The League of Women Voters encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government. It influences public policy through education and advocacy. We are a diverse, non-partisan, political group with a long-standing tradition of educating voters.
The League of Women Voters has two separate and distinct roles.
Voters Service/Citizen Education: we present unbiased nonpartisan information about elections, the voting process, and issues.
Action/Advocacy: we are also nonpartisan, but, after study, we use our positions to advocate for or against particular policies in the public interest.
History
The League of Women Voters is an outgrowth of the suffragist movement. Carrie Chapman Catt founded the organization in 1920 during the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. The convention was held only six months before the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote after a 57-year struggle. The next year, on February 14, 1920 – six months before the 19th amendment to the Constitution was ratified – the League was formally organized in Chicago as the national League of Women Voters.