League of Women Voters

[https://www.vote411.org 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.{{Cite web |title=Educating Voters using Vote411 |url=https://whyy.org/whyy-brings-the-classroom-home/educating-voters-using-vote411/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=WHYY |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |title=Letter: Check Vote411.org before going to the polls |url=https://www.jconline.com/story/news/opinion/letters/2018/04/27/letter-check-vote-411-org-before-going-polls/558067002/ |access-date=2018-07-06 |work=Journal & Courier |language=en}} Candidate survey responses to three questions specific to the office are included on the site.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.pbs.org/video/vote411org-qpnydn/ |title=Vote411.org – Episode 3037 |language=en |publisher=PrimeTime – PBS |year=2022 |access-date=2024-07-31 |via=www.pbs.org}} The League of Women Voters, including state and local leagues, runs the site which received a 2020 Webby Award.{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Jay |date=2020-05-20 |title=Here are all the winners of the 2020 Webby Awards |url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/20/21263445/2020-webby-awards-winners-lil-nas-x-nasa-jon-krasinski |access-date=2024-07-31 |website=The Verge |language=en |quote=Webby People’s Voice Award for Government & Civil Innovation: VOTE411 – Election Information You Need}}

In 2012, LWV created National Voter Registration Day, a day when volunteers work to register voters and increase participation.{{cite magazine |last1=Bouie |first1=Jamelle |date=September 23, 2014 |title=Nothing to See Here |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/09/national_voter_registration_day_the_holiday_republicans_want_you_to_forget.html |access-date=May 4, 2015 |magazine=Slate}}

State and local leagues host candidate debates to provide candidates' positions at all levels of government.{{Cite news |last=Hageman |first=Hannah |title=League of Women Voters election debates coming up |url=http://whopam.com/2018/04/12/47194/ |access-date=2018-07-06 |work=WHOP 1230 AM {{!}} News Radio |language=en}}

File:Carrie_Chapman_Catt_-_National_Woman's_Party_Records.jpg]]

File:National League of Women Voters LCCN2016825573.jpg

File:Board of Directors National League of Women Voters-Chicago Convention, February 1920 LCCN98511969.jpg

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.{{cite web |title=National Council of Women Voters |url=http://www.washingtonhistory.org/research/whc/milestones/aftersuffrage/ncwv/ |website=Washingtonhistory.org |publisher=Washington State Historical Society |access-date=5 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123131009/http://www.washingtonhistory.org/research/whc/milestones/aftersuffrage/ncwv/ |archive-date=23 November 2018 |location=Tacoma, Washington |date=February 1, 1912}}{{cite book |last=DeAngelis |first=Therese |title=Women's Rights on the Frontier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E3rTBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT67 |year=2014 |publisher=Mason Crest |location=Broomall, PA |isbn=978-1-4222-9352-2 |page=67}}

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.{{cite web |title=Carrie Chapman Catt |url=http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/carrie-chapman-catt |access-date=May 4, 2015 |website=History.com}} 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 Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, 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.{{cite book |last=Ross-Nazzal |first=Jennifer M. |title=Winning the West for Women: The Life of Suffragist Emma Smith DeVoe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pRex0ocBj6QC&pg=PA163 |date=2011 |publisher=University of Washington Press |location=Seattle |isbn=978-0-295-99086-6 |pages=163–165}}{{cite book |last=Van Voris |first=Jacqueline |title=Carrie Chapman Catt: A Public Life |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s2SkL2HNuwEC&pg=PA154 |date=1996 |publisher=Feminist Press at CUNY |location=New York|isbn=978-1-55861-139-9 |page=154}} The formal organization of the League was drafted at the 1920 Convention held in Chicago.{{cite book |last=Abbott |first=Virginia Clark |title=The History of Woman Suffrage and the League of Women Voters in Cuyahoga County, 1911–1945 |url=http://teachingcleveland.org/history-of-woman-suffrage-and-league-of-women-voters-in-cuyahoga-county-1911-1945-by-virginia-clark-abbott/ |year=1949 |publisher=League of Women Voters |location=Cleveland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205181521/http://teachingcleveland.org/history-of-woman-suffrage-and-league-of-women-voters-in-cuyahoga-county-1911-1945-by-virginia-clark-abbott/ |archive-date=5 February 2019 |oclc=925432053 |page=76}}

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

{{blockquote|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.”{{cite archive|item=The Nation Calls|last=Catt|first=Carrie Chapman|date=24 March 1919|collection=Archives of Women's Political Communication|institution=Iowa State University| location=Ames |url=https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/2018/03/04/the-nation-calls-march-24-1919/ |access-date=22 August 2022}} {{PD-notice}}}}

