League of Women Voters: 100 Years of Educating Citizens
February marks 100 years since the founding of the League of Women Voters. What began as a “mighty experiment” in 1920 continues to educate voters of all sexes.
The League of Women Voters—whose tagline is “Empowering voters. Defending democracy”—launched with the goal of helping 20 million women tackle their new voter responsibilities ahead of ratification of the 19th Amendment.
“Our founders did not stop after the achievement of the 19th Amendment—they recognized that their dream could not truly be realized until all voters are empowered to play a critical role in our democracy,” says Virginia Kase, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States.
In southern Maryland and nationwide, the League fosters an informed electorate through candidate forums, policy studies and voter information resources.
The League of Women Voters of Calvert County celebrated the milestone with an anniversary party at Asbury Solomons in Solomons Island last week.
“More than 38 people helped us celebrate,” says JC Hooker, president of the League of Women Voters of Calvert County. “We gave an overview of the history of our own League—founded locally in 1967.”
Committed to being nonpartisan, the League does not support or oppose local political parties and fights for pro-democracy measures such as election protection, democratic reforms and equal access to the ballot.
The 2020 objectives for the League include making democracy work with an emphasis on voter access, redistricting—especially as affected by the 2020 census—protecting the environment/climate change and social justice.