Ann Murphy: Remote access enhances Eastern Washington residents’ participation in democracy

By Ann Murphy

“How a virtual session changed the dynamic in the 2021 Legislature” (Laurel Demkovich, May 4), points to a feature of the 2021 legislative session that the League of Women Voters (LWV) encourages the Legislature to retain. We have long believed that democracy is not a spectator sport, and this session demonstrated the value of the public having much greater involvement via remote access.

The opportunity for people from the Spokane area and other Eastern Washington locations to be active in the democratic process equally with people in a way that has been limited to professional lobbyists or others with the privilege of not having to work for a day, having accessible transportation, child care, etc., was unique. Allowing voices from across the state to be heard is important. The virtual session was a great equalizer, permitting the public to testify, submit written testimony and sign-on to bills (either pro or con) in a way never before available.

While this past legislative session was frustrating to many legislators and some lobbyists because of having to conduct meetings virtually as a result of COVID-19, the much greater than average amount of public engagement in the legislative process was a net gain. We were delighted to read in the Demkovich article that many legislators agree.

Residents of the Spokane area were able to meet with legislators from the 3rd, 4th and 6th Legislative Districts as part of the League of Women Voters of WA Democracy Lobby Week in late February. In the past this event had been a single day on the Olympia campus. As we all followed the new COVID-related protocols, we found advantages. The virtual meetings allowed groups of advocates who are constituents in the respective districts to promote Democracy-related bills. The time also allowed participants to hear from their legislators on their thoughts on the bills and to make other connections. The various legislative aides were easy to work with to schedule times and it was possible for many more people from the Spokane area to participate than had been able to in the past.

The League has long advocated for remote access and we had been told that it was too expensive as the state didn’t have the technology and that it wouldn’t work as it would have to be limited to closed circuit. In the past when we have tried to arrange virtual meetings with legislators, we learned that they didn’t even have cameras on their computers. It seems that now that the state has invested in reasonable technology it makes sense that they and the public continue to benefit from that investment.

Accessible citizen engagement becomes an antidote to the “I’m not important, no one cares what I think” mentality which seems to eventually lead to distrust in and even hate of the government by so many. Our legislators do want to hear from constituents. And then once a conversation begins, individuals feel more empowered to participate in our democracy.

The League of Women Voters was founded 101 years ago by suffragists who wanted women to be well-informed when they exercised their new right to vote after passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. Today, a century later, the mission of the League of Women Voters is to empower all voters and defend democracy by supporting efforts to engage the public in our government.

Given our mission, the League of Women Voters encourages the Legislature to plan for the 2022 legislative session with virtual engagement in mind. Even if COVID restrictions are no longer applicable, we urge the Legislature to make virtual participation an ongoing part of the legislative process so that people from all kinds of backgrounds and locations can engage in committee hearings, meetings with individual legislators, and legislative action.

Ann Murphy is co-president of the League of Women Voters of Spokane Area and past president of League of Women Voters of Washington.