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League of Women Voters

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League of Women Voters of the United States
FoundedFebruary 14, 1920; 104 years ago (February 14, 1920)
TypeNonprofit
FocusPolitical education and advocacy
Location
President
Dianna Wynn
WebsiteLWV.org

The League of Women Voters (LWV) is an American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and advocating for voting rights. In addition, the LWV works with partners that share its positions and supports a variety of progressive public policy positions, including campaign finance reform, women's rights, health care reform and gun control.[1][2][3][4][5]

The League was founded as the successor to the National American Woman Suffrage Association, which had led the nationwide fight for women's suffrage. The initial goals of the League were to educate women to take part in the political process and to push forward legislation of interest to women. As an organization, an important part of its role in American politics has been to register and inform voters, but it also lobbies for issues of importance to its members, which are selected at its biennial conventions. Its effectiveness has been attributed to its policy of careful study and documentation of an issue before taking a position.[6][7][2]: 92, 127–161 [8] Its bylaws do not allow it to endorse candidates or political parties. In the Trump era, the strong response by the league to political polarization and core issues such as voting rights has weakened support for it on the right.[9][10]

Activities

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VOTE411.org

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VOTE411.org is a nonpartisan bilingual website in English and Spanish that allows voters to input their address and get candidate and election information tailored to their location.[11][12] Candidate survey responses to three questions specific to the office are included on the site.[13] The League of Women Voters, including state and local leagues, runs the site which received a 2020 Webby Award.[14]

National Voter Registration Day

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In 2012, LWV created National Voter Registration Day, a day when volunteers work to register voters and increase participation.[15]

Sponsoring debates

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State and local leagues host candidate debates to provide candidates' positions at all levels of government.[16]

History

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Founding

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Founder Carrie Chapman Catt
Headquarters building in Washington, DC, circa 1920s
Board of Directors, 1920

The League of Women Voters was created in 1920 as the merger of two existing organizations, the long-established National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and the National Council of Women Voters (NCWV).

The founding goals of the National League of Women Voters were to educate women on election processes and lobby for favorable legislation on women's issues. These were the same as the goals of the NCWV, which had been founded by Emma Smith DeVoe after her proposal for such an organization was rebuffed at the 1909 National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) convention in Seattle. When her proposal was ignored, DeVoe founded the National Council of Women Voters in 1911. She recruited western suffragists and organizations to join the NCWV.[17][18]

Ten years later, prior to the 1919 Convention of the NAWSA (in St. Louis, Missouri), Carrie Chapman Catt began negotiating with DeVoe to merge her organization with a new league that would be the successor to the NAWSA. Even though continuing as the NCWV might have made sense because the goals were essentially those that Catt proposed for the new organization, Catt was concerned that DeVoe's alignment with the more radical Alice Paul might discourage conservative women from joining it and thus proposed the formation of a new league. In founding the League of Women Voters, Catt sought to create a political process that was rational and issue-oriented, dominated by citizens, not politicians.[19] She feared that alliance with political parties would reduce the independence of these organizations and swallow up their concerns in more partisan concerns. In addition, by endorsing one candidate the organization would inevitably lose the support of the opposing candidate. As fifteen states had already ratified the 19th Amendment, the women wanted to move forward with a plan to educate women on the voting process and shepherd their participation.

A motion was made at the 1919 NAWSA convention to merge the two organizations into a successor, the National League of Women Voters. Although not all members of either organization were in favor of a merger, the merger was officially completed on January 6, 1920. For the first year the league operated as a committee of the NAWSA.[19][20][21] The formal organization of the League was drafted at the 1920 Convention held in Chicago.[22]

In her presidential address on March 24, 1919, at the above-mentioned NAWSA convention, Catt had said:

Let us raise up a League of Women Voters—the name and form of organization to be determined by the voters themselves; a League that shall be non-partisan and non-sectarian in character and that shall be consecrated to three chief aims:

  • To use its utmost influence to secure the final enfranchisement of the women of every state in our own Republic and to reach out across the seas in aid of the women's struggle for her own in every land.
  • To remove the remaining legal discriminations against women in the codes and constitutions of the several states in order that the feet of coming women may find these stumbling blocks removed.
  • To make our democracy so safe for the Nation and so safe for the world, that every citizen may feel secure and great men will acknowledge the worthiness of the American Republic to lead.”[23]

Carrie Chapman Catt was named honorary chairman of the League instead of president because she insisted that it was for younger and fresher women to lead the new work.[24]

As time passed, women's political organizations did find that political parties redefined issues of concern to them as "women's issues" and pushed them aside.[2]: 93 [2]: 94–96 [25]

Throughout the first part of its history, the League of Women Voters was not welcoming to women of color and its predecessor NAWSA ignored issues involving race due to fears that it would reduce support for equal suffrage.

