This is the twelfth week our national staff have been working from home, and, although many places are beginning to ease restrictions, Washington, D.C., is just beginning to enter Phase 1 of reopening this Friday. It is likely that it will still be several weeks or months before we are able to return to our office. While it has been challenging, we are using this opportunity to think about what this moment is teaching us about how we do our work and what changes we will want to carry forward when stay-at-home orders are fully lifted.
We’ve heard incredible reports from Leagues across the country who are actually seeing event attendance, meetings, and activism increase via online engagement. We’ve also seen innovative collaborations and partnerships emerge. There have also been challenges.
For example, COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the way that the Census conducts operations. Because of this impact, the U.S. Census Bureau has been forced to propose changes to its operating timeline and the dates for sending data to the President and states regarding apportionment and redistricting. As we look forward to the 2021 redistricting cycle, we must think about how these changes will affect the League’s work to ensure People Powered Fair Maps while also ensuring there is a full and complete count. For more info, read and share our latest blog post about COVID-19, the Census, and Redistricting.
If you haven’t yet, please visit our Convention page at lwv.org/2020Convention. Find registration, a schedule at a glance, a helpful recording of our introductory webinar explaining how our virtual convention will work, and more. This will be our landing page for our virtual event this year, so I encourage you to bookmark it now!
As we begin to plan for the long-term effects of COVID-19, I know we will remain in this fight to defend democracy together. Thank you for your unwavering energy for this work. I can’t wait to gather together with you at our Convention next month.
In Solidarity,
Virginia Kase
CEO, LWV
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