Advocacy
and Education
Advocacy and Education
are two different aspects of LWV’s mission
of encouraging the informed participation in government.
For legal reasons, we need to distinguish between them.
Advocacy
Action based on member decision, after thorough study of all sides
of an issue, sets LWV apart from other organizations. For more information
on this process, read How
we reach our positions. The fact that we are members not only
of local Leagues,
but of the state League and of the League
of Women Voters of the United States as well, makes us a powerful
constituency.
Education
Over the years, LWV has built up high recognition value and trust
by providing citizens accurate, nonpartisan
services and information on elections and on governmental issues.
Public respect for LWV's commitment to factual, unbiased information
is a source of pride for members. Voter
service and citizen education are designed to provide citizens
with unbiased, factual
information as a basis for reaching their own decisions. LWV
action, on the other hand, is based on member
study and agreement on selected issues and involves lobbying
and educational efforts for the public
policies we support.
It is particularly important
for us to distinguish between educational services and action. This
is not always easy to do. For example, LWV efforts to improve the
administration of election laws come under the category of citizen
information (Education). However, working to enact new election laws or to change
existing ones is lobbying, taking legislative action under League
positions (Advocacy). Such action is not considered to be citizen information
activity.
In order to keep our
efforts legally and financially separate, we have formed two
organizations that operate under one roof.
-Portions excerpted from
In League 2002, LWVUS
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