The League is a nonpartisan political organization that promotes active and informed citizen participation in government, in voting, and in influencing public policy through education and advocacy. Want to be more informed on local elections? Each spring, prior to town elections, the LWV-MV holds candidate forums in each town where there are contested elections. The League holds these forums for the public, providing an opportunity for the public to listen to their town candidates state their positions and ask questions of these candidates. Moderated by a league member, the forum is also videotaped and made available for viewing by MVTV until the town election. Town election dates vary across the island. This website will be updated as the candidate forums are scheduled
Candidate Forum in Oal Bluffs 2018 (photo credit – Martha’s Vineyard Times)
Candidates for Dukes County Commission. Tuesday evening, October 13, 2026 at Edgartown Library. From L to R: Tristan Israel, Doug Ruskin, Christine Todd, Kate Putnam, Mike Bellissimo (photo credit – Kathy Laskowski)
Candidates for Martha’s Vineyard Commission. Tuesday Evening October 13, 2026 at Edgartown Library. From L to R: Ben Robinson, Doug Sederholm, Brian Smith, Fred Khedouri, Kate Putnam, Bernadette Cormie, Maria Krokidas, Mike MacKenty, Jannette Vandehoop (photo credit- Kathy Laskowski)
LADYFEST returned to Alley/Waban Park in Oak Bluffs to support Connect to End Violence MV and highlight female artists. The LWV-MV hosted a booth at Ladyfest in Waban Park on Saturday, October 3. The booth was decked out with signs and the LWV-MV VOTE banner for this festive event! We provided info about Voter Registration with paper forms and QR codes so that people could actually register right there. We also had information about In-Person Early Voting hours which will begin on Saturday, October 17 and how to contact your Town Clerk and/or the Secretary of the Commonwealth for any voting info you might need. We distributed some candy to eager young visitors when they pledged to remind an adult to vote! With our position next to the entrance/exit we got lots of attention for all our red, white and blue!! It was great to be a part of this event for women, by women and with so much great music for another year. We have been honored to be a part of Ladyfest from the beginning.
Kathy Laskowski (L) and Linda Hammond (R) ready to hand out voting information and candy!
LWV-MA STATEMENT ON NOVEMBER 2026 ELECTION BALLOT QUESTIONS
Forty-two proposed laws for the November 2026 ballot were submitted to the MA Attorney General for certification by September 3. These Ballot Initiatives submitted for the November 2026 can be found HERE
The link to the LWV-MA statements on Ballot Questions for the November 2026 elections can be found HERE
JOIN OUR EFFORT – HELP THE PLANET THROUGH RECYCLING
RECYCLE YOUR INKJET CARTRIDGES – NO TONER CARTRIDGES:
LWVMV is helping our landfills, our Island, and our planet by recycling used INKJET cartridges. Over 1 million printer cartridges are thrown away every day. That’s more than 11 cartridges per second. It can take over 1,000 years for these cartridges to decompose.
Don’t throw away your INKJET cartridges; recycle them at one of the collection sites listed below. We thank these local merchants, libraries, and town centers for their continued support!
Lighting of the MV Museum on Aug 26, 2026 in honor of Women’s Equality Day, below. LWV-MV member, Deb Medders, wrote: …..”the evening was out on the lawn of the MV Museum – and, the night time skies with that majestic waxing full moon just added to the experience.“
In additon to the exterior lighting of the Museum, the face of Phyllis Wheatley Peters, the first African American female author during the American revolution. was displayed.Abigail Adams displayed here on the front of the MV Museum on August 26, 2026.
A big thank you to the Women’s Center for letting us access their archive’s treasure trove and the Museum for providing the exterior pallet that “The Light Man” then covered with remarkable imagery.
The League awards a scholarship each year to a graduating senior high school student who lives on the Vineyard or to a first year, full-time Vineyard college student, and who is pursuing a higher education degree in an area supporting the League’s mission: environmental science, political science or women studies. The student would have attended high school at: Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) Martha’s Vineyard Charter School (MVCS) A certified home school program Other public or private accredited school
CIVICS PROJECTS 2026: In May LWV-MV members attended a senior class presentation of civics projects at the MVRHS. Seven groups of seniors talked about an issue they had researched over the semester, presenting it as a problem to be solved with goals and a plan to achieve those goals.
Two of the groups focused on accessibility to health care off island. One group saw it as a Steamship Authority issue: decreased access to same day emergency reservations for islanders during the busy season. One solution offered was a van specifically to be used for these trips so that people would not have to take their cars on the boat.
Another solution, in jest, was to build a bridge to the mainland. The other group focused on healthcare accessibility on and off island. Problems included getting off island, the expense of health care (especially emergency care) and understaffing at MV Hospital. To decrease the expense of travel off island and on island, free transportation funded by donations was considered to increase availability of a “medivan.”
Another student group focused on low attendance at town meetings. The group interviewed residents who cited a variety of reasons such as time of day, tired from work, lack of child care for non-attendance. Through contact with the MA Moderators Assn, the students were encouraged to create five minute video that could be added to the classroom page of the Moderators Assn. The video is not yet completed and the group agreed to share with the League to post when finished.
Two groups were focused on trash (especially plastic and mylar balloons) and pollution. One group even collected trash on State Beach one day and suggested that a plan for organized beach clean-up days in the future would be helpful. Both groups saw public education through social media and printed flyers in venues where they would most likely be seen, such as restaurants.
One group focused on the fear of arrest and deportation by ICE and how it affects residents of Martha’s Vineyard. The group developed a questionnaire with a QR code to collect responses from approximately 70 students to determine their knowledge level about ICE . They shared the collected data with the island’s representatives in state government. The group wants to increase awareness among the community through social media and flyers.
The last group focused on the lack of affordable housing. They believed that increased coordination with Island Housing Trust was important to meet their goal of available housing. Overall, the students chose topics that have great impact on the daily lives of their peers as well as island residents of all ages.
Members and friends of the LWV-MV, the NAACP, ASALH, the MV Diversity Coalition, the Martha’s Vineyard Museum and the director of Edgartown library enjoyed the event honoring and celebrating Black History Month. The program, held on Saturday February 7, 2026 at the Edgartown Library, screened a PBS documentary, “Reconstruction: America After the Civil War”. Attendees enjoyed a delicious potluck brunch. A short preview of the video, written and hosted by Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr, can be accessed HERE for viewing.
