The LWV Way: Study First!

Early LWV History

(Excerpts from More Power than We Knew, A History of the League of Women Voters of Oregon: 1920-2012)

“In 1920, when the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted, Oregon women already had the right to vote…In 1912, Oregon became the ninth state to grant full suffrage to women.”

When the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NASWA) held its 50th anniversary convention in March 1919, “The call to the convention included an invitation to ‘the women voters of the fifteen full suffrage states*…to join their forces in a League of Women Voters, one of whose objects shall be to speed the suffrage campaign in our own and other countries.’”… “(T)he governing council of the new League decided to recommend as its first activity a study of state laws having to do with education and the legal status of women. That recommendation set the pattern the League was to follow all its life—study first, then action.

Today –

 “Study first, then action.” This is the process the League of Women Voters has followed since its beginning. Our activities are based upon thorough, balanced studies of public policy issues.

  • We offer nonpartisan and unbiased information to voters through our voter service activities, such as election forums, debates and carefully researched voting guides.
  • We conduct multiyear studies of governmental, environmental and social issues. Our study committees read relevant research and interview experts and advocates representing many different viewpoints. The committees publish reports about what they have learned. LWV members and the public can read these reports online or in print.
  • When LWV members discuss a study, they may come to an agreement about how to address the issues. Their discussions lead to our advocacy positions

The League of Women Voters of Portland is now finishing a restudy of Portland’s City Government. The League of Women Voters of Oregon recently completed a study of Hard Rock Mining in Oregon. Also, LWVOR members just voted to study Cyber Security and Privacy and Pesticides and other Biocides in Oregon. You can read about all these studies here. Then you can view our advocacy positions, based on previous studies, here.

 

*States granting women the right to vote prior to the 19th Amendment: Wyoming 1890, Colorado 1893, Utah 1896, Idaho 1896, Washington 1910, California 1911, Arizona 1912, Kansas 1912, Oregon 1912, Montana 1914, Nevada 1914, New York 1917, Michigan 1918, Oklahoma 1918, South Dakota 1918

Source: National Constitution Center

Celebrating and Continuing our Work

On Tuesday, June 4, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the US Senate’s approval of the 19th Amendment. This amendment to the US Constitution says, “”The right of citizens…to vote shall not be denied…on account of sex.” It became effective on August 26, 1920, after three fourths of the states ratified it. During the next year, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History will be sharing stories on social media using the hashtag #19thAt100. The League of Women Voters will explore the full history of 19th Amendment. We know that it was an incomplete victory. For many women, the fight for suffrage continued. Even now, the League is continuing our work to protect the voting rights of all Americans.

LWV History

On February 14, 2020, the League of Women Voters will celebrate the 100th anniversary of our founding. (Read more about our history here.) As we look back on 100 years of achievements, we also will look forward.  Our volunteers are working every day to help shape a better future for all.

Our work now

Right now, the LWVUS is supporting the “For the People Act” in the US Senate. This legislation would modernize and reform our election system and restore the Voting Rights Act. The LWVOR is working in the Oregon Legislature on many issues. These include protecting the environment, adequately funding state services, and advancing Oregonians’ rights. The Portland League is working to protect the rights of the people of Multnomah County. In addition, for every election, we provide nonpartisan voting information, so voters will know about the candidates and issues.

The League is proud to be nonpartisan. We neither support nor oppose any candidate or political party.  Yet we are always working on vital issues of concern to the public.

Thanks, Donors!

A great head start for funding our work in the year ahead!

We are excited to have received a recent $18,000 grant from the Carol and Velma Saling Foundation and a $6,000 grant from The Wyss Foundation. These grants will provide funding to support our nonpartisan election information and civic programs on critical community issues in our 2019-20 fiscal year.

Putting a candle on our symbolic cake to support our work in the year ahead

We also are thrilled with the success of our “One to Grow On” campaign. In preparation for the League’s 100th Birthday, the 2020 elections and the challenges ahead of us, we raised more than $10,000 with this campaign. Many thanks to Holst Architecture and an anonymous donor for giving us a matching grant – and to our generous members who met the match and then exceeded it

The symbolic cake filled with donation pledges to meet the match and help fund our work for 2019-20

 

Our 2019-20 fiscal year will be busy and expensive. League volunteers will be hard at work. As we always do, we will empower voters with nonpartisan election information and advocate for better government and livable communities.

 

To  continue and expand our efforts, we will need more funding throughout the year. We would welcome your support! Please consider making a donation by clicking on one of the Donate links on this website. Thank you!

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