The League of Women Voters operates at three different levels: national, state, and local. In 1920, six months before the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was passed to grant women the right to vote, Carrie Chapman Catt founded the League during the convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. The goal of the new organization was to help educate the 20 million women who would take on the responsibility of voting for the first time.
As a national organization, the League of Women Voters educates its members and the general public regarding issues that affect citizens of the U.S. The League takes positions on issues after a thorough study and consensus and then advocates for those positions. However, as a nonpartisan organization, the League never endorses nor opposes candidates.
Today there are Leagues in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Hong Kong. The League of Women Voters of Florida (LWVFL) was founded in 1939 by women in Winter Haven, Winter Park, and St. Petersburg. Today, LWVFL monitors statewide issues, and it often studies those issues, adopts official positions on those issues, and advocates for those positions.