ABOUT US

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​Who We Are

The purpose of the League of Women Voters is to promote informed and active participation of citizens in their government through education and advocacy.  The League is nonpartisan in that it does not support or oppose any political party or candidate; it is political in that it takes positions on selected public issues after member study and agreement.  Our membership includes both men and women.

For a short but thorough summary of who we are CLICK HERE.
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Learn more.
      League of Women Voters of Florida 
      League of Women Voters of the United States
      Handbook of LWV of The Villages / Tri-County Area
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Our Mission, Roles & Focus

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.

• Voters Service/Citizen Education​:  We present unbiased nonpartisan information about elections, the voting process, and issues.
• Action/Advocacy:  We are also nonpartisan, but, after study and consensus by the members,  we use our positions to advocate for or against particular policies in the public interest.
  
  

At the beginning of each year our chapter decides upon the focus for the next twelve months.   This is published in the  Adopted Program for the LWV of The Villages/Tri-County Area.   Our Strategic Plan describes the steps we will take to reach our goals and how we will measure success.
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Registering an Ocala voter via SmartPhone.

2021 - 2022:  What We Accomplished

Local Accomplishments

We are very proud of the work our local League accomplishments during the 2021 - 2022 fiscal year.

• The Speakers' Bureau provided 20 presentations, both virtual and in-person.  Three new presentations on voting issues were made available.
• On August 26th, our League was the primary sponsor of a long-delayed Equalitea celebrating the 101st anniversary of women gaining the right to vote.  The event was a successful collaboration with Sisters of Suffrage.
• The city of Ocala held elections in 2021 for mayor and 4 city council seats.  Fifteen (15) candidates ran for these 5 offices.  LWVTRI provided an electronic voter guide (Vote411) and held a candidate Meet & Greet.  73% of candidates participated in Vote411;  67% participated in the Meet & Greet;  all 5 winners participated in both.
• In January, during LWVFL Lobby Days, local LWVTRI members met with our Florida State Representatives and Senators to build relationships and ask for their support on League priorities.
• The League hosted a successful community event at the Wildwood Community Center on March 5th:  Uprooting Prejudice: Conversations for Change.  Over 200 people registered for the event.
• On March 8th LWVTRI collaborated with Sisters of Suffrage again.  This time we ran a large community event,  ​Standing on their Shoulders.   The large crowd filled Sumter Landing.
• LWVTRI received a grant from LWV national to register young, non-voters.  We are still holding voter registration drives at local schools.  The final report on our activities will be published later in 2022.
• The Board conducted long-range planning resulting in the first-ever Strategic Plan for our League.  This allowed the Board to recommend a streamlined local Program.

National Accomplishments

More details about the League of Women Voter' accomplishments nationwide during the 2020 elections are contained in this report.

​We are now getting ready for 2021.

What We Do

​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.

Our Studies

SURVEY OF CIVICS EDUCTION IN FLORIDA SCHOOLS
In pursuit of our annual goal for 2021-2022, a committee conducted a survey of the status of civics education in public schools in Lake, Marion and Sumter counties.  Reseach methodology included internet searches, telephone conversations and email exchanges with State Department of Education personnel, meetings held via electronic media, attendance at board of education meetings, document searches, committee members' prior knowledge, and committee discussion.

The mission for their work was to ascertain what is required in public schools in Lake, Marion and Sumter counties pertaining to civics education.  A summary of their findings and recommendations was published in May 2021.


VOLUNTARY PRE-KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM
​As part of the League's 2015-16 initiatives, LWVTRI undertook a project to educate the members and the community on Florida's Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Program.  In Phase 1, League members interviewed directors of the Early Learning Coalitions in the tri-county area.  In Phase 2, members visited VPK classrooms in each county and interviewed owners/directors and teachers.

     Phase 1: Final Report - 2016  

      Phase 1: Summary  Report - 2016

     Phase 2: Pilot Report - 2017 

     Final Report Summary - 2018

     Final Report - 2018

​     Early Learning Terms & Facts

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.