For over 100 years, the League of Women Voters (LWV) has been working to protect and expand voting rights and ensure everyone is represented in the American democratic system. On February 14th, 2023, the League of Women Voters of the United States turns 103 years old.

The League was officially founded in Chicago in 1920, just six months before the 19th amendment was ratified and women won the right to vote. Formed by the suffragists of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, the League began as a "mighty political experiment" designed to help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters.

Over the last century, the League has fought for election protection, democracy reforms, and equal access to the ballot—all while maintaining a commitment to nonpartisanship and fostering an informed electorate.

One of the League's many notable successes was the national grassroots campaign to reform voter registration that resulted in passage of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), also known as the “motor-voter” bill. The goal: increase accessibility to the electoral process. The motor-voter bill enabled citizens to register at motor vehicle agencies automatically, as well as by mail and at agencies that service the public.

When the 2000 election exposed the many problems facing the election system, the League began to work on election reform. Working closely with a civil rights coalition, LWV helped draft and pass the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which established provisional balloting, requirements for updating voting systems, and the Election Assistance Commission.

The League, well known for their nonpartisan Voters Guide, launched VOTE411.org in 2006, an online version of the Guide and a “one-stop-shop” for election-related information. Today, VOTE411 provides both general and state-specific nonpartisan resources to the voting public, including a nationwide polling place locator, a ballot look-up tool, candidate positions on issues, and more. In 2022, over one million Texans were informed voters because they used the the Voters Guide and VOTE411.org.

In June 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that partisan gerrymandering cannot be solved by the federal courts. In response, the League initiated People Powered Fair Maps™, a coordinated effort across all 50 states and D.C. to create fair and transparent, people-powered redistricting processes to eliminate partisan and racial gerrymandering nationwide. This fight continues today.

February 14th, 2023, marks 103 years that the League of Women Voters has empowered voters and defended democracy. The League of Women Voters has evolved from a political experiment designed to help women vote in 1920, to a nonpartisan organization that is a recognized force in shaping public policy and promoting informed civic participation. Moving forward, the League aims to build power for the next generation of women leaders and voting rights activists.

To celebrate their 103rd birthday, the League of Women Voters of Texas is hosting "Women Power Texas ~ A Making Democracy Work Dinner" on Monday, February 27th, 2023 from 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in Austin, Texas. The keynote speaker is Rochelle Garza, who was recently named President of the Texas Civil Rights Project, and the honorees are Texas Gun Sense, Texas Impact, and The Texas Tribune. For more information about the "Women Power Texas" dinner, visit www.lwvtexas.org/Women-Power-Texas-Dinner-2023.

To join the League of Women Voters of Texas, visit www.lwvtexas.org.