In subsequent years, due to the increasing influence of women in politics, the league has evolved a more inclusive mission, to "protect and expand voting rights and ensure everyone is represented in our democracy."[26]

1920–1930

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The issues of primary concern to the League in the 1920s were extending the Sheppard-Towner Act first passed in 1921, a Child Labor Amendment to the Constitution, and voter education.

The Sheppard-Towner Act, first passed in 1921, provided federal subsidies to those states that provided education in maternity and infant care. It was initially slated for five years, and was twice extended in the 1920s, but finally failed to pass in 1929.[1][27]

On October 17, 1929, Belle Sherwin, the president of the League of Women Voters, and Ruth Morgan of New York City headed a delegation to ask President Herbert Hoover to support the renewal of Federal aid to the States in maternity and infancy work.[28] It Was later revived as part of the Social Security Act of 1935.

Minnesota delegation at Washington, DC headquarters, 1923
League of Women Voters members in front of the White House, 1924
Get out the vote in 1924

In 1923, a special committee of the national League of Women Voters picked twelve women as the "greatest living American women." They were Jane Addams, Cecilia Beaux, Annie Jump Cannon, Carrie Chapman Catt, Anna Botsford Comstock, Minnie Maddern Fiske, Louise Homer, Julia Lathrop, Florence Rena Sabin, M. Carey Thomas, Martha Van Rensselaer, and Edith Wharton.[29][30]

At the 1926 convention of the national League, Belle Sherwin, the League president, emphasized education in politics as the right road toward true democracy.

Whether it is possible to develop in this country an education which will qualify citizens to be partners in government is a question to face squarely. For many, education today is either remote and limited to a brief period or is highly specialized for vocational purposes. Education for active citizenship has hardly been tried.

She went on to mention "the modest attempts of schools here and there to teach critical reading of the newspapers and other means of avoiding mob-mindedness." Prohibition and birth control were hot issues that year, but were not included in the subjects for study and legislation during the ensuing year.[31]

In 1926, The New York League together with the Women's National Republican Club established information booths in seven department stores, explaining to women how to register to vote, and installed a voting machine at League headquarters to demonstrate how to vote. The League members explained literacy tests and requirements and hours for registration. A frequent question involved the status of an American woman married to an immigrant. The League also presented a series of pre-election talks, including a talk on "National and State Legislators," "The Judiciary," and "Machinery of Elections."[32]

At the 1929 convention of the League of Women Voters of New York, the members voted for a New York State prohibition enforcement act. They also voted to favor old age pensions and ask the Legislature to give women the right to do jury service, to permit physicians to give contraceptive information to married persons, and to extend the benefits of workmen's compensation for all occupational diseases.[33]

During the 1920s, the League of Women Voters of New York sent an annual questionnaire to candidates for local office, and published the answers in the publication "Information for Voters."[34] In 1929, the questionnaire covered maintaining the 5 cent subway fare, creation of a permanent city planning board, immediate action on a sewage and waste disposal plant, unlimited building heights in certain districts, and reclassification of civil service employees to provide automatic salary increases.[35]

In the 1930s, the League was supportive of New Deal programs such as Social Security and the Food and Drug Acts.[36][37]

1940–1969

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In 1945, the League advocated for the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, and was recognized by the UN as a permanent observer, giving it access to most meetings and relevant documentation.[38] [39] [40] [41][42] [43][44]

In the 1950s, League member Dorothy Kenyon was attacked as a Communist by Joseph McCarthy and president Percy Maxim Lee testified before Congress against Senator Joseph McCarthy's abuse of congressional investigative powers.[45] [46][47]

In 1960, the League supported the Resources and Conservation Act of 1960 (S. 2549), beginning a long history of environmental engagement.[48] [49][50]

The league ultimately supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but their efforts came too late to have major impact.[51] After first refusing to oppose discrimination in housing in 1966, the 1968 program included opposition to discrimination in housing and support for presidential suffrage for citizens of Washington, DC.[52]

In 1969, the League was one of the first organizations in the United States calling for normalizing relations with China.[53][6]

1970–2000

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In the 1970s, after years of opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment as proposed by the National Women's Party,[54] the League offered support to an Equal Rights Amendment.[55][56]

In 1974, the League began to admit men.[57][58]

