WILPF Work Focuses on Effectiveness for Electoral Issues

Women voters in Fairfax County, Virginia, at the polls during the 2008 presidential election. Photo: Rob Crandall / Shutterstock.com.

By Darien De Lu
WILPF US President

The 2020 elections are too important for WILPF not to play an influential role! National WILPF leaders are already preparing in multiple ways — anticipating and pushing electoral issues, building a new and more powerful website, strategizing and focusing the work of the issue committees, strengthening branches, and increasing our presence on social media. You can be involved in many different ways!

Are you and/or your branch following the work one or more of our program issue committees? Those committees are where most WILPF US program work gets developed, and any WILPF US member is welcome to participate! Contact the committee chairs to get involved. Check their webpages for contact information.

Keep checking back regularly to those webpages over the next six months to see the new program initiatives we’re rolling out! More than that, when you go back periodically, you’ll be able to see the kinds of changes in program information that will be even more visible in our new website (debuting in 2020):  

• Lists of the current individual program elements they are working on
• Descriptions of new program elements and materials, to be added in the future
• Descriptions of each program element and the names and contact information of persons overseeing particular areas of work
• Some short-, mid-, and/or long-term goals — including overall strategy and specific activism tactics for members and branches

The issue committees are identifying the issues where we expect to be able to get some traction in the 2020 campaigns — from state and local on up to congressional and presidential. WILPF is non-partisan but by no means neutral! We’re seeking out ways to activate members and the public on core WILPF issues like no nukes; no wars (in Iran, Venezuela, etc.!); no climate-driven crises in water, food, and migration; and no vote buying, tampering, or suppression.

By now, I hope all readers know about our Ask the Candidates campaign. We’d love to see issue questions for the candidates coming in from each branch and many at-large members! Just send in your questions now (campaigning is well under way in parts of the country!) to info@WILPFUS.org. Be sure to slip into your question some revealing “fact bits” on the issue (and we’d like to know your sources for those).

Part of our election-year preparation involves strengthening our branches. Perhaps you’re a longtime WILPF activist-organizer who can help in that preparation? You can volunteer to help our national Membership Development Committee build up branches through phone and/or email work. Or perhaps your branch would like some encouragement, advice, and/or assistance? Either way, please let us know at info@WILPFUS.org.

Building Up WILPF’s Social Media Presence

There’s a place for everyone in building up the WILPF presence on social media! Have your younger friends and family members helped you to get more comfortable with social media? Or perhaps you are the one in your branch who tutors others in how to tweet or post to Facebook? I’m seeking volunteers for a national Social Media Committee, to refine our plans and strategies in this area. Also, if you’re not ready to be part of the committee, but you’d like to lend a hand in occasionally posting about WILPF activities on social media, please contact me. Either way, please email me at President@WILPFUS.org.

Even if you’re a raw beginner, WILPF can help you learn how to use social media for activism! We have monthly social media trainings as well as the weekly (and surprisingly enjoyable) “Twitter storms.” Both of these are a way to learn the basics and more. You can always email   info@WILPFUS.org with any questions about the trainings or with social media strategy ideas.

Here is a list of dates for the Social Media Trainings & Twitter Calls over the summer:

Training Calls: July 8 & 22; August 5 & 19
These calls are always on Mondays at 8 pm EST, 5 pm PST. You can email michael@teamgood.org and/or fellow WILPFer julie@teamgood.org with your questions or needs ahead of time. You can register for the training calls by clicking here.

Twitter Calls: July 3, 10, 17, 24, & 31; August 7, 14, 21, & 28
WILPFers from around the country gather for these “Twitter storms” at 7 pm EST, 4 pm PST to amplify the messages of WILPF US. You can register for the Twitter calls by clicking here.

Call In to Program Committee Calls and Board Meetings    

Finally, much of our 2020 planning discussions takes place on our monthly Program Committee calls. You can listen in to these leadership-level conference calls, and sometimes we’re open to comments from all WILPFers. The calls are on the first Tuesday of each month at 5 pm Pacific/8 pm Eastern. Preregistration is required.

Also, of course, you can listen in to national Board meetings. The next one is on Thursday, July 30. The meetings are every other month on the last Tuesday of the month. Go to the Board webpage to find out how to call in and other details.

At WILPF US, we’re making changes in 2020!