Conservation West Virginia is the Mountain State’s only 501 (c)(4) nonprofit organization focused on electing state senators and delegates willing to step up for the environment and public lands. As part of their 2024 election efforts, Conservation WV (CWV) has launched Fix It, a Get Out The Vote campaign to urge people who don’t regularly go to the polls to vote for climate action. The Downstream Project partnered to create a special Fix It campaign section within the CWV website.
The Fix It campaign hopes to activate people between the ages of 18 and 40 in West Virginia’s seven most populace counties: Wood, Monongalia, Ohio, Jefferson, Berkeley, Marion, and Harrison. There is growing concern among climate activists that voter disengagement is one of the biggest challenges in the battle against climate change. Some young Democratic-leaning voters are experiencing hopelessness on global warming. And many young Republicans have grown disillusioned with the state GOP’s failure to acknowledge the existence of climate change. Fix It offers hope that West Virginia can change the outlook with the right leaders in the statehouse.
After the May primary elections, CWV will poll statehouse candidates in the seven districts on proposals that have been scuttled in the past few legislative sessions, such as capping orphan gas wells, allowing community solar projects, and funding flood preparation and mitigation programs. Based on those surveys — and past votes where applicable — CWV will endorse candidates for various seats and work to get them elected or re-elected.
To learn more about Conservation West Virginia and the Fix It campaign, visit ConserveWV.org. There you can sign up for emails about the election, too.