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.{{cite book|title=Carrie Chapman Catt: A Public Life|last=Van Voris|first=Jacqueline|year=1987|location=New York |publisher=The Feminist Press, CUNY|isbn=1-55861-139-8}}

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.{{rp|93}}{{rp|94–96}}{{cite book |last=Fowler |first=Robert Booth |url=https://archive.org/details/carriecattfemini0000fowl/page/n1/mode/1up?q=political+yes+partisan+no |title=Carrie Catt: Feminist Politician |date=1986 |publisher=Northeastern University Press |isbn=0930350863 |location=Boston |pages=148–149}}

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."{{cite web |url=https://www.lwv.org |title=Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy. |date=2022 |website=The League of Women Voters |access-date=31 August 2022 }}

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.{{cite news |author= |date=8 May 1921 |title=Saving Young Mothers |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1921/05/08/archives/saving-young-mothers-strong-support-of-federal-maternity-bill-to.html |access-date=2 October 2022 |work=The New York Times}}

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.{{cite news |author= |date=18 October 1929 |title=Ask Hoover Support for Maternity Bill: League of Women Voters Group Urges Resumption of Federal Aid Program |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/10/18/96001685.pdf |work=The New York Times

|access-date=20 August 2022}}

It was later revived as part of the Social Security Act of 1935.

File:Delegation of Minnesota League of Women Voters with a mile signatures for World Court proposal LCCN2016892920.jpg

File:League Women Voters, White House.jpg, 1924]]

File:Natl. League of Women Voters, 9-17-24 LOC npcc.12394.jpg 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.{{cite news |author= |date=6 May 1923 |title=Names 12 Greatest of Our Living Women |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1923/05/06/105860957.pdf |work=The New York Times |access-date=30 August 2022}}{{cite news |author= |date=9 November 1924 |title=Child Labor Foes Chosen by Voters; Women's League Reports Large Percentage of Successful Candidates Favor Amendment |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/11/09/archives/child-labor-foes-chosen-by-voters-womens-league-reports-large.html |work=The New York Times |location=New York |access-date=4 November 2023}}

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.{{cite news |author= |date=17 April 1926 |title=Urges Education for True Citizens |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1926/04/17/101680628.pdf |work=The New York Times |access-date=30 August 2022}}

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."{{cite news |author= |date=6 October 1926 |title=Women Politicians Educating Sisters |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1926/10/06/98395982.pdf|work=The New York Times |access-date=30 August 2022}}

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.{{cite news|date=15 December 1929 |title=Women Voters Ask A State Dry Law |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/12/15/92030544.pdf |work=The New York Times | access-date=30 August 2022}}

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."{{cite news |author= |date=22 September 1927 |title=Sounds out candidates: League of Women Voters sends annual questionnaire |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/09/22/104224438.pdf |work=The New York Times |access-date=30 August 2022}}

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.{{cite news |author= |date=18 October 1929 |title=City Candidates Back 5-Cent Fare |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1929/10/18/96001650.pdf |work=The New York Times |access-date=30 August 2022}}

In the 1930s, the League was supportive of New Deal programs such as Social Security and the Food and Drug Acts.{{cite web |author= |title=National Conference on Economic Security |url=https://www.ssa.gov/history/mayflower.html |access-date=October 3, 2022 |website=Social Security History |publisher=Social Security Administration |quote=this was the first town-hall forum on Social Security in the nation's history.}}{{cite book |last=Lamb |first=Ruth DeForest |author-link=Ruth deForest Lamb |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.77374/page/n5/mode/1up |title=American Chamber of Horrors: The Truth about Food and Drugs |date=1936 |publisher=Farrar & Rinehart |location=New York |page=320 |asin=B00085GUZ6}}

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.{{cite news |author= |date=January 15, 1945 |title=Begin world peace drive |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/01/15/archives/begin-world-peace-drive-women-voters-start-campaign-with-backing-of.html |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}

{{cite news |author= |date=March 28, 1945 |title=Connally defends League of Nations |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/03/28/archives/connally-defends-league-of-nations-senator-tells-league-of-women.html |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}

{{cite news |author= |date=April 16, 1945 |title=Women plan drives backing conference |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/04/16/archives/women-plan-drives-backing-conference.html |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}

{{cite news |last=Reston |first=James B. |author-link=James B. Reston |date=July 12, 1945 |title=Charter attacked by 16 opponent at lively hearing |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/07/12/archives/charter-attacked-by-16-opponents-at-lively-hearing-the-united.html |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |author= |date=March 14, 1985 |title=Asks quick assent on Bretton Woods |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1945/03/14/archives/asks-quick-assent-on-bretton-woods-dr-white-tells-house-group-this.html |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}

