California Environmental Voters (also known as EnviroVoters and formerly the California League of Conservation Voters) is an environmental lobbying and electoral advocacy organization devoted to influencing public officials to support left-of-center environmental legislation and policies. ¹²

California Environmental Voters is affiliated with the national League of Conservation Voters and attempts to influence public policy using left-wing “anti-racist” principles as well as by recruiting and electing racial minorities and LGBT public officials to combat climate change.³

Activities

California Environmental Voters is a lobbying and public education organization devoted to supporting and influencing public officials in order to advance left-of-center environmental legislation, regulations, and policies, particularly to combat climate change. The organization claims to have 160,000 members and claims that the world only has “until 2030 to address the climate crisis before its worst impacts are felt.”¹²³

To influence elected officials, California Environmental Voters compiled a California Environmental Scorecard that rates public officials on their support for left-of-center environmental legislation, on whether officials collect donations from the oil and gas industry, and other standards. On the organization’s 2023 scorecard, two California state legislators received a score of 100% with Democrats scoring on average 84% compared to an average score of 8% among Republicans. The scorecard also claims that 52% of state legislators accept money from the oil and gas industry.⁴

Other activities and priorities of California Environmental Voters include organizing and educating voters; commitment to left-wing “anti-racist” principles; recruiting and electing “people of color, women, LGBTQ+, indigenous, and young leaders” to combat climate change; holding elected leaders accountable for their voting records; endorsing candidates for state assembly, state senate, and U.S. Congress; and creating call and email campaigns to influence the decisions of elected officials.³⁵

California Environmental Votes also hosts digital townhalls with California’s U.S. Congressional legislation to discuss environmental and conservation-related issues.⁶

California Environmental Borders claims credit for California’s passage of legislation in 2023 to support offshore weather-dependent energy production; to require companies to submit climate financial risk reports; to require large companies to submit public reports on their greenhouse gas emissions; and to impose stricter water conservation rules.⁷

People

The chief executive officer of California Environmental Voters is Mary Creasman. Previously, Creasman was the California director of government affairs for the Trust for Public Land, the chief strategy officer for Green for All where she worked on cap and trade policy during the Obama administration, and was a union organizer and political and organizing director for the AFL-CIO Labor Council and Democratic Party in Silicon Valley. Under Creasman’s leadership, California Environmental Voters rebranded from the California League of Conservation Voters to EnviroVoters.⁸

Affiliates

California Environmental Votes is affiliated with the California Environmental Voters Education Fund, a 501(c)(3) devoted to providing tools and resources to environmental advocacy organizations.⁹ The organization also has 29 sister environmentalist organizations in other states and is affiliated with the national League of Conservation Voters. ³

Expenses and Funding

According to tax filings, in 2022 California Environmental Voters spent $1,771,559 on its Building Power Program to “mobilize communities of color and youth around environmental justice priorities” and to lobby for climate change solutions; $55,816 on Path to 62, a program to research, identify, recruit and train pro-environmentalist candidates for public office with a particular focus on electing “people of color, women, and LGBTQ, indigenous, and young leaders”; and $50,000 on Regulatory Advocacy, a program that advocates for stricter energy and transportation regulations to reduce carbon emissions.¹

Also in 2022, California Environmental Voters reported $127,183 in revenue from fundraising events. ¹

1. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). California Environmental Voters. 2022.
2. “Who We Are.” California Environmental Voters. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://envirovoters.org/who-we-are/.
3. “What We Do.” California Environmental Voters. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://envirovoters.org/what-we-do/.
4. “2023 California Environmental Scorecard.” California Environmental Voters. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://envirovoters.org/scorecard/.
5. “2024 Endorsements.” California Environmental Voters. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://envirovoters.org/2024-endorsements/.
6. “Federal Townhalls.” California Environmental Voters. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://envirovoters.org/federal-townhalls/.
7. “California Legislative Wins.” California Environmental Voters. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://envirovoters.org/2023-california-legislative-wins/.
8. “Staff.” California Environmental Voters. Accessed April 22, 2024. https://envirovoters.org/staff/.
9. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). California Environmental Voters Education Fund. 2022.