For more information about the League, visit www.palvw.org

Our Mission

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.

Our Purpose

The purpose of the League of Women Voters of the United States is to promote political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government and to act on selected governmental issues.

Our History

The League of Women Voters began formally as an organization in February 1920 in Chicago, six months before the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to vote.

The new organization was intended to be a means of teaching all the newly enfranchised women about the mechanics of registering and voting, nomination and election procedures, and our form of government. The members also wanted to work for certain “needed legislation.” They thought that the League might accomplish its work in five years and disband!

Over the years our mission has broadened. The League has evolved from an organization concerned with women’s needs and with training women voters to one concerned with the Nation’s needs and with training all citizens.

Our Principles

The League of Women Voters believes in representative government and in the individual liberties established in the Constitution of the United States.The League of Women Voters believes that:

• Democratic government depends upon the informed and active participation of its citizens.
• Every citizen should be protected in his or her right to vote; every person should have access to free public education which provides equal opportunity for all; no person or group should suffer legal, economic or administrative discrimination.
• Efficient and economical government requires competent personnel, the clear assignment of responsibility, adequate financing, and coordination among the different agencies and levels of government.
• Responsible government should be responsive to the will of the people, maintain an equitable and flexible system of taxation, promote the conservation and development of natural resources in the public interest, share in the solutions of economic and social problems which affect the general welfare, promote a stable and expanding economy, and adopt domestic policies which facilitate the solution of international problems.
• Cooperation with other nations is essential in the search for solutions to world problems, and the development of international organization and international law is imperative in the promotion of world peace.