{{cite book |author-link= |title=Women's Suffrage: The Complete Guide to the Nineteenth Amendment |date=2020 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=9781440871993 |editor-last=Wayne |editor-first=Tiffany K. |page=85}}{{cite book |last=Hernandez |first=Marcia |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwo0002unse_h5y5 |title=Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World |date=2011 |publisher=Sage Reference |isbn=9781412976855 |editor-last1=Stange |editor-first1=Mary Zeiss |location=Thousand Oaks, CA |pages=833–834 |editor-last2=Oyster |editor-first2=Carol K. |editor-last3=Sloan |editor-first3=Jane E.}}

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.{{cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Percy Maxim Lee: a retrospective |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Percy+Maxim+Lee+a+retrospective.-a0103240389 |access-date= |website=The Free Library |publisher= |quote=}}

{{cite web |last=MacEachern |first=Frank |date=January 25, 2011 |title=State League of Women Voters helps mold political process, leaders, say members |url=https://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/State-League-of-Women-Voters-helps-mold-political-977295.php |access-date=October 4, 2022 |website=greenwichtime.com |publisher=Greenwich Time |quote=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.}}{{cite news |last=Greenberg |first=Doris |date=April 27, 1950 |title=Civil Rights Issue Revived by Women |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1950/04/27/87024373.pdf |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times |quote=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."}}

In 1960, the League supported the Resources and Conservation Act of 1960 (S. 2549), beginning a long history of environmental engagement.{{cite news |last=Oakes |first=John B. |author-link=John B. Oakes |date=June 3, 1956 |title=Conservation: Pollution control |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/06/03/archives/conservation-pollution-control-congress-considers-bill-to.html |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}

{{cite news |last=Herbers |first=John |author-link=John Herbers |date=September 29, 1969 |title=Washington power shift |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/09/29/archives/washington-power-shift-thrust-moves-from-the-administration-to-new.html |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite book |author=U.S. Congress |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6RhEAAAAIAAJ |title=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 |publisher=U.S. G.P.O |year=1960 |location=Washington, DC |pages=103–121}}

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.{{cite book |last=Jefferson-Jenkins |first=Carolyn |author-link=Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins |title=The untold story of women of color in the League of Women Voters |date=2020 |publisher=Praeger |isbn=9781440874505 |location=Santa Barbara, CA}} 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.{{cite web |last1=Carson |first1=Chris |last2=Kase |first2=Virginia |date=8 August 2018 |title=Facing Hard Truths About the League's Origin |url=https://www.lwv.org/blog/facing-hard-truths-about-leagues-origin |access-date=1 October 2022 |website=lwv.org |publisher=The League of Women Voters |quote=The League was founded in 1920-{{snd}}just months before the ratification of the 19th Amendment{{snd}}#by American suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt. Catt was a complicated character, a political operative, and by modern standards, yes, racist.}}

In 1969, the League was one of the first organizations in the United States calling for normalizing relations with China.{{cite news |author= |date=April 27, 1969 |title=Women voters ask US for recognition of Communist China |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/04/27/archives/women-voters-ask-us-for-recognition-of-communist-china.html |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}

In the 1970s, after years of opposition to the Equal Rights Amendment as proposed by the National Woman's Party,{{cite news |author= |date=November 23, 1930 |title='Equal Rights' plan assailed as futile |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/11/23/98309160.pdf |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times}} the League offered support to an Equal Rights Amendment.{{cite news |author= |date=October 12, 1973 |title=League of Women Voters starts Equal Rights drive |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1973/10/12/91007939.pdf |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |author= |date=May 7, 1978 |title=League of Women Voters to spend 1 million in Equal Rights campaign |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1978/05/07/110943885.pdf |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}

In 1974, the League began to admit men.{{cite news |author= |date=May 8, 1974 |title=League of Women Voters votes to let men join it |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1974/05/08/79330761.pdf |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}{{cite news |author= |date=May 7, 1976 |title=It's still the League of 'Women' Voters |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/05/07/80883348.pdf |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}

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.{{cite book |author=United States Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs (Subcommittee on Indian Affairs) |author-link=United States Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs |date=1975 |title=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 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GLoYu1z1FhoC |location=Washington, DC |publisher=US Government Printing Office |page=701}}

