League of Women Voters

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Maud Wood Park , the first female president of the LWV
Members of the League of Women Voters in front of the White House , 1924

The League of Women Voters ( LWV ) is an American civic organization formed to give women greater participation in public affairs after they won the right to vote. It was founded in 1920 in support of the new women's suffrage and arose from the union of the "National Council of Women Voters" (founded by Emma Smith DeVoe) and the National American Woman Suffrage Association , which was led by Carrie Chapman Catt . This happened about six months before the 19th Amendment , which gave women the right to vote, came into force . The League of Women Voters began as a "powerful political experiment" aimed at helping liberated women exercise their right to vote. Originally only women could join the "League"; but in 1973 the association law was changed so that membership was also allowed for men. LWV operates on the local, state and national levels, has over 1,000 local and 58 state affiliates - and a Territory League in the US Virgin Islands .

The League of Women Voters is officially non-partisan - it does not support or fight any campaigners or parties. However, it supports and promotes a variety of progressive social endeavors. These include the fight for financial reform, for the general health system, for abortion rights, the fight against climate change and environmental degradation, and against gun policies in the United States.

Political positions

President Ronald Reagan and his opponent Walter Mondale in the second presidential debate in Kansas City, Missouri (1984)
  • The LWV helped fund the United States Presidential Election Debates in 1976, 1980, and 1984.
  • On October 2, 1988, 14 trustees of the LWV decided unanimously to withdraw from the debates and published a press release on October 3, in which the wishes for the election campaign of the main candidates were rejected. LWV President Nancy Neuman said the format of the debate "would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter" and that her organization had no intention of "to become an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public "(Eng .: to become an accessory to deceive the American public)."
  • State and local league organizations host candidate debates so that campaigners' positions are clear at all levels of politics.
  • In 2012, LWV created a National Voter Registration Day, a day when volunteers help register voters and thus increase voter turnout.
  • The League funds election leaders, e.g. B. "Smart Voter" and "Voter's Edge", which was started in cooperation with "MapLight".
  • The League and its state and local affiliates operate VOTE411.org, a website that allows voters to insert their own address in order to get tailored information about candidates in their own constituency.

LWV successes

  • The League promoted the establishment of the United Nations and later became one of the first groups to receive non-governmental status at the UN.
  • The League opposed the Voter ID laws in the United States and supported efforts to reform campaign finance. The LWV opposed the decision in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission . The League supports the increased regulation of political donations.
  • The League campaigned for the 1993 National Voter Registration Act to be passed, which required states by law to permit voter registration from all driver license agencies, social services agencies, and the postal service.
  • The League supported the passage of the " Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act " of 2002, which banned hidden campaign donations in federal elections and brought further reforms to campaign finance laws.
  • LWV supports the " Clean Air Act ", the " Clean Water Act ", the " Safe Drinking Water Act ", the " Resource Conservation and Recovery Act " and the Kyoto Protocol .
  • LWV is against the proposed “Keystone Pipeline”.
  • In January 2013, the League of Women Voters in Hawaii urged US President Barack Obama to take an active part in climate protection during his presidency, in accordance with the Clean Air Act of 1998, which was supported by the League.
  • The League's abolition of the death penalty through the bill to abolish death penalty
  • LWV supports “Universal Health Care” and is a sponsor of “ Medicaid ” and the “ Affordable Care Act ”.
  • The League supports a general income tax hike to fund national health care reform to include reproductive health care, including abortion in every insurance contract. The League supports the right to abortion and was strongly against the passage of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act .
  • The League actively opposed the “Welfare Reform Legislation” presented to the 104th Congress .
  • The league is against the "school vouchers". In 1999, LWV cracked down on a Florida law that allowed students to use School Vouchers to move to other schools.
  • The League supports a system that enables "illegal immigrants" already in the United States to obtain full citizenship. She was also a lobbyist for the passing of the "DREAM Act" (= Act for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors).
  • The League is in favor of “gun violence prevention policies” including the regulatory provisions for the issuing of licenses for gun ownership.

Leadership and administration

The LWV is managed by a national board of directors, which consists of four officers (officers: President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary), eight elected directors and no more than eight directors appointed by the board. Most of them live in the "Washington DC metropolitan area". You direct the League according to the statutes of the "League of Women Voters of the United States". The national board of directors is elected in a national general assembly and is responsible for the association's goals.

The local and state leagues are organized to promote the purposes of the organization as a whole and to become active in local and state matters. These subdivisions have their own boards of directors and directors. The national board of directors can refuse recognition if a sub-organization does not meet the requirements for recognition.

literature

  • Impact On Issues: 2004-2006 . League of Women Voters of the United States, Washington, DC, ISBN 0-89959-446-8 .
  • Percy Maxim Lee, Louise Merwin Young, Ralph B. Young: In the public interest: the League of Women Voters, 1920-1970 . Greenwood Press. Westport Conn. 1989. ISBN 0-313-25302-1
  • Jennifer A. Stevens: Breaking the Wave: Women, Their Organizations, and Feminism, 1945–1985 . Ed .: Kathleen A. Laughlin, Jacqueline L. Castledine. Routledge 2010. pp. 155-172 (Chapter 9: Feminizing Portland, Oregon: A History of the League of Women Voters in the Postwar Era, 1950-1975 ) ISBN 0-415-87400-9

