Founded in 1920, the League of Women Voters was formed by the National American Women’s Suffrage Association. Referred to as a “mighty political experiment,” it aimed to help newly enfranchised women exercise their right to vote.
As the League became more active in issue advocacy, the need arose for a separate organizational arm for education and voter services activities such as voter registration and educational forums. The LWV Education Fund was established in 1957 to inform and encourage active participation of citizens in our government operation. In 1960, the League started sponsoring presidential debates and in 1976 we received an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Broadcast Journalism. You can learn more about League history here.
The League provided a dedicated website for voter information as early as the 1990s. In 2006, the League launched the next generation of online voter education with VOTE411, a “one-stop-shop” for election-related information. Today, VOTE411 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.
Today, the League has expanded our vision of a more inclusive democracy in Arizona, regardless of gender, sex, race, ability, or party, in order that all Arizonans can see themselves represented in our government. To build this vision, we bring an anti-racist, social justice lens to the issues of:
Voting Rights, Voter Access, Voter Suppression and Fair Elections
Money in Politics and Redistricting
Women’s Rights, ERA and Reproductive Freedom
Climate Change and Environment
Criminal Justice Reform
The LWV of Central Yavapai County has been encouraging good government and informed voting since May, 1998.
The LWVCYC is proud to continue the work started by Suffragettes Pauline O’Neil and Frances Munds. The city of Prescott is well aware of the historical impact of Bucky O’Neil to our town and the state of Arizona. What is not well known is that his wife, Pauline O’Neil, was a leader in the suffrage movement as the first president of the Arizona Suffrage Association in 1899. *
Frances Munds came to Prescott in 1893 when her husband was appointed deputy sheriff to George Ruffner. Frances became involved in the Arizona Equal Suffrage Association in 1903, where she served as president from 1909 to 1912. During her tenure, the women in Arizona won the right to vote in 1912. In 1913, she was appointed the representative to the International Women’s Suffrage Alliance in Budapest, Hungary. *
Elisabeth Ruffner came to Prescott in 1940 at the age of 20 as the bride of Lester “Budge” Ruffner. She immediately became involved in the Prescott community. Elisabeth founded the Yavapai Regional Medical Center. She believed in strong civic engagement and helped establish Prescott Good Governance in the 1970s. In 2015, Elisabeth Ruffner and Sandra Day O’Connor were inducted into the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame. Elisabeth was a member of the League of Women Voters of Central Yavapai County from July 1996, until her passing in 2019.
Our League has a history of community involvement. Our members have been leaders in helping homeless, veterans, hungry children, the Juvenile Justice Center, the Boys and Girls Club, as well as other prominent leadership programs. In 2017, we partnered with Yavapai College Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) to expand our community involvement. We have co-sponsored several presentations with the Arizona Association of University Women (AAUW), Save Our Schools (SOS), and Prescott Good Governance to name a few. Our league has conducted candidate forums for Mayoral and Town Council elections for Prescott, Chino Valley, and Dewey-Humboldt. Our Communications Director produces a monthly newsletter, The Voter, to keep our members and our community informed. We have utilized community events on the Prescott Courthouse Square to highlight our League’s activities. Our Directors of Voter Services ensures we have a presence at these and other organizations’ events in addition to the local farmers market, libraries, and schools. All members of our Board of Directors continue the tradition of being active in the communities we serve by highlighting issues important to our local populations. Our League continues the critical focus of registering and informing voters to advance our mission of Making Democracy Work.
* Information from archives at the Sharlot Hall Museum