The LWV sponsored the United States presidential debates in 1976, 1980 and 1984.{{cite news |last1=Montopoli |first1=Brian |date=October 15, 2012 |title=Do the debates unfairly shut out third parties? |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/do-the-debates-unfairly-shut-out-third-parties/ |access-date=May 4, 2015 |publisher=CBS News}}{{cite magazine |date=October 14, 2012 |title=Everything you need to know about presidential debate history |url=http://theweek.com/articles/471585/everything-need-know-about-presidential-debate-history |access-date=4 May 2015 |magazine=The Week}} 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."{{cite news |last1=Shepard |first1=Scott |date=October 3, 1988 |title=League of Women Voters Pulls Out of Presidential Debate |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19881003&id=IUcjAAAAIBAJ&pg=6676,4271877&hl=en |access-date=4 May 2015 |newspaper=Palm Beach Post}}{{cite magazine |last1=Flock |first1=Elizabeth |date=September 21, 2012 |title=In a First, Debates Give Presidential Candidates the Topics Ahead Of Time |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2012/09/21/in-a-first-debates-give-presidential-candidates-the-topics-ahead-of-time |access-date=4 May 2015 |magazine=U.S. News & World Report}} All presidential debates from 1988 until 2020 were sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates,{{cite news |last1=Fain |first1=Thom |date=26 September 2016 |title=What is the Commission on Presidential Debates, and what do they do? |url=https://www.sj-r.com/zz/elections/20160926/what-is-commission-on-presidential-debates-and-what-do-they-do |access-date=29 September 2020 |work=The State Journal-Register |location=Springfield, Illinois |language=en}} 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.{{cite web |last=Brennan |first=Paul |date=June 25, 2021 |orig-date=August 18, 2016 |title=Fact check: Are the presidential debates rigged in favor of major party candidates? |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Fact_check/Are_the_presidential_debates_rigged_in_favor_of_major_party_candidates |url-access= |access-date=February 2, 2024 |website= |series= |publisher=Ballotpedia |type= |format= |via= |quote= |trans-quote= |agency= |department= |location=}}

In 1998, the League elected its first African-American president, Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins.{{cite web |last=Pine |first=Candace |date=May 10, 2021 |title=Educator, Writer, Activist, Leader: Meet Dr. Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins |url=https://spec.lib.miamioh.edu/home/carolyn-jefferson-jenkins/ |access-date=October 4, 2022 |website=Miami University |quote=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}}

{{cite web |last=Meakin |first=Kate |date=June 17, 2011 |title=Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins (1952–) |url=https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/jefferson-jenkins-carolyn/ |access-date=October 4, 2022 |website=BlackPast.org |quote=In 1998 Dr. Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was elected the first African American President of the National League of Women Voters.}} 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.

The League fought for the 1982 Amendments to the Voting Rights Act{{cite journal |last1=Boyd |first1=Thomas M. |last2=Markman |first2=Stephen J. |date=September 1, 1983 |title=The 1982 Amendments To The Voting Rights Act: A Legislative History |url=https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2674&=&context=wlulr&=&sei-redir=1&referer=https%253A%252F%252Fscholar.google.com%252Fscholar%253Fhl%253Den%2526as_sdt%253D0%25252C31%2526q%253Dthe%252B1982%252Bamendments%252Bto%252Bthe%252Bvoting%252Brights%252Bact%2526btnG%253D#search=%221982%20amendments%20voting%20rights%20act%22 |journal=Washington and Lee Law Review |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=1395–1396 |access-date=October 4, 2022}} and in the 1990s was important in the passage of National Voter Registration Act of 1993, popularly known as the Motor Voter Act.{{cite web |last=Clinton |first=William |date=1993 |title=League of Women Voters: Motor Voter |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPoV58rn3cM |access-date=October 4, 2022 |website=youtube.com |publisher=The League of Women Voters}}

{{cite news |last=Krauss |author= |first=Clifford |date=May 21, 1992 |title=Senate passes bill to force states to make voter registration easier |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/21/us/senate-passes-bill-to-force-states-to-make-voter-registration-easie.html |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times |quote=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.}} The act requires states to offer voter registration at all driver's license agencies, at social service agencies, and through the mail.{{cite book|last1=Ford|first1=Lynne|title=Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics|date=2009|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=9781438110325|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwo0000unse_i1x8/page/280 280]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwo0000unse_i1x8/page/280}}

{{cite news|

title=Voters League Marks Its 75th Year |

first=Kate Stone |

last=Lombardi |

date=14 November 1993 |

periodical=The New York Times |

page=705 |

url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/14/nyregion/voters-league-marks-its-75th-year.html|

access-date=24 August 2022}}

{{cite news|

title=Senate Passes Bill to Force States to Make Voter Registration Easie |

first=Clifford |

last=Krauss |

date=21 May 1992 |

periodical=The New York Times |

at=Section B, p. 11 |

url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/21/us/senate-passes-bill-to-force-states-to-make-voter-registration-easie.html}}

{{cite web|

title=Honoring the 27th Anniversary of the National Voter Registration Act |

first=Celina|

last=Stuart|

date=20 May 2020|

website=League of Women Voters|

access-date=24 August 2022|

url=https://www.lwv.org/blog/honoring-27th-anniversary-national-voter-registration-act}}

