Backward for Our Democracy: League of Women Voters Responds to Passage of the SAVE Act in the US House

April 10, 2025

Washington, DC — Today, Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States, issued the following statement in response to the passage of the SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act in the US House of Representatives:    

“Today is a dark day in politics. The passage of the SAVE Act in the US House is a direct attack on the fundamental right to vote and a dangerous step backward for our democracy.  

The SAVE Act is based on misinformation and fearmongering rather than facts, as there is no evidence of widespread non-citizen voter registration or voting in state and federal elections. Instead, the SAVE Act will create new barriers to voter registration by requiring submission of documentary proof of citizenship materials in person every time a voter updates their registration, which particularly harms rural voters, voters of color, married women who have changed their last names, and other voters who have been historically marginalized who already face obstacles in accessing the ballot box. 

The League of Women Voters of the United States strongly opposes this legislation, which now moves to the Senate. We call on senators to do their job to protect American voters and reject this dangerous bill. The freedom to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, and we will not stand by while politicians push anti-voter laws that weaken access to the ballot. 

We will continue to fight to protect the voting rights of all eligible Americans and ensure that every voice is heard in our elections. The League is committed to working with our partners and legal advocates to pursue all avenues in fighting back against this harmful law. We will use every tool at our disposal to defend voters from unjust restrictions and uphold the integrity of our electoral system and democracy.” 

###

The League of Women Voters envisions a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge and the confidence to participate. We believe in the power of women to create a more perfect democracy.

Link here

Voting Rights Groups Challenge Trump’s Recent Anti-Voter Executive Order

April 1, 2025

Washington, DC — A coalition of voting rights organizations filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia to challenge President Trump’s unlawful executive order on voting. The order attempts to seize the power to set voter registration rules from Congress and the states, and doing so in a way that would violate federal law and the Constitution if carried out by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Key provisions of Trump’s order could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters, particularly voters of color, women voters, naturalized citizens, voters with disabilities, voters with low incomes, and first-time voters.

The Constitution specifies that Congress and the states can set the rules for our elections, not the President. On March 27, several of the above voting rights organizations sent a letter to the EAC urging them not to take action in response to key provisions in the executive order, as doing so would violate federal law. 

Link here