Most commonly in the US there are four-levels of government:

These branches and levels combine into a matrix of twelve distinct governmental jurisdictions which we seek to influence:
The chart below does not show the only possible configuration -- but is is a fairly common one. The green areas are segments where new LOHV chapters can be effective immediately:

To enact laws to protect animals from abuse we too have to form a PAC and do what the other PACs do:

PACs do two things to influence office holders:

LOHV is not another Animal Rights organization that has a specific substantive goal such as:

All those organizations and many more have specific animal protective goals, or a cluster of related animal protective goals, or even the goal of protecting all animals from all forms of abuse.

LOHV is different in that it is the political arm for all of these. LOHV will not enter the fray on any specific, substantive issue. LOHV will through its electioneering effort elect office-holders who are willing to introduce legislation that will advance the animal protection on all of those issues and lobby the office holders to do so.

　Steps to establish a local LOHV Chapter:

1)       Establish the legal, financial, and organizational basis for you chapter:

a.   File a dba (doing-business-as) form in your state with the name of your chapter. (e.g. “The Tampa League of Humane Voters”) There are minor variations in state laws on the precise method of doing this – but a local CPA should be able to advise you.

b.    Start a bank account using the National Organization’s EIN (Employment Identification Number)

c.     Adopt a set of by-laws for your chapter (see model by-laws below in this manual)
                i.   Have an initial organizational meeting.
               ii.   Form a board of directors
              iii.   Elect officers
              iv.   Keep and file minutes of your meeting

2)       Establish a database of Animal Rights Voters who will vote for candidates that will sponsor, support and enforce animal protective legislation.

a.    Existing Animal Rights organization in the area can invite the local LOHV chapter to speak about the LOHV program to their membership. The presenters can ask the attendees to sign-up to be on LOHV database.

b.    The local LOHV chapter can attend tabling events in the area and explain to the attendees that LOHV is  -- asking them to sign-up to be in the database.

c.    Petitioning concerning a local Animal Rights issue is another way to get names into the database.  On the petition form have a check-off column captioned “please keep me informed of candidates who will support animal protection.”

There are several seasons in each calendar year for LOHV:

• Lobbying season: - when the local legislatures are in session usually from early January to late June.
• Organizational time – best time for building LOHV’s database through petitioning and tabling: July and August.
• Electioneering time pick you candidates and active electioneer for their election: Labor Day through the end of October.
• Fundraising time for your Chapter: Starting after the November election through December 31^st
• Take one day off relax on January 1^st.

These seasons are not cast in stone – sometimes you have to get involved in a primary election; sometimes fund-raising opportunities present themselves in spring or in summer; sometimes the legislative session ends early or late – so be flexible but don’t skip any of the activities mentioned above.

3)       Electioneering

a.       Picking an election in which to become involved -- Pick a close race- If one of the candidates has an overwhelming advantage we can help neither the candidate nor his opponent. Pick contests in which we can be useful to the candidate we choose to support – that means races where the outcome is expected to be very close (48%  to 52% or closer)

1.       How can we know which races are close?

a.       Published polls

b.       Develop relationships with people with whom you can chat informally about the coming election and the anticipated strength, weaknesses, and outcome. Don’t take what any single person says as “gospel” but look for a consensus from what everybody contributes
            i.      Community leaders
           ii.      Other PAC leaders (unions)
          iii.      Party leaders
            iv.      Local newspaper reporters, editors, columnists

b.    Interviewing a candidate
Our experience a LOHV has shown us that a personal interview is always preferable to a lengthy questionnaire. A skilled interviewer can sense areas of less than perfect goal-congruence and probe further for conflicts with commitments to other constituents. A questionnaire is a second choice –if time and experienced interviewers are not available.

                      1. Interview all viable candidates. If there are two major party candidates and two minor party candidates and
                    the minor party candidates have no realistic chance to win – only interview the major party candidates
                2. Don’t ask the candidate where (s)he stands on animal protection issues; don’t barrage the candidate 
                   with questions like:
                    a.       How do feel about trapping?
                    b.       Would legislate for additional funding for shelters?
                3. Tell him how many votes you control through your database and how many volunteer-days your chapter can
                    put into his/her election effort; in turn you expect him/her  to:
                    a.   legislate against trapping within the jurisdiction of his legislative body
                    b.   introduce bills that will fund shelters adequately