{{cite news |last=Clymer |first=Adam | author-link=Adam Clymer |date=May 12, 1993 |title=Voter Bill Passes In a G.O.P. Defeat|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/12/us/voter-bill-passes-in-a-gop-defeat.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 26, 2022}}

File:LWV-MS State Convention (33972735423).jpg

File:FTV Photo (48795437891).jpg

In 2002, the League supported the Help America Vote Act (with some reservations about the final compromise){{cite web |author= |date=2022 |title=100 Years of LWV |url=https://www.lwv.org/about-us/history |access-date=October 4, 2022 |website=The League of Women Voters |publisher= |quote=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.}}

{{cite news |last=Pear |author= |first=Robert |date=October 5, 2002 |title=House and Senate Negotiators Agree on an Election Bill |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/05/us/house-and-senate-negotiators-agree-on-an-election-bill.html |access-date=October 4, 2022 |work=The New York Times |quote=Lloyd J. Leonard, legislative director of the League of Women Voters of the United States, expressed doubts about the compromise.}} and the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act.{{cite web |author= |date=2014 |title=Money in Politics: Developing a Common Understanding of the Issues |url=https://www.lwv.org/money-politics/money-politics-developing-common-understanding-issues |access-date=October 4, 2022 |website=The League of Women Voters |quote=It lobbied strongly for the passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, cosponsored by Senators McCain and Feingold and passed in 2002.}}

{{cite web |author= |date=29 September 2013 |title=Position on Campaign Financing |url=https://lwvc.org/position/campaign-financing |access-date=October 4, 2022 |website=The League of Women Voters |quote=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.}}

{{cite journal |last=Armoudian |first=Maria |date=July 2018 |title=Where the Bucks Don't Stop: The Construction of Money as Speech and Its Effects |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26532953 |journal=Australasian Journal of American Studies |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=41 |doi= |jstor=26532953 |access-date=October 4, 2022 |quote='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'.}}

In 2014, the League sponsored voter guides including Smart Voter and Voter's Edge in collaboration with MapLight.{{cite news |last1=Peterson |first1=Karla |date=October 17, 2014 |title=Where to get info on candidates, issues in Nov. 4 election |url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/oct/17/california-nonpartisan-election-guides-san-diego/ |access-date=May 4, 2015 |newspaper=San Diego Union-Tribune}}{{Update needed|date=July 2024}}{{Cite web |title=What Is the League of Women Voters? |url=https://californialocal.com/localnews/statewide/ca/article/show/13244-league-of-womens-voters-voting-rights-democracy-voter-education/ |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=California Local |language=en}}

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.

In 2020, the League of Women Voters supported Native Americans in seeking to remove restrictions on ballot delivery from reservations.{{cite web |url=https://www.lwv.org/blog/full-and-real-citizenship-advancing-native-american-voting-rights |title=Full and Real Citizenship: Advancing Native American Voting Rights |author= |date=October 30, 2020 |website=The League of Women Voters |access-date=November 25, 2022 |quote=}}

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.{{cite court |litigants=Yazzie v. Hobbs |vol=977 |reporter=F.3d |opinion=964,967 |court=United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit |date=2020 |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-ca9-20-16890/pdf/USCOURTS-ca9-20-16890-0.pdf |access-date=November 25, 2022 }}

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{{snd}}a burden compounded by “socioeconomic factors.”{{cite web |url=https://www.fourdirectionsvote.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-10-06-Yazzie-v-Hobbs-LWVAZ-Amicus-Brief-FINAL-FILED.pdf |title=Brief for League of Women Voters of Arizona as Amicus Curiae in Support of Appellant and Requesting Reversal |last=Donofrio |first=Michael |date=October 6, 2020 |website=Four Directions Inc. |access-date=November 25, 2022}}

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.{{cite news |last=Manna-Rea | first=Jorgelina |date=September 27, 2021 |title=League Of Women Voters Of Florida Challenges New Voting Law |url=https://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/local-state/2021-09-27/league-of-women-voters-of-florida-challenges-new-voting-law |work=WUSF Public Media |access-date=October 5, 2022}}{{cite news |last=Timm |first=Jane C. |date=May 6, 2022 |title=Appeals court reinstates Florida's restrictive voting law |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/appeals-court-reinstates-floridas-restrictive-voting-law-rcna27703 |work=NBC News |access-date=October 5, 2022}}

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. 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. 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. 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.

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.

{{See also|Voter suppression in the United States|Democratic backsliding in the United States}}File:DC Statehood 101 March 21 2024.webm 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.

