League of Women Voters of Prince Georges County

Founded in 1921 as the first local League of Women Voters in the state of Maryland.

Its members have addressed a number of local political issues, including charter government, balanced local development, improvement of health services, and establishment of juvenile correctional facilities.

The League of Women Voters of Prince George's County, Maryland, was founded in 1921, just one year after the national organization. It was the first local league in the state, but little is known of its early years. The names of the first presidents are unknown; the first recorded executive was Mrs. B. F. Wade, who served as acting chair of the board of directors in 1925. The organization died by attrition during the Depression, forcing a small core of interested women, including University of Maryland Dean of Women Adele H. Stamp, to travel to Baltimore to attend meetings. Stamp successfully re-established the county league in 1940, and it is still active sixty years later.

The Prince George's League is organized into local units presided over by a president and a board of directors. Each year, all units approve an agenda for the entire state league. Local units then prepare presentations of facts for topics on the current agenda. The topics usually deal with local government or issues of concern to the local voters. Some examples include busing, public health, environmental quality, and charter government. The League also prepares statements of support or opposition on local political questions. The Prince George's County League has supported the establishment of juvenile correctional facilities, charter government, open occupancy, balanced local development and improvement of health services. Other activities of the League include maintaining a Speakers Bureau to provide interested groups with speakers on important topics in local government, and educating voters on the electoral process as well as on the candidates in particular elections.