About the League

What is our mission?
How are we structured?
The formation of the San Jose/Santa Clara League

Our Mission.  Other Leagues.  Our Local League History.

Our Mission and Roles

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. We do not support or oppose any political party or any candidate.

The League of Women Voters has two separate and distinct roles.

• Voter Service/Citizen Education: we present unbiased nonpartisan information about elections, the voting process, and issues.

• Action/Advocacy: we are also nonpartisan, but, after study, we use our positions to advocate for or against particular policies in the public interest.

To conduct our voter service and citizen education activities, we use funds from the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund, which is a 501(c)(3) corporation, a nonprofit educational organization. The League of Women Voters, a membership organization, conducts action and advocacy and is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) corporation.

Our Vision, Beliefs, and Intentions guide our activities.

Other League Organizations

Our Santa Clara/San Jose League is one of five local Leagues in Santa Clara County. The others are:

• Cupertino/Sunnyvale
• Los Altos - Mountain View
• Southwest Valley
• Palo Alto

Our members are also members of:

• League of Women Voters of Santa Clara County
• League of Women Voters of the Bay Area,
• League of Women Voters of California, and
• League of Women Voters of the United States.

See other Leagues in California and other state Leagues and local League websites.

About the San Jose/Santa Clara Chapter of League

In 1945, the first local chapter of the League of Women Voters in the San Jose area was formed with 27 members signing the by-laws. Later, the chapter became an area League known as the League of Women Voters of Central Santa Clara Valley, which it remained until 1973 when two separate Leagues were formed: Cupertino/Sunnyvale and San Jose/Santa Clara.

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: January 16, 2012 20:52 PST.

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