The League works with the non-partisan VoteRiders{{cite web |url=https://www.voteriders.org/partners/ |title=VoteRiders Partner Organizations |author= |date=2022 |website=VoteRiders |access-date=November 26, 2022}} 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.{{cite news|last1=Curry|first1=Tom|title=Why 'reform' equals more campaign spending|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5758090/ns/politics-tom_curry/t/why-reform-equals-more-campaign-spending/#.VUfh52Yhwt8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505021157/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/5758090/ns/politics-tom_curry/t/why-reform-equals-more-campaign-spending/#.VUfh52Yhwt8|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 5, 2015|access-date=4 May 2015|publisher=NBC News|date=August 19, 2004}}{{cite book|last1=Malbin|first1=Michael|title=Life After Reform: When the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act Meets Politics|date=2003|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=9780742528338|page=[https://archive.org/details/lifeafterreformw0000unse/page/29 29]|url=https://archive.org/details/lifeafterreformw0000unse/page/29}} It was also a major proponent of the Help America Vote Act.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/07/us/bill-to-overhaul-system-of-voting-is-seen-in-danger.html|title=Bill to Overhaul System of Voting is Seen in Danger|last=Pear|first=Robert|date=7 September 2002|work=The New York Times|access-date=18 August 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.eac.gov/about_the_eac/help_america_vote_act.aspx|title=Help America Vote Act|publisher=US Election Assistance Commission|access-date=19 August 2022}}

In 2010, the League opposed the Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which removed limits on corporate contributions to candidates.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/us/politics/22scotus.html|title=Justices, 5–4, Reject Corporate Spending Limit|work=The New York Times|first= Adam |last=Liptak|date=21 January 2010}}{{cite news|last1=Lefler|first1=Dion|title=Voters group seeks city resolution against Citizens United decision|url=http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article1095782.html|access-date=4 May 2015|newspaper=Wichita Eagle|date=July 17, 2012}}{{cite news|last1=MacNamara|first1=Elisabeth|title=How the League Was Busy Making Democracy Work in 2014|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elisabeth-macnamara/how-the-league-was-busy-m_b_6390486.html|access-date=4 May 2015|work=Huffington Post|date=December 29, 2014}} It filed an amicus brief in support of the FEC.{{cite court|litigants=Citizens United v FEC|reporter=Scotusblog|opinion=08-205|pinpoint=Brief amicus of The League of Women Voters|date=9 September 2009|via=https://www.lwv.org/sites/default/files/Amicus_cfr.CitizenUnited.pdf}}

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.{{cite news|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/campaign/163835-the-league-of-women-voters-on-the-disclose-act/|title=The League of Women Voters on the DISCLOSE Act|last=McNamara|first=Elisabeth|work=The Hill|date=17 June 2010|access-date=19 August 2022}}

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.{{cite news|last1=Wilson|first1=Megan|title=FEC deadlocked on 'dark money'|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/232582-fec-deadlocked-on-dark-money/|access-date=6 May 2015|newspaper=The Hill|date=February 11, 2015}}

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.{{cite book|last1=Zeiss Strange|first1=Mary|last2=Oyster|first2=Carol|last3=Sloan|first3=Jane|title=Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World, Volume 1|date=2011|publisher=Sage Publications|isbn=9781412976855|page=833}} The League was active from the beginning in promoting world peace and international organizations.{{cite news |author= |date=13 April 1921 |title=Mrs. Catt Summons Women to End War |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/04/14/98670284.html |access-date=29 August 2022 |work=The New York Times |location=Cleveland}} {{Source-attribution}} "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.'"

{{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.{{cite news|last1=Huse|first1=Carl|title=Voter Group Flexes Muscle in Ads Aimed at Senators|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/26/us/politics/26league.html|access-date=4 May 2015|newspaper=New York Times|date=May 25, 2011}} The League opposes the proposed Keystone Pipeline project.{{cite news|last1=Savage|first1=Melanie|title=League of Women Voters holds discussion on climate change|url=http://www.courant.com/reminder-news/windham-edition/rnw-wm-p3-climate-change-1024-20141020-story.html|access-date=4 May 2015|newspaper=Hartford Courant|date=October 20, 2014}}{{Cite web |title=Resistance That Wouldn't Quit: A Timeline of the Keystone XL Pipeline |url=https://www.yesmagazine.org/economy/2017/06/15/keystone-xl-timelin |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=YES! Magazine |language=en-US}} 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.{{Cite news|last=Gerhardt|first=Tina|date=9 January 2013|title=70 Groups Send Pres. Obama Letter Urging Action on Climate Change|url=http://www.progressive.org/green-groups-urge-obama-to-act-on-climate-change|work=The Progressive}}{{Cite news |last=Flock |first=Elizabeth |date=Jan 4, 2013 |title=Full Page Ad To Appear in Hawaiian Newspaper Pressuring Obama On Climate Change |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2013/01/04/full-page-ad-to-appear-in-hawaiian-newspaper-pressuring-obama-on-climate-change |work=U.S. News & World Report}}

The League opposes school vouchers.{{cite news|last1=Dunkelberger|first1=Lloyd|title=League's influence felt as special session begins|url=http://politics.heraldtribune.com/2014/08/06/leagues-influence-felt-special-session-begins/|access-date=6 May 2015|publisher=Herald-Tribune|date=August 6, 2014}} In 1999, the League of Women Voters of Florida challenged a Florida law that allowed students to use school vouchers to attend other schools.

