The League of Women Voters (LWV) has a divide, and Donna Waller became president of the Alachua County chapter just in time to see it grow. 

Waller, 80, said two camps have existed for some time within the league on the local, state and national level. A member for decades, Waller said she has a stake in both sides, but she said it’ll be a challenge for the league to navigate the coming years.  

In a letter to the Alachua County League of Women Voters, Waller called the camps the old guard, those who love the league as an institution for its history and process, and the “policy wonks,” those who emphasize the advocacy and activist role. 

“It seems to me that the league right now sees democracy as so threatened on so many levels that the national league has abandoned their own democratic processes and simply said, ‘No, we’re signing onto this,’” Waller said.  

The incident that brought it home to Waller was a meeting with the Florida League of Women Voters when it was announced the national branch had signed on to be co-sponsors of the No Kings Day event, coming Oct. 18. 

The meeting happened right when Waller took over as president. 

“I said, ‘Oh, was there like a consensus meeting sent out to the states that happened before I became president or something?’ And she said ‘no’. And I said, ‘that might cause a problem with some of the people in my chapter.’ And she said, ‘It’s already causing a problem at the state level,’” Waller recalled of the meeting and her discussion with Jessica Lowe-Minor, who leads the Florida chapter.   

Waller said she became president of the Alachua County chapter under protest because she enjoys her activist role, openly advocating for policies and candidates. She said one of her main reasons for moving to Gainesville was its reputation as an activist town.  But because the LWV is a nonpartisan organization, leaders must agree to staunch their advocacy while in office.  

As co-sponsors of the No Kings Day, Waller said league instructions are to protest for democracy and against tyranny without mentioning candidates, elected leaders or partisan figures.  

But the LWV can’t control who will show up to the local protests or the signs they carry. Previous protests in Gainesville included messages aimed straight at President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Elon Musk. 

Concerning protests, the national league’s standing advice is “to avoid the appearance of partisanship as much as possible.”  Waller said a push by Florida Republicans to paint the league as a left-wing activist organization has further muddied the perception. 

Waller said she announced the co-sponsorship to her local board immediately and told them to get ready. She’s not sure if the divide will cost members in the coming years.  

She said she understands the “policy wonks” or activist side. The national dialogue is shifting quickly, and the league needs to also act with urgency instead of taking the time to form internal consensus on every issue.  

The old guard also supports advocacy but demands consensus within the league first and following the processes set up a century earlier. 

Waller said technology and virtual meetings make consensus tougher, but she’s vowed to have consensus within her board before taking a stance. As for league-wide consensus on an issue, she said it takes time and in-person meetings have become more and more infrequent.  

She said the state and local chapters lacked a stance on reproductive rights for years because of the lack of consensus.  

But Waller is looking forward to more in her role than navigating the two camps. Waller taught American History at Santa Fe College for 28 years and that’s where her passion lies. 

“I’m an educator, and so my thought was that I definitely wanted to expand that function, maybe through the speaker bureau, which has worked out great,” Waller said.  

LWV used to host a hot topics event that died during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Waller said she wants to revive it. She said the goal is more community education and events for the whole membership, which stands around 350 members.  

Waller will serve a two-year term as president, and she said she’s enjoyed getting to be the spokesperson for the chapter.  

Already, she joined a panel with leaders from Tajikistan talking about how to get underserved populations to vote, and she participated in a voting mythbusters event at UF’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service. 

She is also continuing her civic education at the Senior Citizens Center. Though Waller told her regular attendees that, as president, she’ll now have to remove her snarky tone from the lectures.  

Waller said it’s always a treat to talk about the league and voting at these events, and she has another dream job that she’s keeping through her time as president. Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward, a former student, asked Waller to start a Gainesville history moment at the start of city meetings.  

“That’s like the best assignment anybody ever gave me,” Waller said.  

Through the history moment, Waller has touched on Gainesville’s oldest building, the history of local working-class organizations and important local activists. 

Waller said she’s excited about the educational opportunities coming up, even if leading them as president means a hiatus in planting political signs in her front yard—a staple she said her neighbors count on.