League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area.

The early history of what is now known as the League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area is uncertain. According to some accounts, this chapter of the League was first organized in 1920 as a by-product of the woman's suffrage movement. Meetings were held in the high school building. For much of the 1920s, however, except for an occasional speaker, the organization was inactive. In November 1934, the Ann Arbor chapter was reorganized and with approval of the state office the reorganized league chapter was given encouragement to act as a clearinghouse of governmental and political information to be taken to local civic organizations. Issues of concern to the league in these years included maternal health, child welfare, civil service reform, and problems arising out of the depression.

During the war years, the Ann Arbor League directed its energies toward the revision of the city's charter and the various activities that came to be known as Voter Service. To help the citizenry make informed choices, League members now began gathering and distributing information about the candidates running for local elections, about ballot proposals, and about legislation pending before the state legislature or the U.S. Congress.

...