Posted on February 14, 2017
Today is the anniversary of the 1920 founding of the League of Women Voters. You might know that 1920 was the first year that women U.S. citizens won the right to vote. This organization formed in order to help women take advantage of that right, and to use their votes wisely.
The League of Women Voters is nonpartisan, which means it doesn't particularly support the Democratic, Republican or any other political party. However, the organization tends to support progressive stances on issues, and it sometimes lobbies or advertises on behalf of, say, clean air or the formation of the United Nations.
The LWV holds registration and get-out-the-vote events. It also used to sponsor presidential election debates, but in 1988 every one of the LWV trustees voted to pull out of the debates because the major party campaigns were making such demands that, the trustees said, the American public would be "hoodwinked"!
When I was younger, I used to consider LWV stances on proposed new laws very seriously before deciding how to cast my vote, because I considered the organization to be very reliable. It probably still is reliable, but I have to admit that the internet has given me access to bunches of other opinions, so I don't pay as much attention to LWV picks.
By the way, you might assume that the League of Women Voters would only have women as members -- and that used to be true! But ever since 1973, men could join as well.
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