League of Women Voters
The League's Mission - The League of Women Voters is an American political organization founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt during the last meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association approximately six months before the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave U.S. women the right to vote.
It began as a "mighty political experiment" aimed to
help newly-enfranchised women exercise their responsibilities as voters.
Originally, only women could join the LWV; but in 1973 the charter was modified
to include men. The LWV is a grassroots organization with chapters in all 50
states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The LWV has approximately 150,000 members (as of 2006).
The LWV is nonpartisan, meaning it does not endorse or oppose political
candidates or parties at any level of government. The LWV does support or oppose
many political issues after studying them and coming to a consensus on a
position. The LWV works to increase understanding of major public policy issues,
and to influence public policy through education and advocacy, as well as
through political lobbying of Congress.
(c) League of Women Voters lwv.org