Six months before women won the national vote, the League of Women Voters was founded to teach twenty million new voters how to use it. For a century it did the slow work of an informed electorate through questionnaires, voter guides and forums, and sponsored the presidential debates until it withdrew on October 3, 1988. It remains nonpartisan on candidates but takes positions on issues, which draws criticism.
Who's who
- Carrie Chapman CattSuffrage leader who proposed the League and called it a mighty experiment
- Maud Wood ParkFirst national president of the League
- Nancy M. NeumanLeague president who announced the 1988 debate withdrawal
- Stephen VossUniversity of Kentucky political scientist who distinguishes progressive from partisan
Where it happens
- Chicago, Illinois+15 more episodesWhere the League was organized in February 1920
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania+6 more episodesSite of the first League-sponsored general-election debate, 1976
- Monterey County, California+7 more episodesLocal League chapter runs October 2026 forums
- Louisville, Kentucky+2 more episodesWhere one of 19 invited candidates accepted League forums in 2024
Timeline
- February 14, 1920League of Women Voters organized in Chicago
- September 23, 1976First League-sponsored general-election presidential debate
- October 28, 1980Cleveland debate draws about 80 million viewers
- October 3, 1988League withdraws from presidential debates
- October 2006League's Education Fund launches Vote411
- October 7, 2026Monterey County forum for Salinas mayor and council
Still debated
Whether the League is nonpartisan is the live dispute: by its record it has never endorsed a candidate or party, but it takes positions on issues and litigates. Critics and defenders are given in their own terms, and the episode does not settle it.