League of Women Voters of the City of New York

The League of Women Voters of the City of New York, Inc. (the League) is a nonpartisan pro-democracy organization whose purpose is to promote informed and active participation in government and the electoral process for all residents of New York City. It neither supports nor opposes candidates or political parties. Participation is open to all persons who subscribe to its purposes.THE FOLLOWING ACCOMPLISHMENTS WERE MADE IN FISCAL YEAR 2023:Voter Outreach and Education Program:In fiscal year 2023, the Leagues programs continued to focus on its core mission to promote informed and active participation in civic life, primarily through voter outreach and civic education and engagement events. Your vote is your voice, is the mantra used to combat voter apathy and convince prospective voters that their voice matters. The League works extensively with many different partners to find new ways to reach prospective voters. The 2022-2023 election season was one continual process, with two primaries and General Election in an off year with historically low voter turnout. The League created and distributed thousands of palm cards for each election, recruited and trained volunteers, and participated in more than 100 voter registration and Get Out the Vote events throughout New York City. Volunteers also wrote thousands of postcards that were mailed to addresses in low voter turnout districts. In its second annual Constitution Day event, dozens of League volunteers engaged with the public as they distributed more than 6,000 English and Spanish copies of U.S. Constitution booklets in ten low voter turnout neighborhoods throughout NYC. Civic Engagement:Another important program of the League of Women Voters of NYC is its Speaker events which are developed through its Speakers Bureau and Program Committee. In FY 2023, the Speakers Bureau held dozens of civic engagement workshops with community-based organizations throughout NYC both in person and virtual. The Civics for Adults program consists of an overview of the three pillars of civic engagement: voting, lobbying and advocacy, and community involvement. Other programs include Voting, a look at the process of voting from registration to how to scan your ballot and use Ranked Choice Voting and Who Makes NYC Run which explains the roles and responsibilities of our city elected officials. The Speakers Bureau also collaborates with the Leagues Committee for Criminal Justice Reform to produce an informative program called the Returning Citizens Project, using its existing Civics 101 presentation as well as information about the origins of the voting rights movement. The goal of this project is to provide civic education and promote voter engagement for people impacted by the criminal justice system in a series of lively interactive presentations. It helps participants to create their own voting action plan, from registration to accessing the polls, develop strategies to influence elected officials through lobbying and advocacy, and shares ideas with participants for becoming active in their home communities. The Program Committee sponsors a monthly Lunch with the League speaker series, (back now to in person) that is open to the public. Guest speakers have included Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, journalist Brigid Bergen and former U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney, as well as numerous others who have spoken on topics of interest to New Yorkers such as safety and security in NYC, congestion pricing, civics education in the classroom, healthcare and asylum seekers and have engaged with attendees in lively discussions.The League also strengthened its civic engagement outreach through its partnership with the NYC Civic Engagement Commissions local Participatory Budgeting (PB) initiative. Participatory Budgeting gives community members, as young as 11, across NYC the power and voice to vote on how to spend a designated part of the city budget. The League served as Manhattan Borough Partner and held over 20 in-person and virtual Idea Generation Workshops, connecting with more than 400 residents and continued its outreach and education in Manhattan and Brooklyn to encourage people to vote. Membership and Volunteer Management:As a membership organization led and run by volunteers with minimal paid staff, recruiting, activating and engaging with our volunteers and community partners is a vital and ongoing component of our work. Our members conduct our Committee and advocacy work. All our voter outreach and civic engagement activities are volunteer run, and we field requests for voter registration events, training and speakers through our website throughout the year, not just during election season. Our student internship program has enabled us to train volunteers and activate on local college campuses during the academic year, and offer research opportunities over vacation breaks.