by Michelle Famula and Lorna Carriveau
The mission of the nonpartisan League of Women Voters has been unwavering for more than 100 years: to uphold and protect our democratic system, and to ensure the right of every eligible American to vote. Upholding our cherished democratic system also means preserving our Founding Fathers’ genius in the establishment of three co-equal branches of government regulated through a system of checks and balances. This system of government has persisted for nearly 250 years, and has resulted in a strong, successful representative democracy.
Many Americans expected change when Donald Trump began his second term as president. Each new president will of course attempt to shape the country toward their vision of what it should be, and candidate Trump was very clear about his intentions to do things differently. Change is what the majority of voters wanted. We at the League of Women Voters respect the voters’ decision.
As an organization whose mission is the preservation of our democratic system, we believe that many of the new administration’s aggressive actions, though, are indeed threats to the democracy we cherish. While many of the changes Mr. Trump has initiated could have been done through the legislative process, respecting the system of checks and balances, his administration has chosen to unilaterally begin reforming our governmental institutions through executive orders. This “shock-and-awe” approach has been quick, but ignores the rule of law and leaves our judicial system, including every level from county courts to the Supreme Court, to address an overwhelming flood of legal challenges.
Residents of Yolo County should understand that the administration’s actions are impacting us locally. The Yolo County Board of Supervisors has stated that Yolo County overall receives approximately $79.6 million in federal funding per fiscal year, accounting for 10.6% of the county’s total $753 million budget.
More specifically, grant applications have been frozen and funding has been cut to local nonprofit organizations. National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants to UC Davis funding health and other research have been cut. Tariffs will impact our farmers and the businesses that support farming in many ways.
Severe spending cuts are proposed to Medicaid, received by over 50,000 people in Yolo County. Food assistance programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, received by almost 11 percent of Yolo County families, are also threatened with cuts. Cancelled federal funding to food banks in general will result in more than $750,000 in cuts for the Yolo Food Bank.
In response to one of the latest executive orders, “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” Celina Stewart, Chief Executive Officer of the League of Women Voters of the United States has said: “Let’s keep it real: this order is not about protecting elections; it is about making it harder for voters — particularly women voters — to participate in them. … This executive order is an assault on our republic and a dangerous attempt to silence American voters. … To be very clear — the League of Women Voters is prepared to fight back and defend our democracy.”
On April 24, 2025, a federal court issued a ruling in League of Women Voters et. al. v. Trump et. Al., temporarily blocking the U.S. Election Assistance Commission from implementing the president’s executive order to add a requirement to show a passport or similar document proving citizenship when registering to vote via the federal form.
Regardless of your political persuasion or how you voted in the last election, economic instability, executive orders without strong legal foundation, and threats to our representative democracy on all levels harm all of us. LWV of Yolo County will do all we can right here in our community to defend our democracy, and in particular to ensure that our voters are informed about, and protected from, actions that challenge our voting rights.
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Michelle Famula and Lorna Carriveau are co-presidents of the League of Women Voters of Yolo County, a nonpartisan, grassroots, non-profit organization. The League neither supports nor opposes any political party or candidate for public office and is dedicated to encouraging informed voting and active participation in government. To learn more, go to www.lwvyolo.org or email lwvyolo@gmail.com.
