Our History

The League of Women Voters of South Central Texas

The League of Women Voters of South Central Texas was established in 2018 as the League of Women Voters of Lavaca County and changed its name in 2021 to become a five-county regional League, with membership open to residents in Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Gonzales, and Lavaca County.

The League of Women Voters of the Texas

The League of Women Voters of Texas was founded in 1919, four months before the establishment of the national organization, at the St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio.  During the 1920s the group conducted citizenship classes, held “Get Out the Vote” campaigns, and published their queries of political candidates.  The Texas League also worked diligently to obtain the right for women to serve on juries, which finally occurred in 1954 and continues today working at the forefront of voting issues that concern all Texans.

Read more about the history of the League of Women Voters of Texas.

The League of Women Voters of US

The League of Women Voters was founded by Carrie Chapman Catt in 1920 during the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, just six months before the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified after a 72-year struggle.  The aim of this activist, grassroots "mighty political experiment" was to help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters, encouraging them to use their new power to participate in shaping public policy.  The organization's founders believed that citizens should play a critical role in democracy and that remaining nonpartisan was essential to protecting the organization from becoming mired in party politics.  Members were encouraged to be political themselves, educating citizens about, and lobbying for, government and social reform legislation.   

Read more about the history of the League of Women Voters of the US spanning ten decades.