League of Women Voters of Boulder Valley

The League of Women Voters was officially formed in February 1920 at the Victory Convention of the National American Women Suffrage Association in Chicago. The League promoted certain items of legislation based on positions reached through study and consensus, particularly those pertaining to women's equal participation in government and the improvement of living conditions for women and children. Among the first issues the League addressed were the regulation of child labor and child welfare programs. The League championed independent citizenship for married women, a woman's right to equal guardianship of children, and equal wages, as well as the inclusion of women on juries. They furthered nationally, uniform marriage and divorce laws, and citizenship instruction in the public school curricula. Additionally, the League was an early advocate for international peace and a supporter of the establishment of the United Nations in the 1940's. The Colorado branch of the League of Women Voters was formed in 1992. In 1931, a Boulder County branch called "The Women's Citizens' League of Boulder" was formed with twenty members and Mrs. C. B. Goodykoontz as president. In 1940, the name was officially changed to the "Boulder Valley League of Women Voters." Some of the Boulder League's first local studies concerned traffic safety, the advantage of municipally-owned utilities, welfare legislation, the prevention of juvenile delinquency, public health, aging, and sanitation. In the 1940's, the League promoted compulsory pasteurization of milk, improvement in city sanitation standards, and the establishment and expansion of Boulder recreation facilities. In the 1950's, the League was concerned with city planning, zoning development, and parks. Reflecting the population growth of the 1960's, they published "Know Your Country" and "Know Your Schools," and advanced the establishment of annexation standards for Boulder, as well as furthering the fight against discrimination in education, housing and employment. In the 1970's, the League continued with its concern for the growth and development, the ERA, alternatives to incarceration, and county home rule. The environmentalism of the 1980's shows up in the League's promotion of energy-efficient houses, environmental protection, and an end to the arms race. According to their websites, the League has been concerned with eliminating obstacles to voter registration in the 1990's and is advocating campaign finance reforms to reduce the influence of special interest groups and promote election fairness, among other issues.