Nonpartisanship Messaging Guidance

Due to the nature of our issue advocacy and voter empowerment work, the League of Women Voters may receive attacks or accusations claiming that our actions are partisan. While we know these claims are patently false, here is some guidance for Leagues to navigate public messaging around these instances.

Preventative Tasks 

1. Include the LWV nonpartisan statement on your League's website (homepage preferred) 

   1. “The League shall not support or oppose any political party or any candidate.” 

2. Include the LWV nonpartisan statement on your League's social media platforms (where there is room) 

3. Link to this blog on your website for further reading on why the League is nonpartisan but political 

4. Review the LWV nonpartisan statement with new League leaders 

5. Read these tips for maintaining nonpartisanship on social media 

6. Publish and date all debate/voter guide inclusion criteria on your website BEFORE reaching out to candidates 

Responding to Accusations of Partisanship 

1. If at all possible, do not respond directly to accusations of partisanship 

2. Consider issuing a statement and/or social media post proactively stating your League's nonpartisanship stance and what that means, without referring to accusations directly 

   1. EXAMPLE: "The League of Women Voters of [AREA] is a nonpartisan community organization. Our foundational principle of nonpartisanship states that 'The League shall not support or oppose any political party or any candidate.' The League is and has always been a political organization, advocating for equitable voting access for all and working on vital issues of concern to our members and the public. We never ask our members' political affiliation when they join our organization. The League’s advocacy work is issues-based, and we arrive at our policy positions through careful study and input from our members. We never derive our positions from politicians, and even when candidates or parties support the same issue, we never endorse them. To learn more about the League's commitment to nonpartisanship in our hyper-partisan climate, check out this piece from the League of Women Voters of the United States."

3. Be prepared with talking points in case you are asked about the accusation by media; be proactive in your messaging and do not repeat misinformation 

   1. The League’s nonpartisan stance states that we do not endorse or oppose political candidates or parties 

   2. Nonpartisan does not mean non-political; issues are not partisan 

   3. LWV never asks members about their political affiliation 

   4. LWV positions are arrived at through rigorous study and democratic adoption by a majority of members 

   5. LWV’s positions around climate, health care, and voting rights have been in place since the 1970s and earlier 

4. If you run into trouble with accusations, you can reach out to [email protected] for help in strategizing whether or how to message in response