League of Women Voters of Colorado

Background Statement

The League of Women Voters has worked since 1920 to improve local, state and national government and strengthen our communities through citizen education and action. Rooted in the fight for women's suffrage, the League has, since 1973, included men as members. The League protects the rights of all eligible voters. The early League 1) trained women to use their right to vote and 2) presented nonpartisan political education.

The group that became the League of Women Voters of Colorado (LWVCO) began in Denver in 1928. In addition to LWVCO, the statewide office, there are now eighteen local Leagues across Colorado, from the Sterling area in the northeast to Montezuma County in the southwest.

In 1990, LWVCO formed the League of Women Voters of Colorado Education Fund (LWVCOEF), a 501(c)(3) organization that was in effect until 2017. In July 2017, all functions of the League were placed under one 501(c)(3) organization: the League of Women Voters of Colorado. Operating now only as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the League of Women Voters of Colorado carries out voter service and public education activities; voter education through preparation and distribution of state-wide informational publications, voter forums for state level races and provision of election information on the internet. LWVCO works with local Leagues to encourage voter registration drives, run mock elections in schools, provide candidate forums and produce local ballot issue guides. Through in-depth study and consensus by members, the League - nationally, statewide and locally - has developed positions on issues in the areas of government, natural resources and social policy, and LWVCO's Legislative Action Committee monitors bills in the Colorado Legislature for support, opposition or a "watch" status.

In 2016, LWVCO contacted the US Customs and Immigration Services District offices near Denver and requested that League members be able to register new citizens to vote at naturalization ceremonies. This request was approved and members of various local Leagues now regularly register these new voters on Colorado's Front Range from Centennial, CO to Estes Park.

The League helped establish a broad-based coalition to sponsor, write and support Referred Measures Y and Z to establish an independent redistricting commission.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

The League of Women Voters of Colorado actively worked for passage of the following:

• Merit Selection of Judges (Constitutional Amendment 1966)

• Colorado Equal Rights Amendment (Constitutional Amendment 1973)

• Independent Reapportionment Commission (Constitutional Amendment 1974)

• "Motor Voter" Registration at Motor Vehicle Sites (Statutory 1984)

• GAVEL - Give a Vote to Every Legislator - Legislative Reform (Constitutional Amendment 1988)

• Referendum C - Five-year timeout from TABOR (Statutory 2005)

• LWVUS Concurrence with The League of Women Voters of Colorado's Behavioral Health Position (Colorado's position is now the Behavioral Health Position of the League of Women Voters of the U.S.) (2016)

• Amendments Y & Z, establishing bipartisan redistricting commissions following each census to combat gerrymandering (2018)

• Automatic Voter Registration (2019)

• Restored Voting Rights for Parolees (2019)

• National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (2019)

• Equal Pay for Equal Work (2019)