In 1975, a bill entitled "The Indian Law Enforcement Improvement Act" was introduced in the Senate and supported by the League of Women Voters of Nebraska, saying "We support self determination and therefore self government of all citizens, in this case Native Americans." After two days of hearings, the bill was not reported out of committee.[59]

The LWV sponsored the United States presidential debates in 1976, 1980 and 1984.[60][61] On October 2, 1988, the LWV's 14 trustees voted unanimously to pull out of the debates, and on October 3 they issued a press release condemning the demands of the major candidates' campaigns. LWV President Nancy Neuman said that the debate format would "perpetrate a fraud on the American voter" and that the organization did not intend to "become an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public."[62][63] All presidential debates from 1988 until 2020 were sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates,[64] a bipartisan organization run by the two major parties that some argue has established rules with the intent to exclude airing candidates associated with other parties.[65]

In 1998, the League elected its first African-American president, Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins.[66] [67] She served two terms, until 2002, and wrote a book "The untold story of women of color in the League of Women Voters" documenting the history of the League and women of color.[51]

The League fought for the 1982 Amendments to the Voting Rights Act[68] and in the 1990s was important in the passage of National Voter Registration Act of 1993, popularly known as the Motor Voter Act.[69] [70] The act requires states to offer voter registration at all driver's license agencies, at social service agencies, and through the mail.[71] [72] [73] [74] [75]

2000–present

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League of Women Voters of Mississippi, 2017
California Free the Vote campaign, 2019

In 2002, the League supported the Help America Vote Act (with some reservations about the final compromise)[76] [77] and the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act.[78] [79] [80]

In 2014, the League sponsored voter guides including Smart Voter and Voter's Edge in collaboration with MapLight.[81][needs update][additional citation(s) needed]

In 2018, the league took an extraordinary step in opposing Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation due in part to his sexual assault allegations and fears around judicial independence.[9]

In 2020, the League of Women Voters supported Native Americans in seeking to remove restrictions on ballot delivery from reservations.[82]

The Native American voting rights group Four Directions filed a suit on behalf of six voters from the Navajo Nation asking the court to extend the deadline for Arizona counties to receive the ballots of voters, because of "lack of home mail delivery, the need for language translation, lack of access to public transportation and lack of access to any vehicle." The court declined to extend the deadline due to lack of standing of the plaintiffs.[83]

The League of Women Voters of Arizona filed an amicus curiae, saying that

Most Arizonans take access to mail receipt and delivery as a given. By contrast, the District Court recognized the painful reality that "several variables make voting by mail difficult” for Native American voters. More specifically, “[m]ost Navajo Nation residents do not have access to standard mail service,” including home delivery, and must travel “lengthy distance[s]” to access postal services – a burden compounded by “socioeconomic factors.”[84]

In 2021, the League of Women Voters of Florida partnered with VoteRiders to get word out to eligible voters about the changes made due to Floria Senate Bill 90, signed into law in May 2021. The Florida League also partnered with the Black Voters Matter Fund and the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans to file lawsuits against the changes. The trial court struck down multiple provisions of the law but the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay reinstating the restrictive law.[85][86]

After the United States Capitol attack of January 6, 2021, the league's board called Trump a "tyrannical despot" and advocated his removal by legal means.[9] This, among other positions such as around transgender rights and police accountability, have led more Republicans to criticize the league and not respond to VOTE411 candidate surveys.[9] Some Republican-led states have been making voter registration more difficult, prompting the league to stop registering voters in Kansas, for example, for fear of its members facing prosecution.[9] Richard Hasen argues that it would be tough to be seen as neutral when voting rights, a foundational issue for the league, have become a seemingly partisan issue.[9]

Policy views

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The League lobbies for legislation at the national, state, and local levels. Positions on national issues are determined by decisions at the most recent national convention. Members of state and local leagues determine their leagues' positions on state and local issues, consistent with the national positions.

The League was founded by suffragists fighting for the right of women to vote and has always been concerned with issues around voting and representative government. Other issue areas in which the League currently advocates are international relations, natural resources, and social policy.