{{cite news|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1999-06-22-9906220129-story.html|title=Bush Signs A+-plan|publisher=South Florida Sun Sentinel|last=Kliendienst|first=Linda|date=22 June 1999|access-date=19 August 2022}}{{Cite web |title=League of Women Voters: A Legacy of Liberal Issues and Causes |url=https://capitalresearch.org/article/lwv/ |access-date=2024-12-22 |website=capitalresearch.org}}

The League supports universal health care and endorses both Medicaid expansion and the Affordable Care Act.{{cite news|last1=Redmond|first1=Pat|title=League of Women Voters support the expansion of Medicaid|url=http://juneauempire.com/letters/2015-04-06/league-women-voters-support-expansion-medicaid|access-date=4 May 2015|newspaper=Juneau Empire|date=April 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505003410/http://juneauempire.com/letters/2015-04-06/league-women-voters-support-expansion-medicaid|archive-date=5 May 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last1=Burr|first1=Carol|title=A national necessity|url=https://www.newsreview.com/chico/national-necessity/content?oid=16699645|access-date=4 May 2015|publisher=Chico News Review|date=April 9, 2015}}{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Carter A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=56pxDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22League+of+Women+Voters%22+%22Affordable+Care+Act%22&pg=PA188 |title=Public Policy: Continuity and Change, Third Edition |date=2018-11-01 |publisher=Waveland Press |isbn=978-1-4786-3845-2 |language=en}}

The League supports the abolition of the death penalty.{{cite news|last1=Dickson|first1=Amelia|title=Bill to abolish death penalty gets hearing|url=http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/bill-to-abolish-death-penalty-gets-hearing/|access-date=4 May 2015|newspaper=Seattle Times|date=March 6, 2013}}

LWV supports LGBT+ rights and has stated that "defending our democracy and ending discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community go hand in hand."{{cite web |title=Major LGBTQ+ Rights Cases Happening Now |date=3 June 2021 |url=https://www.lwv.org/blog/major-lgbtq-rights-cases-happening-now |publisher=LWV |access-date=1 January 2023}} It has also supported the participation of transgender athletes in girls' and women's sports.

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.{{cite web | url=http://www.lwv.org/content/bylaws-and-certificate-incorporation | title=Bylaws and Certificate of Incorporation |website=LWV| date=May 3, 1946 | access-date=February 8, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170523113448/http://lwv.org/content/bylaws-and-certificate-incorporation | archive-date=May 23, 2017 | url-status=dead }}

{{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|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.

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

{{Portal|United States|Politics|Feminism}}

• List of notable members of the League of Women Voters
• List of women's clubs
• National Organization for Women

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• {{cite book|title=The Untold Story of Women of Color in the League of Women Voters |

last=Jefferson-Jenkins | first=Carolyn |

publisher=Praeger |

location=Santa Barbara, CA |

date=2020 |

quote=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. |

isbn=9781440874499}}

• {{cite book | title=Sustaining the League of Women Voters in America |

last=Cashin | first=Maria Hoyt |

publisher=New Academia Publishing |

year=2013 |

quote=A look at the decline of civic engagement, and how nonpartisan organizations like the League of Women Voters can help save and promote democracy. |

isbn=9781955835237}}

• {{cite book | title=For the Public Record: A Documentary History of the League of Women Voters |

last=Stuhler | first= Barbara |

publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |

location=Westport, CT |

year=2000 |

quote=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. |

isbn=9780313253164}}

• {{cite book |title=In the public interest: the League of Women Voters, 1920–1970 |

author1=Lee, Percy Maxim | author2=Young, Louise Merwin | author3=Young, Ralph B. | publisher=Greenwood Press |

location=Westport |

year=1989 |

isbn=0-313-25302-1 }}

• {{cite journal | title=Democratic experience and education in the National League of Women Voters |

last=Brumbaugh | first=Sara Barbara |

location=New York |

year=1946 |

journal=Contributions to Education, 916 |

publisher=Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University |

url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zx0WAAAAIAAJ&q=Democratic+experience+and+education+in+the+National+League+of+Women+Voters.

