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ABOUT US
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Our Mission, Roles & Focus
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The League of Women Voters encourages informed and active participation in government. It influences public policy through education and advocacy. The League of Women Voters has two separate and distinct roles.
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Registering an Ocala voter via SmartPhone.
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Voter Education
During elections we strive to provide the information voters need to make an informed choice.
We hold candidate meet & greets, as well as candidate forums both in person and on Zoom. (And sometimes we bring our children along. It's never to soon to teach them the importance of being an informed voter.
We hold candidate meet & greets, as well as candidate forums both in person and on Zoom. (And sometimes we bring our children along. It's never to soon to teach them the importance of being an informed voter.
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- We publish an online voter guide (Vote411) with unedited responses from candidates as well as information on local referenda and state amendments.
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2023 - 2024: What We Accomplished
- Even though there were no elections in most communities last fiscal year, Ocala had its municipal elections. Three volunteers worked to publish the Vote411 vote guide for the Ocala City Council race. Both candidates responded to the questions for our voter guide and attended the candidate meet-and-greet hosted by three volunteers. Because of this LWTRI-sponsored event 30 voters had the opportunity to meet the candidates before making an informed choice.
- In October we hosted our second community event: Disinformation: Spot It! Stop It! Over 100 people attended. Lake County Supervisor of Elections, Alan Hayes, explained the safeguards his office has in place to ensure election integrity. Despite these safeguards, his office had to deal with false narratives spread on social media about compromised elections. The second half of the event was a workshop where audience members tested their skills at validating information.
- In April LWVTRI called an organizational meeting of organizations within the tri-county area that share similar goals centered on empowering voters. We shared what each of our organizations has to offer and continue to reach out for support when our work intersects.
- WVFL was one of the sponsors of the Transformative Justice Freedom Ride in May. The voter-cade harkened back to the days of the Freedom Riders who risked their lives to help Blacks vote in the South. Our local League had voter registration tables and a speaker at the stops in Ocala and Leesburg.
- In total we had nine voter registration events throughout our three counties. During these events 30 volunteers registered five new voters and collected 410 pledge cards from those registered to vote. We will use the contact information supplied on the cards to remind people of important election dates and notify them when our voter guides for the 2024 Primary and General elections are published on Vote4111.
- Our League was also active in sending post cards to returning citizens attempting to have their voting rights restored. The Florida Legislature’s interpretation of Amendment 4, a citizen’s initiative intended to restore those rights, has created roadblocks the League assists in overcoming. The post cards direct returning citizens to lawyers who work pro bono to answer their questions. Over 32,000 post cards were addressed by 14 volunteers.
- The Speakers Bureau educated our community on 10 different topics - including two that were new. Our 25 volunteers made 15 presentations to over 340 people throughout the year.
- LWVTRI wrote a letter of support in the packet the Leesburg Public Library submitted to the Smithsonian Institution to apply for their traveling exhibit: Voices & Votes: Democracy in America. We committed to promote this exhibit throughout the community when it is here between November 16, 2024 and January 11, 2025. The library was one of a handful of locations nationwide who were chosen to host this exhibit.
What We Do
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We are REACTIVE. When Hurricane Matthew was bearing down on our state, Gov. Scott did not see any need to extend voter registration dates. Pam Goodman, State President contacted a lawyer and in less than a week the deadline was extended. Hurricane Irma hit in the middle of the primary season. Miami Dade local chapter worked with their County Commissioners to establish procedures to ensure voters were given the opportunity to vote despite the hurricane evacuation
We are PROACTIVE. The State League is in litigation regarding the appointment of Florida Supreme Court justices when a vacancy exists because of mandatory retirement. Three justices will retire on the same day that our next governor is sworn into office. Oral arguments are November 1, 2017 for our case which asks that the new governor appoint justices on his first day in office, rather than the outgoing governor on his last day. We are AWARE: The State League has filed a friend of the court brief on the side of the city of Cape Coral. The city’s ordinance banning plastic bags has been struck down by the state legislature. A case of “home rule,” which will set a precedent makes this more than a plastic bag case and the state league is speaking out in favor of home rule. |
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Our History
In her address to the National American Women's Suffrage Association's (NAWSA) 50th convention in St. Louis, Missouri, President Carrie Chapman Catt proposed the creation of a "league of women voters to finish the fight and aid in the reconstruction of the nation." Women Voters was formed within the NAWSA, composed of the organizations in the states where suffrage had already been attained. The next year, on February 14, 1920 - six months before the 19th amendment to the Constitution was ratified - the League was formally organized in Chicago as the national League of Women Voters. Men were accepted into the League in 1972.