Women’s History Month often highlights the historical achievements of women — especially those tied to politics.
The League of Women Voters (LWV) has served the country since before women gained the right to vote. Moscow’s league is the largest in the state of Idaho with over 130 members, according to the organization’s website.
LWV began as an activist group to help women “carry out their new responsibilities as voters” nearly 100 years ago, LWV Moscow’s website notes.
Carrie Chapman Catt founded the national league at the 1920 National American Woman Suffrage Association convention, with the local Moscow branch beginning 32 years later in 1952.
LWV Moscow President Susan Ripley said the league’s primary function is to register all types of voters, not just women. She said the group also encourages people to get involved in democracy through educating them on relevant issues.
“What we have is, during the school year, a weekly speaker series,” Ripley said. “We have speakers speak to us on various topics. It’s open to the public and we get a lot of public attendance. It’s on all different subjects. We’ve had both sides of the dam breaching.”
Ripley said that LWV is a non-partisan group, standing for voter education and registration. In addition, LWV advocates for healthcare reform, immigration policy changes and protection of the environment, according to the national LWV website.
“Whenever the league advocates for something, they do not do that unless they have done a thorough, comprehensive study and decided on a position on that issue,” Ripley said. “Once they have, then they will advocate. There’s a lot of funding that goes into the issues before we come to terms that we’re going to advocate on them.”
In addition, Ripley said LWV encourages and educates voters of all genders.
“I think that a lot of people realize that we’re non-partisan and that the League of Women Voters is not just for women,” Ripley said. “Men can be members — 25 percent of our membership is male. We have more males in the Moscow league than others in the state, but it is open to men.”
The Moscow league pays dues to the Idaho league and the national league, said Ripley. The local league runs educational opportunities and voting drives for the community, while the state league serves those functions for people that lie outside the boundary of a local league.
The state and national leagues run studies on political issues to determine the larger league’s stance before advocacy can begin. The national and state leagues run annual conventions to keep their members informed and ideological uniformity throughout the organization.
The Moscow league watches legislature, provides testimonies and voter guides, hosts voter registration events and an educational speaker series. Ripley encourages all community members to join LWV, whether by attending a speaker series event or joining the actual organization.
“Students can join and there’s not a membership fee for them,” Ripley said. “That gives them an opportunity at a low cost, because we know how hard it is for students to become a member.”
The next annual meeting of LWV Moscow will be held 5:30 p.m. May 1 in the 1912 Center Great Room. Ripley said the event starts as a social potluck but attendees don’t need to worry if they cannot bring a dish. Anyone is then welcome to sit in on the business meeting that follows.
Details about many LWV events are available on their Facebook page. Speaker series events are held noon Wednesdays in the 1912 Center.