League of Women Voters

[9][10] 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.

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.

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.

A motion was made at the 1919 NAWSA convention to merge the two organizations into a successor, the National League of Women Voters.

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] 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.

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.

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."

"[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.

[36][37] 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.

[45] [46][47] In 1960, the League supported the Resources and Conservation Act of 1960 (S. 2549), beginning a long history of environmental engagement.

[81][needs update][82] 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.

[84] 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.”[85]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.

[86][87] 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.

Other issue areas in which the League currently advocates are international relations, natural resources, and social policy.

[71][72][73][74] [75] The League works with the non-partisan VoteRiders[88] organization to spread state-specific information on voter ID requirements.

[91][92] In 2010, the League opposed the Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which removed limits on corporate contributions to candidates.

[96] 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.

[102][103] 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.

Headquarters building in Washington, DC, circa 1920s
Board of Directors, 1920
Minnesota delegation at Washington, DC headquarters, 1923
League of Women Voters members in front of the White House , 1924
League of Women Voters of Mississippi, 2017
California Free the Vote campaign, 2019
LWV members discussing DC statehood in 2024