                    Bottom line: Don’t ask him or her where (s)he stands tell him or her where (s)he stands
                    It will simplify his/her life

c.        Picking a candidate

                                          1.  Do not go by
           a.  Party affiliation we frequently have to work with candidates from both major parties –
                the fact that we may be inclined to personally favor one party over another is something have to get
                over when assessing the choice of candidates for animal protection. We prefer a candidate from the
                controlling party of the legislative body.  When the Republicans are in control, we want a Republican;
                when the Democrats are in control, we want a Democrat. Our own personal party preference has to be
                set aside if we are going to peruse effective PAC-politics.
           b.  The candidate’s position on other issues. As concerned citizens we may ask where the candidate
                stands on civil liberty issues, gay-rights, women’s’ reproductive rights, military actions abroad and
                a whole host of other issues.  As a PAC we cannot consider any of those issues in picking a
                candidate. Remember: the women’s right PAC is not asking its candidates what their position is on
                animal | protection. That’s how PACs work – it’s not about finding “nice guys in politics” – it’s about
                 enacting animal protective legislation.
           c.   Previous voting record If a candidate has voted against our agenda is now willing to work with us it’s
                 really a double-victory. That is to be encouraged not shunned. We’re removing a supporter from our
                 opponents and adding a legislative supporter to our side. That’s two points.
           d.   Personal habits what the candidates personal habits are is totally indifferent to our mission. We may
                feel that a vegetarian, vegan lifestyle is consistent with animal protection. However, we cannot impose
                 those values on our candidates. We are making a deal: they get our votes – we get animal protective
                 legislation. We are not missionaries we are PAC operatives.

                                         2.   The criteria for choosing a candidate are:
            a.  Can (s)he win?
                 If the candidate cannot win or is very unlikely to win (s)he can’t do anything for animal protection
                 after  the election. So there is no point in wasting our time, effort and resources.
                 Exception:
                     If the candidate is a current office holder running for a higher office (e.g. a State Senator running
                     for Congress) and if upon losing the election for higher office (s)he remains in his current office – then
                     we may  want to support him or her – since we’ll need his/her support in his/her current capacity.
           b.  Is (s)he fully on board with our agenda for animal protection and accepting it?
                Watch out for “weasel” words and phrases like “further study”, “will consider”, “achieve balance”,
                “balanced approach” in his or her accepting of our agenda.  We want unconditional unambiguous
                acceptance before we put our resources into play on his or her behalf.
           c.  Is (s)he a member of the controlling party in the legislative body after the election. Members of the
                controlling party can be effective in sponsoring bill and getting bills passed. Minority party
                members can do very little to help our agenda.
                Exception:
                sometimes we have to go with minority party candidate or stay out of the race altogether. If there is
                a reasonable expectation that the balance of power could shift in the legislative body after one or two
                election cycles --  then it may be worth grooming a future member of the controlling party.

                                          3.    Endorsing a candidate:
             a.  Issue a press release including candidates’ statement of acceptance
                 Upon reaching agreement with a candidate our very next step is to issue a press-release announcing
                  the endorsement.  The press-release should always include a statement from the candidate.
                  Typical sentences occurring within a press-release are:
                   i.   The Ulster County Chapter of the League of Humane Voters has endorsed the candidacy of
                        Henry Higgins for the County Legislature.
                   ii.   Mr. Higgins responded to the endorsement by saying “I feel honored to have the endorsement
                        of the League of Humane Voters. As in my public service in the past, I shall continue to promote
                         protection of animals as a county legislator.  Specifically I shall introduce legislation to eliminate
                        all hunting and trapping on county property.” 
                        It goes without saying that we always check the quotes attributed  to the candidate with the
                        candidate or his staff before releasing them.

                                           4.     Electioneering for your candidate
               There are basically two ways to help your chosen candidate win an election
               a.  Make a financial contribution to the candidate’s campaign.
               b. Work for the candidate’s election by giving him votes from your database and volunteers to work
                   in the candidate’s campaign office.
                   At LOHV we find that giving a candidate votes and working in the candidate’s campaign office
                   is a much better use of our resources than giving the candidate money.
                    i.      We have more voters in our database than the equivalent in money
                    ii.      the same voters can be used to help several candidates running for different offices
                    iii.     the same voters can be used in subsequent years –provided that we maintain our database.
                    iv.     Giving votes instead of money is a much better way to go for an ideological PAC as opposed
                         to a business PAC.
                c.  Consult with your candidate where the need is greatest – then send him or her as many volunteers
                     as you can.
                d.     Be identifiable as “League of Humane Voters” when volunteering in the candidate’s office.
                     wear a tee-shirt or sweat shirt with “LOHV Logo” and letters whenever working for your candidate.
                     The candidate and staff will deal with many volunteers – remind them of your presence.
               e.       Do a postcard mailing to your database within the candidates district
                     i.    A mailing within zip-codes in the district is usually good enough; the candidate won’t mind
                          if a few stray mailings go to adjoining districts.  Neighbors talk to each other so a less than
                           perfectly targeted mailing may work even better for your candidate.
                    ii.     Check the text of you card with the candidate
               f.    On the night of the election attend the candidate victory party
                    Whenever you see a camera run up to the candidate and kiss the candidate or if you’re squeamish
                    just shake the candidate’s hand

