Winter 2018-19 Update
LWVMA Motivates the Vote During Election 2018
LWVMA: Registering, Engaging, and Protecting Voters in 2018
LWVMA: Registering, Engaging, and Protecting Voters in 2018
During the 2018 election cycle, LWVMA and our local Leagues played a major role registering, engaging, and protecting Massachusetts voters.  We are proud to report that:
  • Our members registered over 2,000 new voters.
  • Our online, non-partisan voters' guide provided vital candidate and ballot question information to 80,000 Massachusetts voters.
  • Local Leagues hosted over 40 candidate and ballot question forums.
  • On election day, League volunteers and staff monitored polling places and answered calls to the Election Protection hotline.
Promoting an active and informed citizenry has been LWVMA's mission for 98 years. With the League's help, a record 2.7 million  Massachusetts citizens voted on election day!
Our Next Priority:  Election Day Voter Registration
Executive Director Meryl Kessler and coalition partners join Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin to support AVR.
After over a year of legislative advocacy by the League and its coalition partners, Automatic Voter Registration (AVR)  passed in the Massachusetts state legislature this summer and was signed into law by Governor Baker on August 9, 2018. Massachusetts is the 14th state to pass AVR.

AVR was a major step forward in the modernization of our state's election laws, making our voter registration system more accurate and cost-effective, adding up to 700,000 eligible voters to the rolls, and keeping voters' registration information up-to-date.

Yet despite this historic legislation, some eligible citizens who want to vote may still find themselves unregistered on Election Day.  For those who miss the registration deadline (because they have just moved or for other reasons), there is a simple fix:  Election Day registration (or EDR).  Eighteen states plus the District of Columbia currently or will soon allow EDR with proper identification. A 2016 study by Nonprofit VOTE shows that turnout was 7 percent higher in the 14 states that had Election Day registration than in the 36 states that did not permit it. If enacted in Massachusetts, EDR would complement AVR to ensure that every potential voter has the opportunity to register and vote.  To make sure the voices of all eligible Massachusetts voters are heard, LWVMA will be working hard in the 2019-20 legislative session to make EDR a reality in our state.
LWVMA Registers, Educates Voters at MCW
This year, LWVMA was once again invited to participate in the annual  Massachusetts Conference for Women , held at the Boston Convention Center on  December 5th and 6th.

At the League information table, staff and volunteers helped many of the conference's 15,000 attendees to update their voter registration and registered several first-time voters.

Attendees also took the League's Massachusetts civics quiz, which provided an opportunity to learn about voter registration policies and representative government. Quiz-takers were also entered into a raffle, and five winners received an LWVMA swag bag.

Numerous attendees expressed an interest in the League, and we look forward to working with them to educate voters and advocate for better policies in their communities.
Support LWVMA, Support Democracy
We have had a banner year, but much work remains to be done.

Please support LWVMA's vital democracy-strengthening work by donating to our year-end appeal!  We need your help to continue educating voters and advocating for legislation to improve the Commonwealth in 2019.

Even with a network of citizen activists in our state, our grassroots movement requires sufficient funding to succeed...and that is why your support is so crucial.    Please give now .