BiographyThe League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS) was founded in 1920, after the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote. The first priority of the League was to assist women in understanding their new rights and responsibilities as voters. Since then, the League has developed a membership comprising both women and men. The League set out to foster citizen involvement in politics, develop citizen leaders, help people understand public issues, educate citizens on the operation of all levels of government, promote discussion of government policies, and to influence public policy. To this end, the League, at all levels in the county, prints guides to locally elected officials and sponsors debates at election time. The organization of the League of Women Voters consists of over 1200 local leagues, 50 state leagues, and leagues in the District of Columbia and the territories. In addition, there are a number of regional leagues. LWVUS guides these regional, state, and local leagues by implementing national programs and outlining the general principles of the organizations. A few national programs also involved regional, state, and local leagues. One of these, the Overseas Education Fund, began in 1947 to share the experiences and procedures of a working democracy in the United States with people around the world. The Education Fund was additionally begun in 1958 to publish materials and undertake educational programs in the field of government in the United States. Along with these two programs, a Global Security program was begun in the 1980s, to study and influence United States foreign aid to developing countries.