Voting and representative government

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See also: Voter suppression in the United States and Democratic backsliding in the United States
LWV members discussing DC statehood in 2024

In 1993, the League pushed for the adoption of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which requires states to offer voter registration at all driver's license agencies, at social service agencies, and through the mail.[71][72][73][74] [75]

The League works with the non-partisan VoteRiders[87] organization to spread state-specific information on voter ID requirements. In 2002, the League endorsed passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which banned soft money in federal elections and made other reforms in campaign finance laws.[88][89] It was also a major proponent of the Help America Vote Act.[90][91]

In 2010, the League opposed the Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which removed limits on corporate contributions to candidates.[92][93][94] It filed an amicus brief in support of the FEC.[95]

The League supports the DISCLOSE Act, which would provide for greater and faster public disclosure of campaign spending and combat the use of "dark money" in U.S. elections.[96]

The League currently opposes restrictive photo ID laws and supports campaign finance reform in the United States, including public financing of elections, restrictions on spending by candidates, and abolishing super-PACs.[97]

International relations

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The League lobbied for the establishment of the United Nations, and later became one of the first groups to receive status as a nongovernmental organization with the U.N.[98] The League was active from the beginning in promoting world peace and international organizations.[99]

Natural resources

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See also: League of Conservation Voters

The League supported the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Kyoto Protocol.[100] The League opposes the proposed Keystone Pipeline project.[101][additional citation(s) needed] In January 2013, the League of Women Voters in Hawaii urged President Obama to take action on climate change under the authority given him by the Clean Air Act of 1963.[102][additional citation(s) needed]

Social policy

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The League opposes school vouchers.[103] In 1999, the League of Women Voters of Florida challenged a Florida law that allowed students to use school vouchers to attend other schools. [104][additional citation(s) needed]

The League supports universal health care and endorses both Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act.[105][106][better source needed]

The League supports the abolition of the death penalty.[107]

LGBT+ rights

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LWV supports LGBT+ rights and has stated that "defending our democracy and ending discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community go hand in hand."[108] It has also supported the rights of transgender athletes.[9]

Governance

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National

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A national board of directors consisting of four officers, eight elected directors, and not more than eight board-appointed directors, most of whom reside in the Metro Washington D.C. area, govern the League subject to the Bylaws of the League of Women Voters of the United States. The national board is elected at the national convention and sets position policy.[109]

State and local leagues

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See also: League of Women Voters of Alabama, League of Women Voters of California, League of Women Voters of Florida, Missouri League of Women Voters, and League of Women Voters of Wisconsin

Local Leagues and state Leagues are organized in order to promote the purposes of the League and to take action on local and state governmental matters. These Leagues (chapters) have their own directors and officers. The national board may withdraw recognition from any state or local League for failure to fulfill recognition requirements.[109]