4)    Lobbying

                    After we helped our candidate get elected, we can lobby the office-holder for legislative change.
                    a.       There is some protocol to observe when lobbying:
                              1.   Dress appropriately – tee-shirts and sweats may work for some forms of electioneering but not when lobbying.
                                    The office-holder and staff dress business-like;  to be on an equal footing – you should do like-wise
                              2.    Make and appointment about ten days to two weeks ahead of time.
                              3.     The office-holder may not be able to see you. Meeting with senior staff is often just as good or even better.
                                      a.  The senior staff actually does most of the work – they can spend more time with you and focus on your
                                           concerns more than the office-holder.
                                      b.   Don’t settle for junior staff such as a receptionist or intern.
                                      c.   You want to talk to a responsible member of the office-holder’s staff (such as chief of staff, or legal counsel)
                                             who can correctly convey your concerns to the office-holder
                              4.      Have specific, concrete topics in mind and give the person meeting with you a one-page summary of your
                                       points. Don’t be vague or ramble on in generalities.
                              5.      Know what you’re talking about. Acquaint yourself with previous legislation and proposals on the same issue.

 b.        Lobbying for legislative change can take several forms:
      1 .     Introducing a new bill for animal protection
               Sometimes we want to propose an entirely new law to further animal protection. Have language for it,
               even if only a rough draft, in written form.
               Some things to keep in mind:
               a.  It’s very easy for a legislator to introduce a bill – unless the office-holder is willing to push it through
                    the process through enactment it’s not worth much. Most new bills are “feel-good” bills introduced
                    to please some constituents with no intention of ever getting them passed. In the New York State
                    legislature about 10,000 bills are introduced every session – only about 400 become law.
              b.   In an election year tax-bills or bills that look like tax-bills are unlikely to be introduced by legislators.
                    If your bill requires raising revenue for a specific purpose – it must be introduced and passed in an “off-year.”
       2.     Passing a previously introduce bill
               the main thing that’s required is shepherding it through committees and getting to the floor for a vote.  That process
               is very highly dependent on the rules and customs of the legislative chamber.  There are as many different rules,
               procedures and customs as there are legislative bodies. As time permits we intend to publish guides for this
               process for the legislative bodies where we have actual lobbying experience. Make your own guide by finding out:
               a.  How is a bill scheduled on the committee meeting agenda – automatically in chronological sequence as
                    it was assigned to the committee – or at the discretion of the committee chair?
               b.  Is there an opportunity for public input at the committee meetings?
               c.  Can our office-holder influence the committee chairs to move bill along?
               d.  What procedural remedies can be invoked if a bill is stuck in committee?
               e.  After the bill comes out of committee(s) it is put on a calendar for a floor vote. How does the bill get
                    from the calendar to the floor? Who decides? Is there a "rules committee" or "Calendar committee"? or does
                    the leadership of the legislative chamber decide unilaterally? Can our office-holder influence the
                   decision-maker(s) to get it to the floor?
       3.     Stopping a bill from passing
               Sometimes bills are introduced by legislators, influenced by special interests, that have a negative effect
               on our interest to promote animal protection. In that case we want to stop the bill from becoming enacted.
               In these cases it’s always important to make a realistic assessment of the bill’s chance of actually
               passing. Remember usually only about 4% of the bills make it all the way into becoming enacted as laws.
               Most of the 96% that don’t make it are “feel-good” bills that were introduced by legislators to accommodate
               some of their constituents clamor for legislative action.  The sponsoring legislator has no intention of pushing
               the bill through committees and unto the floor. Before we devote resources and time to stopping a bill –
               we should assess whether or not it is a serious bill or a “feel-good” bill.  If we were to make a concerted effort
               to stop every bill that’s introduced which proposes legislation against our interest – we’d be constantly putting
               out fires and would have no time to devote efforts on our pro-active bills.
              a.  if such a bill is in committee – phone calls to the committee chair and the other majority party members
                   of the committee for their constituents may help to keep in committee.
              b.  Once it has been reported out of all the committees phone calls to the legislative bodies leadership
                   from constituents would serve to keep it off the floor.

5)   Organization build-up (coming soon)

6) Fund-raising (coming soon)