Organization: League of Women Voters of Clark County
Email: lwvclarkcounty@gmail.com
Phone: 971-220-5874
Website: https://lwvclarkcounty.org/
Visit our website and consider joining our work to empower voters and defend democracy.
One hundred years young, the League of Women Voters was born of the suffragist movement.
Founded six months before the 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment, it was dubbed a “mighty political experiment” to help 20 million newly enfranchised women exercise their vote.
Today, the League, featuring more than 500,000 members – including men – works to empower voters and defend democracy in more than 700 communities and all 50 states.
Never endorsing a candidate or political party, the League focuses on educating voters by way of robust civics education programs, workshops, candidate forums and debates and publications, such as “They Represent You” and the national online Vote411.org voter resource guide, launched in 2006.
The League of Women Voters of Washington also publishes a highly regarded civics textbook for grades 7-12 called “The State We’re In.”
In Clark County, the League works with Clark College’s Mature Learning program to host courses and workshops on civics, and with the Fort Vancouver Regional Library and the Camas Public Library host free presentations on topics such as voting rights, redistricting, the referendum process, the power of primaries, and the importance of the U.S. Census.
The League is visible elsewhere in the community, too, including participating with the annual Peace & Justice Fair, the Juneteenth celebration. the National Night Out event, voter registration drives, and election observations. In the mid-1960s and early ‘70s, the LWVCC held used to hold “Kandidates Keggers and Hotter Than Air Fairs” at the Lucky Lager brewery in downtown Vancouver.
League’s advocacy efforts are also nonpartisan. League members take positions on issues only after arriving at consensus following thorough study.
The first study of League of Women Voters of Clark County in 1920 was on citizenship. In the 1960s and ‘70s, the League studied the environment and land-use planning, efforts that ultimately led to passage of the area’s Growth Management Act. Later studies considered the impact of a proposed oil terminal at the Port of Vancouver as well as alternatives to incarceration. Most recently, a transportation study took a look at the best systems for getting around the region in the future.
Here are other ways you can see the League active in the Clark County community, the state, and our country:
* Lobbying for greater transparency in government
* Seeking to reduce the influence of money in politics
* Working to improve access for voting
* Educating the public about how government works
* Moderating candidate forums so voters know where office seekers stand on the issues
* Promoting local government policies to support healthy communities
* Registering voters
You can find us online:
https://www.facebook.com/LWVClarkCounty/
https://lwvclarkcounty.org/
https://www.instagram.com/lwvclarkcounty/
Or in person, at our membership meetings, which are typically held at 10 a.m. the second Saturday of the month at CDM Care Giving Services, 2300 N.E. Andresen Road, Vancouver 98661. Check out website to confirm.