The League of Women Voters has state and local leagues in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and Hong Kong.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Ford, Lynne (2009). Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics. Infobase Publishing. p. 280. ISBN 9781438110325. The National League of Women Voters (NLWV) was established in 1920...Rather than directly entering electoral politics, the NLWV dedicated its efforts to educating newly enfranchised women, studying national legislation and social policy, and participating in local civic matters.
  2. ^ a b c d Sharer, Wendy B (2007). Vote and Voice: Women's Organizations and Political Literacy, 1915–1930. Southern Illinois University Press. ISBN 9780809387687. Anticipating the difficulty of integrating former suffragists into partisan American politics, Catt called for a successor organization to the NAWSA that would train new women voters in electoral procedures and further the interests of women within the platforms and administrative structures of political parties.
  3. ^ "League of Women Voters". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 24 August 2022. The League of Women Voters' work includes get out the vote efforts, often shortened to GOTV. These are concerted efforts to register voters and increase voter turnout during elections. ... As part of their GOTV efforts, the League of Women Voters was designed to educate voters on the issues and candidates on their ballots during each election cycle.
  4. ^ "The 'Women Voters'" (PDF). The New York Times. October 11, 1954. Retrieved October 9, 2022. The organization has won the respect of both political parties for its scrupulous nonpartisan-ship.
  5. ^ Smith, Ethel B. (November 29, 1925). "Women working for new laws" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2022. The Women's Joint Congressional Committee is a well set up piece of machinery which functions for a combined membership of organized women numbering literally millions. Mrs. Maud Wood Park, then President of the National League of Women Voters, took the lead in carrying out the idea by calling the other women together to discuss it...the National League of Women Voters... was planned definitely as a non-partisan political organization of women.
  6. ^ a b "Women's league plans voter drive" (PDF). The New York Times. June 1, 1969. Retrieved October 4, 2022. Last summer, the league (in New York) registered 18,000 new voters in 80 communities where enrollment was below 30%.
  7. ^ Green, Marie (4 September 1983). "League of Voters Tackles 80s Issues". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 September 2022. The league from the national to the local level spends a lot of time on advocacy work. An issue is intensely studied – for years sometimes – and a consensus is reached among members. The league then discusses, urges, and 'we lobby like crazy,' according to Percy Lee Langstaff, president of the Connecticut League.
  8. ^ Cashin, Maria Hoyt (2013). Sustaining the League of Women Voters in America. New Academia Publishing. ISBN 9781955835237. A look at the decline of civic engagement, and how nonpartisan organizations like the League of Women Voters can help save and promote democracy.[page needed]
  9. ^ a b c d e f g O’Matz, Megan (2022-08-18). "Republicans Turn Against the League of Women Voters". ProPublica. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  10. ^ "Remaining Nonpartisan in Hyper-partisan Times". The League of Women Voters. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2022. The League's advocacy work is issued based, and we arrive at our positions based on careful study and input from our members in communities across the country. We never derive our positions from politicians, and even when candidates or parties support the same issue, we never endorse them.
  11. ^ "Educating Voters using Vote411". WHYY. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  12. ^ "Letter: Check Vote411.org before going to the polls". Journal & Courier. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
  13. ^ Vote411.org – Episode 3037. PrimeTime – PBS. 2022. Retrieved 2024-07-31 – via www.pbs.org.
  14. ^ Peters, Jay (2020-05-20). "Here are all the winners of the 2020 Webby Awards". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-07-31. Webby People's Voice Award for Government & Civil Innovation: VOTE411 – Election Information You Need
  15. ^ Bouie, Jamelle (September 23, 2014). "Nothing to See Here". Slate. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  16. ^ Hageman, Hannah. "League of Women Voters election debates coming up". WHOP 1230 AM | News Radio. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
  17. ^ "National Council of Women Voters". Washingtonhistory.org. Tacoma, Washington: Washington State Historical Society. February 1, 1912. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  18. ^ DeAngelis, Therese (2014). Women's Rights on the Frontier. Broomall, PA: Mason Crest. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-4222-9352-2.
  19. ^ a b "Carrie Chapman Catt". History.com. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  20. ^ Ross-Nazzal, Jennifer M. (2011). Winning the West for Women: The Life of Suffragist Emma Smith DeVoe. Seattle: University of Washington Press. pp. 163–165. ISBN 978-0-295-99086-6.
  21. ^ Van Voris, Jacqueline (1996). Carrie Chapman Catt: A Public Life. New York: Feminist Press at CUNY. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-55861-139-9.
  22. ^ Abbott, Virginia Clark (1949). The History of Woman Suffrage and the League of Women Voters in Cuyahoga County, 1911–1945. Cleveland: League of Women Voters. p. 76. OCLC 925432053. Archived from the original on 5 February 2019.
  23. ^ Catt, Carrie Chapman. "The Nation Calls" (24 March 1919). Archives of Women's Political Communication. Ames: Iowa State University. Retrieved 22 August 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  24. ^ Van Voris, Jacqueline (1987). Carrie Chapman Catt: A Public Life. New York: The Feminist Press, CUNY. ISBN 1-55861-139-8.
  25. ^ Fowler, Robert Booth (1986). Carrie Catt: Feminist Politician. Boston: Northeastern University Press. pp. 148–149. ISBN 0930350863.
  26. ^ "Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy". The League of Women Voters. 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  27. ^ "Saving Young Mothers". The New York Times. 8 May 1921. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  28. ^ "Ask Hoover Support for Maternity Bill: League of Women Voters Group Urges Resumption of Federal Aid Program" (PDF). The New York Times. 18 October 1929. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  29. ^ "Names 12 Greatest of Our Living Women" (PDF). The New York Times. 6 May 1923. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  30. ^ "Child Labor Foes Chosen by Voters; Women's League Reports Large Percentage of Successful Candidates Favor Amendment". The New York Times. New York. 9 November 1924. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  31. ^ "Urges Education for True Citizens" (PDF). The New York Times. 17 April 1926. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  32. ^ "Women Politicians Educating Sisters" (PDF). The New York Times. 6 October 1926. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  33. ^ "Women Voters Ask A State Dry Law" (PDF). The New York Times. 15 December 1929. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  34. ^ "Sounds out candidates: League of Women Voters sends annual questionnaire" (PDF). The New York Times. 22 September 1927. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  35. ^ "City Candidates Back 5-Cent Fare" (PDF). The New York Times. 18 October 1929. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  36. ^ "National Conference on Economic Security". Social Security History. Social Security Administration. Retrieved October 3, 2022. this was the first town-hall forum on Social Security in the nation's history.
