Member Guide

At the heart of what the League does, this committee oversees several ongoing aspects designed to get as many well-informed voters to the polls for every election as we can.

These activities include:

• Naturalization Ceremony:  Leaguers distribute New Citizen Cards, hand out pens, and offer Voter Registration Applications to new citizens.  We annually participate in the July 4th Ceremony at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, and Constitution Day Ceremony at Patrick Henry’s Scotchtown, and are prepared to add dates when invited.
• High School Education:  We are currently developing a new power point presentation that is designed to work with high school civics and history teachers to give students an early look at why and how to register, the voting day process, discernment of political advertising and so forth.  This program, when finalized and our Leaguers trained, will also be available for libraries and other civic group meetings.
• Voter Registration Events: Throughout the year, but particularly before primary and election registration deadlines, Leaguers team with various community events such as back-to school nights, college registration days, community festivals and so forth, to help register people and to pass out Vote 411.org and other voter information to the public.
• Vote411: “a ‘one-stop-shop’ for election related information, this innovative voter resource provides nonpartisan information to the public with both general and state-specific info.” Compiled by the League at the National, State and Local levels, it includes election rules, ballot questions to be voted on, candidates’ answers to League questions and more. A national interactive website, the local LWV-RMA creates and distributes bookmarks and posters to inform and lead voters to the site.
• Voter Registration Training: Annual training session, held during the summer and open to the community, we invite a representative of the Department of Elections of Virginia to lead a thorough training on the rules and means of appropriately registering new voters. Participants receive a certificate valid until June 30 of the following year.
• Call 12: The day or two leading up to Election Day, Leaguers wo/man the phones at Channel 12 call in, to answer questions about voting rights, polling places and more.
• Candidate Forums: Leaguers act as timekeepers, collect audience questions and otherwise assist at events that present the candidates in non-partisan settings.

The Affordable Housing committee's goals are to educate League members and, wherever possible, the wider community, about the importance of affordable housing, to advocate for affordable housing at the local level, and to advocate at the state and national level individually.

The Communications Committee goals are to keep our members informed and to increase LWV visibility in the community. New and experienced members work together to make sure our communications with our members and the community can best achieve all League goals.  The Communications Committee is responsible for The Leaguer newsletter, The Mini Leaguer newsletter, the LWV-RMA website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, MailChimp, media outreach, developing partnerships and donors, and an event checklist. We will be focusing on media outreach to educate voters and publicize League events. 

To ensure everyone is included in the programs, activities, and engagement of the Richmond league. To safeguard a diverse membership and have representation and a voice in the actions and policies of the Richmond league.

The purpose of the Education Committee is to ensure that students in the metro Richmond school
systems are receiving high-quality public education, as defined in our local, state and national
League positions. At the local level, we monitor the activities of the school boards in our
metropolitan area. At the state level (as a part of LWV VA), we develop community informational programming related to
the support of public education in Virginia. *We strive to develop relationships with community
non-partisan partners in an effort to broaden our outreach. During the annual legislative period, we
meet with members of the General Assembly and track education-related bills that come before the
General Assembly, alerting our members of advocacy opportunities.

*Much of our advocacy addressed the inequity in education in public schools across the state:
resources, capital improvement projects, class size, special services, etc The Joint Legislative Audit
& Review Commission (JLARC) provided analysis in the report issued in 2022.

Discussion, research, observation, and influence to action concerning elections security and election process to include:

• Election Equipment Security
• Social Media Influence
• Election Audits
• Voting Equipment
• Voter Privacy

The Events Planning Subcommittee is a group within the Membership and Engagement Committee that plans events for LWV-RMA.  Planning includes the  Annual Meeting, the annual Program Planning Meeting typically held in January, and the “Refresh” event held in late summer/early fall.  Assistance with aspects of other events is also provided. These events may be initiated by the Program Planning Subcommittee or by other LWV-RMA Committees or member.

Members of this committee typically meet monthly and are involved in activities including booking venues and catering, and assisting with member reservations and publicizing events.  This committee operates through teamwork and is a fun way to interact with other League members.

Reasons for joining the League are many - our fervor to defend our democracy, our eagerness to work with others who share our interests and desire to make a difference, and sometimes simply to meet new people who are also committed to take action.  This committee works to reach out to, welcome, and provide opportunities for involvement and participation.

Along with doing the administrative activities associated with membership, this committee organizes educational, social, training, and interactive events.  

Our membership is growing; some new and exciting things are being planned.  We welcome members who want to share their ideas and talents. No matter how little or how much time you have, your interest and  participation are most welcome.

The Transportation Committee promotes multi-modal, interconnected transportation for goods and people which minimizes land use and environmental impacts. The committee is focused on advocating for sidewalks, crosswalks, and count-down pedestrian traffic signals to ensure pedestrian safety along transit routes.

We welcome anyone who will help us advocate for improved transportation in the region by meeting with the committee and/or by speaking before local officials.