}}

• {{cite book|title=Handbook of the National American Woman Suffrage Association and proceedings of the Convention held at Cleveland, Ohio, April 13, 1921 |

author= |

year=1921|

location=New York |

publisher=National American Woman Suffrage Association |

url=https://www.loc.gov/item/93838345/ |

quote=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.

|access-date=August 26, 2022}}

{{Further reading cleanup|date=July 2024}}

• {{cite web|title=Get Out the Vote: Best Practices Guide |

date=16 June 2020 |

url=https://www.lwv.org/league-management/voter-services/get-out-vote-best-practices-guide |

version=2020 |

publisher=League of Women Voters}}

• {{cite web | title=Empowering the Voters of Tomorrow: Developing Effective High School Voter Registration Programs |

date=5 February 2014 |

url=https://www.lwv.org/HSVRmanual |

version=2018 |

publisher=League of Women Voters Education Fund }}

• {{cite web | title=League Basics |

url=https://www.lwv.org/league-management/league-fundamentals/league-basics |

access-date=24 August 2022 |

publisher=League of Women Voters of the United States |

location=Washington, D.C. |

quote=League Basics contains essential policy and organizational information applicable to every local and state League. League Basics offers advice, guidelines and more detailed information to help leaders develop specific methods of operation to enable a League to accomplish its goals. |

date=December 2009 }}

• {{cite book|title=Observing Your Government in Action: A Resource Guids|

date=2007 |

publisher=League of Women Voters Education Fund |

url=https://www.lwv.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/lwvef_observingyourgovernment.pdf |

url-status=live |

archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925035854/https://www.lwv.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/lwvef_observingyourgovernment.pdf |

archive-date=25 September 2020}}

• {{cite report | title=The Women of Latin America | last=Massel | first=Katharine Douglas | date = 1977 | publisher=Overseas Education Fund of the League of Women Voters | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AudGAAAAYAAJ}}
• {{cite archive |author=League of Women Voters of the United States |item =Fair Play and the Media |item-url=http://repository.uchastings.edu/tv_and_first_amendment/11 |type=text material |date=September 1973 |pages=9–15 ||collection=Television and the First Amendment |collection-url= |repository=UC Hastings Scholarship Repository |institution=University of California, Hastings College of the Law |location = California |quote=This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Judicial Ethics and the National News Council at UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Television and the First Amendment by an authorized administrator of UC Hastings Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact marcusc@uchastings.edu.}}
• {{cite book |author=League of Women Voters (U.S.) Education Fund |date=1966 |title=The Big Water Fight: Trials and Triumphs in Citizen Action on Problems of Supply, Pollution, Floods, and Planning Across the U.S.A. |url=https://archive.org/details/bigwaterfight0000unse |location= |publisher=S. Greene Press |isbn= 9780828900515}}
• {{cite book|author=League of Women Voters|date=October 1948 |title=The Citizen and the United Nations | url=https://radar.auctr.edu/islandora/object/auc.025%3A0125 | location=Washington, DC | publisher=The National League of Women Voters }}
• {{cite book |last=Stone |first=Kathryn H. |author-link=Kathryn H. Stone |date=1946 |title=25 Years of a Great Idea: A history of The National League of Women Voters |series=National league of women voters. Publication no. 52 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x030700275&view=page&format=plaintext&seq=5&skin=2021 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=The National League of Women Voters |isbn=}}

{{Commons category|League of Women Voters}}

• {{official website|http://www.lwv.org}}
• [https://www.vote411.org/ VOTE411.org]
• [https://ballotpedia.org/League_of_Women_Voters League of Women Voters] on Ballotpedia

• Core.ac.uk: [https://core.ac.uk/search?q=%22League%2Bof%2BWomen%2BVoters%22 Miscellaneous materials] related to League of Women Voters
• Digital Public Library of America: [https://dp.la/search?q=league+of+women+voters*&page_size=100&page=1 Assorted materials]
• Library of Congress:
• {{cite archive|collection=League of Women Voters (U.S.) records |

type=manuscript/mixed material |

institution=Library of Congress |

location=Washington, DC |

collection-url=https://www.loc.gov/item/mm82029660/ |

item-id= mm82029660 |

access-date=27 August 2022

}}

• {{cite archive | institution=Library of Congress | collection=League of Women Voters (U.S.) | collection-url=https://www.loc.gov/item/mm82029660/ | repository=Manuscript Division Washington, D.C. }}

{{League of Women Voters|state=expanded}}

{{United States presidential debates}}

{{Women's lobbies, alliances and national committees}}

{{Liberal feminism}}

{{Woman's club movement}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:League of Women Voters}}

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Category:Carrie Chapman Catt

Category:Election and voting-related organizations based in the United States

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Category:Organizations established in 1920

Category:United States presidential debates

Category:Voter turnout organizations

Category:Women's suffrage advocacy groups in the United States