  37. ^ Lamb, Ruth DeForest (1936). American Chamber of Horrors: The Truth about Food and Drugs. New York: Farrar & Rinehart. p. 320. ASIN B00085GUZ6.
  38. ^ "Begin world peace drive". The New York Times. January 15, 1945. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  39. ^ "Connally defends League of Nations". The New York Times. March 28, 1945. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  40. ^ "Women plan drives backing conference". The New York Times. April 16, 1945. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  41. ^ Reston, James B. (July 12, 1945). "Charter attacked by 16 opponent at lively hearing". The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  42. ^ "Asks quick assent on Bretton Woods". The New York Times. March 14, 1985. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  43. ^ Wayne, Tiffany K., ed. (2020). Women's Suffrage: The Complete Guide to the Nineteenth Amendment. ABC-CLIO. p. 85. ISBN 9781440871993.
  44. ^ Hernandez, Marcia (2011). Stange, Mary Zeiss; Oyster, Carol K.; Sloan, Jane E. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Reference. pp. 833–834. ISBN 9781412976855.
  45. ^ "Percy Maxim Lee: a retrospective". The Free Library.
  46. ^ MacEachern, Frank (January 25, 2011). "State League of Women Voters helps mold political process, leaders, say members". greenwichtime.com. Greenwich Time. Retrieved October 4, 2022. The league came under the scrutiny of Sen. Joseph McCarthy during Lee's tenure, when the senator searched for Communist infiltration of American government and organizations.
  47. ^ Greenberg, Doris (April 27, 1950). "Civil Rights Issue Revived by Women" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2022. Miss Dorothy Kenyon...was accused of having an affinity for Communist-front organizations by Senator Joseph R. McCarthy ...She later appeared at a hearing and challenged Senator McCarthy as an "unmitigated liar."
  48. ^ Oakes, John B. (June 3, 1956). "Conservation: Pollution control". The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  49. ^ Herbers, John (September 29, 1969). "Washington power shift". The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  50. ^ U.S. Congress (1960). Proposed Resources and Conservation Act of 1960: Hearings before the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, United States Senate, Eighty-sixth Congress, Second Session, on S.2549, A bill to declare a national policy on conservation, development, and utilization of natural resources, and for other purposes. Washington, DC: U.S. G.P.O. pp. 103–121.
  51. ^ a b Jefferson-Jenkins, Carolyn (2020). The untold story of women of color in the League of Women Voters. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. ISBN 9781440874505.
  52. ^ Carson, Chris; Kase, Virginia (8 August 2018). "Facing Hard Truths About the League's Origin". lwv.org. The League of Women Voters. Retrieved 1 October 2022. The League was founded in 1920- – just months before the ratification of the 19th Amendment – #by American suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt. Catt was a complicated character, a political operative, and by modern standards, yes, racist.
  53. ^ "Women voters ask US for recognition of Communist China". The New York Times. April 27, 1969. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  54. ^ "'Equal Rights' plan assailed as futile" (PDF). The New York Times. November 23, 1930. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  55. ^ "League of Women Voters starts Equal Rights drive" (PDF). The New York Times. October 12, 1973. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  56. ^ "League of Women Voters to spend 1 million in Equal Rights campaign" (PDF). The New York Times. May 7, 1978. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  57. ^ "League of Women Voters votes to let men join it" (PDF). The New York Times. May 8, 1974. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  58. ^ "It's still the League of 'Women' Voters" (PDF). The New York Times. May 7, 1976. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  59. ^ United States Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs (Subcommittee on Indian Affairs) (1975). Indian Law Enforcement Improvement Act of 1975: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Indian Affairs of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, United States Senate, Ninety-fourth Congress, First Session, on S. 2010. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. p. 701.
  60. ^ Montopoli, Brian (October 15, 2012). "Do the debates unfairly shut out third parties?". CBS News. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  61. ^ "Everything you need to know about presidential debate history". The Week. October 14, 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  62. ^ Shepard, Scott (October 3, 1988). "League of Women Voters Pulls Out of Presidential Debate". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  63. ^ Flock, Elizabeth (September 21, 2012). "In a First, Debates Give Presidential Candidates the Topics Ahead Of Time". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  64. ^ Fain, Thom (26 September 2016). "What is the Commission on Presidential Debates, and what do they do?". The State Journal-Register. Springfield, Illinois. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  65. ^ Brennan, Paul (June 25, 2021) [August 18, 2016]. "Fact check: Are the presidential debates rigged in favor of major party candidates?". Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  66. ^ Pine, Candace (May 10, 2021). "Educator, Writer, Activist, Leader: Meet Dr. Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins". Miami University. Retrieved October 4, 2022. Dr. Jefferson-Jenkins has also been deeply involved with the League of Women Voters for many years. She was elected as the 15th national president of the League of Women Voters in 1998; the first woman of color to hold the position
  67. ^ Meakin, Kate (June 17, 2011). "Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins (1952–)". BlackPast.org. Retrieved October 4, 2022. In 1998 Dr. Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was elected the first African American President of the National League of Women Voters.
  68. ^ Boyd, Thomas M.; Markman, Stephen J. (September 1, 1983). "The 1982 Amendments To The Voting Rights Act: A Legislative History". Washington and Lee Law Review. 40 (4): 1395–1396. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  69. ^ Clinton, William (1993). "League of Women Voters: Motor Voter". youtube.com. The League of Women Voters. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  70. ^ Krauss, Clifford (May 21, 1992). "Senate passes bill to force states to make voter registration easier". The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2022. A coalition of 60 voter and civil rights groups lobbied hard for the Senate measure with letter-writing and telephone campaigns. "Persistance has paid off," Susan S. Lederman, president of the League of Women Voters, said today.
  71. ^ a b Ford, Lynne (2009). Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics. Infobase Publishing. p. 280. ISBN 9781438110325.
