HomeMeet the League

Meet the League of Women Voters

Six ways the League defends democracy

✔ League members register voters.

✔ League members plan and host candidate forums.

✔ League members track legislation and advocate for good laws.

✔ League members create social media to promote voting and educate voters.

✔ League members encourage voting by Getting Out the Vote.

✔ League members observe governmental bodies in action.

Six things to know about the League

✔ We are nonprofit, nonpartisan, and grassroots.

✔ We learn the concerns of our communities, study issues, and seek solutions.

✔ We advocate, educate, and litigate to protect every American's freedom to vote.

✔ Nonpartisan promise: We DO NOT support or oppose candidates or political parties.

✔ Why? We believe that the freedom to vote is a nonpartisan issue.

✔ We are COMMITTED to diversity, equity, and inclusion, in principle and practice.

Why our work is important

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The mission of the League of Women Voters is to empower voters and defend democracy. Representative government depends on the participation of citizens. The League’s work to register voters, inform them about races and ballot issues they will decide, and eliminate barriers to voting fosters a representative political system where the electorate is prepared and motivated to vote.

For more information on the League's mission, principles, and core values, click here.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

LWV is an organization fully committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in principle and in practice. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to the organization's current and future success in engaging all individuals, households, communities, and policy makers in creating a more perfect democracy.

There shall be no barriers to full participation in this organization on the basis of gender, gender identity, ethnicity, race, native or indigenous origin, age, generation, sexual orientation, culture, religion, belief system, marital status, parental status, socioeconomic status, language, accent, ability status, mental health, educational level or background, geography, nationality, work style, work experience, job role function, thinking style, personality type, physical appearance, political perspective or affiliation and/or any other characteristic that can be identified as recognizing or illustrating diversity.

A brief history of the League of Women Voters

The League of Women Voters has achieved a lot since 1920. Here are some highlights.

After its inception, the League grew quickly. By 1924, Leagues had formed in 4 out of 5 Congressional districts. One of those Leagues was in Kansas City.

The League was recognized as a force in American politics by the 1940s. President Franklin Roosevelt asked the League to help him in his campaign to build support for the United Nations.

The League has worked to pass and ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) since 1972 and continues the campaign to this day.

In 1976, the League sponsored the first televised presidential debate since 1960 and won an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Broadcast Journalism. The League continued to sponsor presidential debates until 1988 when the political parties changed the ground rules, and it chose to end its involvement.

Membership was extended to men in 1974.

One of the best examples of the League’s impact on voting rights was its grassroots campaign to pass the National Voter Registration Act, otherwise known as ‘Motor Voter’, which was signed into law in 1993.

Most recently, in 2019, the League launched the People Powered Fair Maps campaign to work for fair and transparent re-districting processes in all 50 states.

For more information, click here for a decade-by-decade history of the League.

Helpful Links

LWV US Website

LWV Missouri Website