Individual evidence

  1. ^ History.com website , accessed May 4, 2015.
  2. ^ Gregg Lee Carter: Guns in American Society: AL . ABC-CLIO: 2002, p. 352
  3. ↑ League statement, accessed February 6, 2015, from PolitiFact Florida, edited by the Tampa Bay Times, December 3, 2012
  4. ↑ Do the debates unfairly shut out third parties? , CBS News. October 15, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2015. 
  5. ^ Everything you need to know about presidential debate history , The Week. October 14, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2015. 
  6. ↑ League of Women Voters Pulls Out of Presidential Debate , Palm Beach Post. October 3, 1988. Retrieved May 4, 2015. 
  7. ^ In a First, Debates Give Presidential Candidates the Topics Ahead Of Time , US News & World Report. September 21, 2012. Retrieved May 4, 2015. 
  8. ^ Hannah Hageman: League of Women Voters election debates coming up (en) . In: WHOP 1230 AM | News radio . 
  9. ^ Nothing to See Here , Slate. September 23, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2015. 
  10. ↑ Where to get info on candidates, issues in Nov. 4 election , San Diego Union-Tribune. October 17, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2015. 
  11. ↑ Letter: Check Vote411.org before going to the polls (en) . In: Journal & Courier . Retrieved July 6, 2018. 
  12. ^ Mary Zeiss Strange, Carol Oyster and Jane Sloan: Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World, Volume 1. SAGE Publications 2011. p. 833. isbn = 9781412976855
  13. ↑ Cyndy Brucato: Republicans League of Women Voters go at it over Voter ID , accessed May 4, 2015.
  14. ↑ [url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elisabeth-macnamara/how-the-league-was-busy-m_b_6390486.html Elisabeth MacNamara: How the League Was Busy Making Democracy Work in 2014 , Huffington Post, on 29 December 2014]. Retrieved May 4, 2015
  15. ↑ Megan Wilson: FEC deadlocked on 'dark Money' , The Hill, February 11, 2015 , accessed May 6, 2015.
  16. ↑ Lynne Ford: Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics 2009 , Infobase Publishing, p. 280. isbn = 9781438110325
  17. ↑ " Representative Government - Voting Rights ( Memento of the original from March 18, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. " Impact on Issues 2016-2018 - Online Edition . League of Women Voters. League Management Site (member resources). forum.lmv.org. Retrieved March 18, 2018. "In May 1993, the years of joint efforts by the League and other organizations paid off when both Houses of Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act and the President signed it. ... The "Motor-voter Bill" made it possible for citizens to be automatically registered as voters with driving license agencies, and also by post and with public and private service agencies. " @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / forum.lwv.org
  18. ↑ Why 'reform' equals more campaign spending , NBC News. August 19, 2004. Retrieved May 4, 2015. 
  19. ↑ Michael Malbin: Life After Reform: When the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act Meets Politics . Rowman & Littlefield, 2003, ISBN 9780742528338 , p. 29.
  20. ^ Environmental Protection and Pollution Control . League of Women Voters. Archived from the original on October 19, 2017. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 17, 2018. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / lwv.org
  21. ↑ Voter Group Flexes Muscle in Ads Aimed at Senators , New York Times. May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2015. 
  22. ^ League of Women Voters holds discussion on climate change , Hartford Courant. October 20, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2015. 
  23. ^ Tina Gerhardt: 70 Groups Send Pres. Obama Letter Urging Action on Climate Change . In: The Progressive , January 9, 2013. 
  24. ^ Bill to abolish death penalty gets hearing , Seattle Times. March 6, 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2015. 
  25. ^ League of Women Voters support the expansion of Medicaid , Juneau Empire. April 6, 2015. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved May 4, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / juneauempire.com 
  26. ^ A national necessity , Chico News Review. April 9, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015. 
  27. ^ Women Voters League Accused of Liberal Bias , Los Angeles Times. May 5, 1995. Retrieved May 4, 2015. 
  28. ↑ Candidate boycotts League of Women Voters debate , Jackson Hole News & Guide. July 29, 2014. Retrieved May 4, 2015. 
  29. ^ Health Care . League of Women Voters. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  30. ^ League of Women Voters comes under attack as Republicans call it 'left of center' , Denver Post. March 15, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2015. 
  31. ^ Meeting Basic Human Needs . League of Women Voters. Archived from the original on January 12, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved February 6, 2012. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lwv.org
  32. ^ League's influence felt as special session begins , Herald-Tribune. August 6, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2015. 
  33. ^ Robert Hachiya ,, Robert Shoop, Dennis Dunklee: The Principal's Quick-Reference Guide to School Law: Reducing Liability, Litigation, and Other Potential Legal Tangles . Corwin Press, 2014, ISBN 9781483333342 , p. 47.
  34. ↑ Immigration . League of Women Voters. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 6, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / lwv.org
  35. ^ Gun Control . League of Women Voters. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 6, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / lwv.org
  36. ^ Bylaws and Certificate of Incorporation . May 3, 1946. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 26, 2018. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lwv.org

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