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Overview

Purpose | Structure

The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan citizen activist organization that operates at the local, state, and national level. The League was formed 90 years ago as part of the legacy of the woman's suffrage movement. Today, the League represents over 100,000 women and men.

Purpose

The League's purpose is to:

• Encourage active and informed participation in government;

• Increase understanding of major public policy issues;

• Secure public policies that promote League goals reached through member participation and agreement.

The League does not work on behalf of candidates or political parties. We are a strictly non-partisan organization.

The League registers voters, defends voting rights, monitors government activities, sponsors candidate debates and public issue forums, informs through our in-depth and balanced issues analysis, studies issues, takes action, lobbies, testifies on the issues you care about. We help put laws on the books.

Structure

The League structure parallels the three levels of government in the U.S.: national, state, and local. Following this pattern, we have a national organization in Washington, DC, that concerns itself with the Congress and federal government agencies, 50 state Leagues that focus on state legislatures and state government activities, and over 1000 local Leagues that concentrate especially on city and county affairs. There are also Leagues in Puerto Rico, the Virgin islands and a local League in Washington, DC. In some areas, local Leagues have formed regional groupings to address regional issues. At all levels the Leagues are governed by a volunteer president and board of directors.

In Palm Beach County
The League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County officially came into being in 2005 with the merger of the South Palm Beach County and West Palm Beach Area Leagues.

The West Palm Beach Area League had been in existence for over 52 years, the South Palm Beach League since 1958. The merger of the two Leagues allows us to serve the entire county in a consistent manner, and to reach out to all areas of the county.

Local League Funding
LWVPBC is funded through membership dues and contributions from our members and friends in our community. We hold a finance drive during the month of October. Although we are a non-profit organization, donations are not tax-deductible, unless earmarked to the League of Women Voters of Florida Education Fund, which is the 501(c) (3) arm of our organization. We gratefully accept any donations from organizations to which our Speakers Bureau have made presentations. All contributors receive our newsletter.