  72. ^ a b Lombardi, Kate Stone (14 November 1993). "Voters League Marks Its 75th Year". The New York Times. p. 705. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  73. ^ a b Krauss, Clifford (21 May 1992). "Senate Passes Bill to Force States to Make Voter Registration Easie". The New York Times. Section B, p. 11.
  74. ^ a b Stuart, Celina (20 May 2020). "Honoring the 27th Anniversary of the National Voter Registration Act". League of Women Voters. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  75. ^ a b Clymer, Adam (May 12, 1993). "Voter Bill Passes In a G.O.P. Defeat". The New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  76. ^ "100 Years of LWV". The League of Women Voters. 2022. Retrieved October 4, 2022. Working closely with a civil rights coalition, LWV helped draft and pass the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which established provisional balloting, requirements for updating voting systems, and the Election Assistance Commission.
  77. ^ Pear, Robert (October 5, 2002). "House and Senate Negotiators Agree on an Election Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2022. Lloyd J. Leonard, legislative director of the League of Women Voters of the United States, expressed doubts about the compromise.
  78. ^ "Money in Politics: Developing a Common Understanding of the Issues". The League of Women Voters. 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2022. It lobbied strongly for the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, cosponsored by Senators McCain and Feingold and passed in 2002.
  79. ^ "Position on Campaign Financing". The League of Women Voters. 29 September 2013. Retrieved October 4, 2022. On March 27, 2002, the League's five-year campaign for the McCain-Feingold-Shays-Meehan bill reached fruition when the President signed the legislation into law.
  80. ^ Armoudian, Maria (July 2018). "Where the Bucks Don't Stop: The Construction of Money as Speech and Its Effects". Australasian Journal of American Studies. 37 (1): 41. JSTOR 26532953. Retrieved October 4, 2022. 'good government' organizations such as Common Cause and The League of Women Voters of the United States argued ... to distinguish 'unlimited speech' from 'unlimited money'.
  81. ^ Peterson, Karla (October 17, 2014). "Where to get info on candidates, issues in Nov. 4 election". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  82. ^ "Full and Real Citizenship: Advancing Native American Voting Rights". The League of Women Voters. October 30, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  83. ^ Yazzie v. Hobbs, 977 F.3d 964,967 (United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 2020).
  84. ^ Donofrio, Michael (October 6, 2020). "Brief for League of Women Voters of Arizona as Amicus Curiae in Support of Appellant and Requesting Reversal" (PDF). Four Directions Inc. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  85. ^ Manna-Rea, Jorgelina (September 27, 2021). "League Of Women Voters Of Florida Challenges New Voting Law". WUSF Public Media. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  86. ^ Timm, Jane C. (May 6, 2022). "Appeals court reinstates Florida's restrictive voting law". NBC News. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
  87. ^ "VoteRiders Partner Organizations". VoteRiders. 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  88. ^ Curry, Tom (August 19, 2004). "Why 'reform' equals more campaign spending". NBC News. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  89. ^ Malbin, Michael (2003). Life After Reform: When the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act Meets Politics. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 29. ISBN 9780742528338.
  90. ^ Pear, Robert (7 September 2002). "Bill to Overhaul System of Voting is Seen in Danger". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  91. ^ "Help America Vote Act". US Election Assistance Commission. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  92. ^ Liptak, Adam (21 January 2010). "Justices, 5–4, Reject Corporate Spending Limit". The New York Times.
  93. ^ Lefler, Dion (July 17, 2012). "Voters group seeks city resolution against Citizens United decision". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  94. ^ MacNamara, Elisabeth (December 29, 2014). "How the League Was Busy Making Democracy Work in 2014". Huffington Post. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  95. ^ Citizens United v FEC, Scotusblog 08-205, Brief amicus of The League of Women Voters (9 September 2009).
  96. ^ McNamara, Elisabeth (17 June 2010). "The League of Women Voters on the DISCLOSE Act". The Hill. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  97. ^ Wilson, Megan (February 11, 2015). "FEC deadlocked on 'dark money'". The Hill. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  98. ^ Zeiss Strange, Mary; Oyster, Carol; Sloan, Jane (2011). Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World, Volume 1. Sage Publications. p. 833. ISBN 9781412976855.
  99. ^ "Mrs. Catt Summons Women to End War". The New York Times. Cleveland. 13 April 1921. Retrieved 29 August 2022. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain. "At the second League of Women Voters convention, in 1921, Carrie Chapman Catt spoke, and said: 'The people in this room tonight could put an end to war. There is no audience in the world that won't applaud him who talks of world peace. Everybody wants to and every one does nothing. I am for a league of nations, a Republican league or any kind the Republicans are in. I believe it is the duty of every one who wants the world to disarm to compel action at Washington. Our country is not judged by its parties; it is judged as a nation. But why don't we do something? I ask you: Is there anybody anywhere with an earnest crusading spirit who is trying to arouse America? No. We are as stolid and as inactive as if we did not face the greatest opportunity in history. We are the appointed leaders. It isn't possible for us to see the horrors of the other side. We go on daily living in a pardise while tragic Europe tries to gather its ruins together. We have waited too long, and we will get another war by waiting. Let us make a resolution tonight; let us consecrate ourselves to put war out of this world. It is necessary that we rise out of narrow partisanship, that we act as women.'"
  100. ^ Huse, Carl (May 25, 2011). "Voter Group Flexes Muscle in Ads Aimed at Senators". New York Times. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  101. ^ Savage, Melanie (October 20, 2014). "League of Women Voters holds discussion on climate change". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  102. ^ Gerhardt, Tina (9 January 2013). "70 Groups Send Pres. Obama Letter Urging Action on Climate Change". The Progressive.
  103. ^ Dunkelberger, Lloyd (August 6, 2014). "League's influence felt as special session begins". Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  104. ^ Kliendienst, Linda (22 June 1999). "Bush Signs A+-plan". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  105. ^ Redmond, Pat (April 6, 2015). "League of Women Voters support the expansion of Medicaid". Juneau Empire. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  106. ^ Burr, Carol (April 9, 2015). "A national necessity". Chico News Review. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  107. ^ Dickson, Amelia (March 6, 2013). "Bill to abolish death penalty gets hearing". Seattle Times. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  108. ^ "Major LGBTQ+ Rights Cases Happening Now". LWV. 3 June 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  109. ^ a b "Bylaws and Certificate of Incorporation". LWV. May 3, 1946. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2012.

