By Sophia Wiener
MONMOUTH COUNTY – The League of Women Voters (LWV) is historically nonpartisan, but that doesn’t mean it won’t take a position on the issues of the day, its leadership says. Recently, the organization has expressed a number of concerns, particularly about policies emerging from the Trump Administration.
“We have to remember what we’re fighting for,” said Evelyn Murphy, president of the LWV of Monmouth County. “It can be easy to lose track because there’s a huge array of things happening. Remind yourself of the world you’re working to create by being part of a community.”
The LWVMC’s mission continues at a brisk pace: Its members marched in both the International Women’s Day march in Red Bank March 8 and Asbury Park’s St. Patrick’s Day parade the next day. It is also a partner for the April 5 Hands Off! rally in Red Bank at Riverside Gardens Park to protest the administration’s actions regarding issues like health care, security and job cuts. Next month, it will help educate people at the Long Branch Disability Resource Fair about exercising their right to vote.
Every June, the LWV has a presence at Juneteenth and Pride Month celebrations. And it’s always registering voters and setting up candidate forums in preparation for primary and municipal elections in the county. In Murphy’s experience, LWVMC is operating as it always has. The only difference is that members are suddenly much more eager to volunteer for events. Some began writing letters of support to federal employees affected by cutbacks from the Department of Government Efficiency after Trump’s first address to a joint session of the United States Congress March 4.
Murphy said the League of Women Voters had hosted viewings of State of the Union addresses in the past as part of its mission to strengthen democratic participation and keep its finger on the pulse of the country’s priorities.
This year, however, the league radically departed from tradition, instead hosting a “Light for Our Democracy” event concurrently with Trump’s speech.
“We knew exactly what was going to be said. Project 2025 spelled out exactly what this administration was going to do, and we’ve seen from the activity that has happened since inauguration that it’s happening even faster than we might have imagined,” Murphy said.
The LWV decided it would be more constructive to spend that night reflecting on unity and shared goals. Along with over a dozen similarly minded organizations, such as Black Lives Matter, the American Federation of Teachers and the American Association of People with Disabilities, the organization united to host alternate programming.
This took the form of 79 meetings throughout the country – one sponsored by the Monmouth League at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County in Lincroft. About 40 guests attended the event, which started at 8:30 p.m.
Sitting in a large half-circle, attendees first watched a livestream of speakers from the central “Light for Our Democracy” event at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Murphy made a few opening remarks, then opened the floor to discussion.
Audience members were prompted to speak during Defending Democracy Bingo, a replacement of the LWV’s usual State of The Union Bingo, which members play using sheets filled with talking points they think the president will mention. Attendees passed around a microphone to share which spots they had filled in, whether it was “volunteer locally” or “participate in a boycott,” giving them a chance to think about how they had upheld the principles of democracy.
“(Trump) is taking actions that hurt democracy. It is the league’s position that the actions – things like stopping funding – are illegal,” Murphy said.
“His initial order on USAID indicated that staff were to immediately stop work and get home within 30 days. They wouldn’t have any funding to get home. These are American citizens who are living overseas with their families.”
The meeting ended around 9:30 p.m., but a number of attendees lingered. Many wrote thank-you letters to federal employees, who are being purged by the Department of Government Efficiency. Murphy said the inspiration came from her daughter, who went with a friend to hand out cards at a federal office in Alaska. “By the time they were leaving, (employees) were saying thank you and telling them people were crying. (Employees) put them on their computers. So that just seemed so wonderful.”
The article originally appeared in the April 3 – April 9, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
