ADVOCACY

                                          Ohio League Takes a Stand

While the League of Women Voters is non-partisan, never supporting or opposing
candidates or parties, it does take positions on issues after member study and
consensus. 

When individual members write letters, make phone calls, testify or take other
action, they are doing so as informed citizens and not on behalf of the League. 
Only the League President speaks on behalf of the League.

                                            Ohio Advocacy Agenda

Each year, the League of Women Voters of Ohio selects public policy priorities
and advocates for these positions through an informed membership and volunteer
lobby corps. The following issues comprise the Advocacy Agenda for 2003. 

ELECTIONS AND VOTING, including election administration and campaign finance reform. The League supports improving policies that ensure the public's
right to know and promote citizen participation in the political process.

MEETING BASIC HUMAN NEEDS, including housing and predatory lending,
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, and access to health care. League
positions support policies and programs that promote the well-being, development,
and safety of all. The League also supports programs and policies to prevent or
educe poverty and to promote self-sufficiency for individuals and families.

JUSTICE AND COMMUNITY SAFETY, including juvenile justice, citizens’
rights, gun control, and reproductive rights. The League supports a juvenile justice
system that provides appropriate care and protection for satisfactory physical and
mental development of children in the juvenile justice system and supports gun
control.

NATURAL RESOURCES, including land use and Lake Erie basin issues. The
League supports responsible and responsive management of our natural resources
with special emphasis on smart growth, farmland preservation, and urban
revitalization, as well as clean water and responsible interbasin transfer of water. 

                                         National Legislative Priorities 

The League of Women Voters of the United States has established the following
legislative agenda. The League will be proactive on both levels, including lobbying
and grassroots action.

Top Priority and Core Issues:
These priorities reflect the core mission of the League and League action over the
upcoming two years before the presidential elections.

  • Election Reform
  • Campaign Finance Reform
Action As Needed:
In addition, second-tier issues, "action as needed," are those which the League
anticipates threats to our long-held positions. These issues are:
  • Reproductive Choice 
  • Clean Air
  • Oil Drilling in the Arctic Wildlands
  • Title IX