Who We Are
Who are we? How are we structured? What is our history?
Founded in 1920, the League of Women Voters (League) is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization that derives its strength from the energy and commitment of its members and supporters nationwide. The League encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. The goal of the League is to empower citizens to shape better communities worldwide.
The League never supports or opposes any political party or candidate for elective office. The League does, however, take positions on matters of public policy and takes action on selected matters of government concern that its membership has studied.
The League of Women Voters of Georgia (LWVGA) is a 501(c)(4) organization that is active and involved at the state level. It strives to promote and defend a healthy democracy and support its members and local leagues to do the same.
The League of Women Voters of DeKalb (LWVDK) is a local league of the League of Women Voters of Georgia (LWVGA) and the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS), and is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) corporation.
Read a short History of the League of Women Voters from the LWVUS website.
We invite and encourage all persons age 16 years and older to join us
Principles of the League of Women Voters
The principles consist of concepts of government supported by the League as a whole and constitute the authorization for adoption of national, state and local Programs.
The League of Women Voters believes in representative government and in the individual liberties established in the Constitution of the United States. The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that all powers of the U.S. government should be exercised within the constitutional framework of a balance among the three branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial.
The League of Women Voters believes that democratic government depends upon informed and active participation in government and requires that governmental bodies protect the citizen’s right to know by giving adequate notice of proposed actions, holding open meetings and making public records accessible.
The League of Women Voters believes that every citizen should be protected in the right to vote; that every person should have access to free public education that provides equal opportunity for all; and that no person or group should suffer legal, economic or administrative discrimination.
The League of Women Voters believes that efficient and economical government requires competent personnel, the clear assignment of responsibility, adequate financing, and coordination among the different agencies and levels of government.
The League of Women Voters believes that responsible government should be responsive to the will of the people; that government should maintain an equitable and flexible system of taxation, promote the conservation and development of natural resources in the public interest, share in the solution of economic and social problems that affect the general welfare, promote a sound economy and adopt domestic policies that facilitate the solution of international problems.
The League of Women Voters believes that cooperation with other nations is essential in the search for solutions to world problems and that development of international organization and international law is imperative in the promotion of world peace.
Our Vision
We believe in the power of every person to create a more perfect democracy and support the desire, the right, the knowledge and the confidence for all to participate.
Our Mission
The League of Women Voters of DeKalb County fosters a thriving democracy by engaging all people in the political process through nonpartisan information sharing, passionate civic engagement and by providing opportunities to participate in the democratic process.
Our Values
- Engaged—We are an organization of action. Our people-centric mission enables us to empower our community to be the educated change agents our world needs.
- Inclusive—We seek, in all levels of our organization, to support, engage with and empower ALL members of our community regardless of gender, race, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, religion or creed.
- Transparent—We actively demonstrate our integrity by openly sharing the work that we do and the results we achieve together to inform our community and encourage other communities to follow suit.
- Trustworthy—We consider our organizational and individual integrity to be of the highest priority in all that we do.
- Aware—We listen, evaluate and connect the dots in our community and current political landscape to ensure every action and charge that we lead is reflective of the world we want to see tomorrow.
- Forward-thinking—We take action today for our collective tomorrow by leveraging the ideas, technology and community-driven initiatives that enable us to achieve our Vision.