Aug. 26, 2018 marks the 98th anniversary of the date when then Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed the proclamation making official the right of American women to vote. In 1973 Congress by resolution designated this day as Women’s Equality Day.
The League of Women Voters was founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt, president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, during its convention which was held six months before the ratification of the 19th Amendment. She was a women’s rights activist and a suffragist, who stated that the vote was the “emblem of equality” for all citizens, women and men.
The League of Women Voters of Arlington County has been active since the 1940s in involving citizens in government through voter registration, voter education and citizen empowerment. In 2018 the Arlington League hosted what may have been the largest voter registration training in the history of the state of Virginia. More than 200 people attended.
The Arlington League has recently held public events on redistricting, DACA and Dreamer children and an LQBTQ legislative update. It is planning events on affordable housing and the restoration of voter rights as well as local school board debates. Committees have been formed on maintaining election security and on seeking state ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
The League of Women Voters of Virginia (LWV-VA) celebrates the fact that in 2018 there are 38 female legislators in the General Assembly as compared to 24 in 2015, an increase of 14. Although the LWV-VA does not endorse any candidates, we recognize this historical achievement.
The LWV-VA is a non-partisan organization. It provides voter services and citizen education and advocates at the state level for particular policies that are in the public interest. To learn more about the League of Women Voters of Virginia, go to its website, www.lwv-va.org. To learn more about the League of Women Voters of Arlington County, go to https://lwv-arlingtonva.org/.
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