Further reading

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  • Jefferson-Jenkins, Carolyn (2020). The Untold Story of Women of Color in the League of Women Voters. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. ISBN 9781440874499. The Untold Story of Women of Color in the League of Women Voters explores ways in which these women have been marginalized and recognizes how their contributions will positively influence the organization as it moves into its next 100 years.
  • Cashin, Maria Hoyt (2013). Sustaining the League of Women Voters in America. New Academia Publishing. ISBN 9781955835237. A look at the decline of civic engagement, and how nonpartisan organizations like the League of Women Voters can help save and promote democracy.
  • Stuhler, Barbara (2000). For the Public Record: A Documentary History of the League of Women Voters. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313253164. Through a judicious selection of documents from the papers of the League of Women Voters of the United States in the Library of Congress, Stuhler reveals the rich history of an organization designed to serve the public interest.
  • Lee, Percy Maxim; Young, Louise Merwin; Young, Ralph B. (1989). In the public interest: the League of Women Voters, 1920–1970. Westport: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-25302-1.
  • Brumbaugh, Sara Barbara (1946). "Democratic experience and education in the National League of Women Voters". Contributions to Education, 916. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University.
  • Handbook of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and proceedings of the Convention held at Cleveland, Ohio, April 13, 1921. New York: National American Woman Suffrage Association. 1921. Retrieved August 26, 2022. This is NAWSA's final report. With the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, its work came to a close and the association was reorganized as the League of Women Voters.

Selected works published by the League of Women Voters

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to League of Women Voters.

Historical resources

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