Monroe County League of Women Voters Records

The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a civic organization founded in 1920 by prominent suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt shortly before women won the right to vote. Although the League initially began for the purpose of educating women on carrying out their new responsibility as voters, it was quickly revised to provide service to all citizens. The LWV is a non-partisan organization and does not endorse candidates for office; however, it does provide information on candidates as well as take stands on political issues. The two main ways the LMV accomplishes its goals are through voter services activities and programs. Voter services promote informed and active participation in government by assisting with voter registration, publications, and providing information on election laws and procedures. Program committees, composed of League members select political issues for study, such as education, housing, or voter rights. Findings are discussed at monthly meetings called “League Days,” and action is taken through an array of activities including writing letters, communicating with legislators, and through public statements. The structure of the LWV operates on three levels: a national league, a state league, and a local league.

The local Monroe County league, which remains active today, was established in 1924. Initially known as the League of Women Voters of Monroe County, it was renamed the League of Women Voters of the Rochester Metropolitan Area in 1968. Since its inception, the League has researched and taken action on several social and political concerns in Monroe County including employment, education, housing, and government. In the late 1940s, the League revealed slum conditions in Rochester, previously thought to be nonexistent, and petitioned the City Council for the creation of a housing authority, later established in 1955. During the 1930s, New York State law prohibited women from serving on juries. The League took on this fight by staging a mock trial, which demonstrated women's capabilities as jurors and led to a 1937 amendment to the law. Following this change, the League established jury schools, performed a state-wide skit called “The Woman Juror Goes to Court,” and published the “Blue Book for Jurors” The League’s interest in education led to the 1950s formation of a non-partisan organization called the Rochester Area Educational Television Association (RAETA) that would acquire and run an educational television channel. Additionally, the league strongly advocated the need for a central library, built in 1936, and was instrumental in the replacement of a 43-member Board of Supervisors to a 29-member county legislature.