Suited up in Cal Aggie uniforms as ‘big leaguers’ in 1957 for the Fourth of July parade were charter members of the Davis chapter of the League of Women Voters.
The Yolo County League (LWVYC) was formed in 2025, when the Davis Area League and Woodland League merged. League of Women Voters has had a presence in Yolo County as early as 1957 when the first Davis Chapter was formed. LWV Woodland opened a chapter a few years later in 1974. Now 68 years later, LWVYC stays committed to the League’s mission of voter education and voter registration while staying non-partisan.
Welcome to our first year as a merged League!
Non-Partisan Policy
LWVDA Non-Partisan Policy, updated 2023 
Early photo of League of Women members in front of a government building holding a banner and construction paper chain to demonstrate the position to “Unchain Local Government”.
History of the League of Women Voters
On February 14th, 1920, President Carrie Chapman Catt formally founded the League of Women Voters because of the need for a “league of women voters to finish the fight and aid in the reconstruction of the nation.” Six months later, on August 18th, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified giving women in the United States the right to vote.
2020 marks the 100 year anniversary of the League Of Women Voters AND women’s right to vote.
LWV Yolo County is also celebrating its inaugural year this year. We’re proud to join a legacy that for a century has been nonpartisan, grass roots and believes voters play a critical role in democracy.
While the League started with equality and enfranchisement for women, they later recognized the need for greater diversity and inclusivity. Today the League welcomes diversity, equity, and inclusion in principle and in practice. Our chapter, LWVYC, is committed to carrying on the tradition.
LWV operates at the local, state, and national level, with over 1,000 local and 50 state leagues, and one territory league in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Click the links below for access to the CA State League, and the US National League.
Notable League Events
- 1945
The League worked with President Franklin Roosevelt to establish the United Nations and to ensure U.S. participation. One of the first organizations officially recognized by the UN as a non-governmental organization (NGO), the League still maintains official observer status today. - 1957
The League of Women Voters Education Fund was established to encourage the active and informed participation of citizens in government and to increase understanding of major public policy issues. - 1970
The League changed its policy to allow men to join the League. - 1976
The League sponsored the first televised presidential debates since 1960, for which we received an Emmy award for Outstanding Achievement in Broadcast Journalism. - 2002
Working closely with a civil rights coalition, LWV helped draft and pass the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which established provisional balloting, requirements for updating voting systems, and the Election Assistance Commission. - 2006
The League launched VOTE411.org, which provides both general and state-specific nonpartisan resources to the voting public, including a nationwide polling place locator, a ballot look-up tool, candidate positions on issues, and more. - 2019
The League launched People Powered Fair Maps Campaign. In June 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that partisan gerrymandering cannot be solved by the federal courts. People Powered Fair Maps was a coordinated effort across all 50 states and D.C. to create fair and transparent, people-powered redistricting processes to eliminate partisan and racial gerrymandering nationwide. - 2020
February 14th, 2020, marks 100 years that the League of Women Voters has empowered voters and defended democracy. 2020 is also the 100 year anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment which gave women the right to vote.