[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 29 (Tuesday, February 14, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S2640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS 75TH ANNIVERSARY

  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I rise today to mark the 75th anniversary 
of the League of Women Voters.
  For many of us, America in the early 1900's is recalled mostly 
through the grainy, black and white images of newsreel footage. We are 
too young to remember American life back then, but the old films are 
portholes on the past. We laugh at the clothes, marvel at the cars, and 
wonder about the celebrities of the times whose names have long since 
been forgotten. We've seen newsreels of the suffragists, too, marching 
and protesting for the right to vote. Yet it is easy to forget that 
these are more than distant, cellulose images--that these are real 
people, with deep-felt passions about the precious right to vote.
  But the League of Women Voters has not forgotten. The league, in 
fact, grew out of the suffrage movement and the fight to ratify the 
19th amendment to the Constitution. In my home State of Minnesota, the 
Legislature ratified the 19th amendment on September 8, 1919. The 
following month, on October 29, 1919, the Minnesota League of Women 
Voters was formed. For the three-quarters of a century since its 
founding, the Minnesota league--like its national partners--has 
balanced a dual mission of voter education and advocacy.
  Even in its earliest years, the Minnesota League of Women Voters took 
a leading role in nonpartisan voter education services. A 1922 booklet 
of Minnesota election laws--``State Election Laws Clearly Stated for 
the First Time!''--was an early league project, and such outreach 
continues today with annual Voter Guides and Election Information 
Hotlines. The League's election-year televised debates have become a 
critical source of candidate information for hundreds of thousands of 
Minnesota voters.
  I enjoy the unique perspective of having seen the League of Women 
Voters at work from both sides of the political fence--as a journalist 
asking questions on the panel of a League debate, and as a candidate 
answering questions during my 1994 U.S. Senate campaign. I remain 
impressed by the league's ability to reach out to Minnesotans on all 
levels, as evidenced by its 2,500 local members in more than 100 
Minnesota communities.
  The League of Women Voters has earned my respect and gratitude for 
its 75 years of urging Americans to get involved, to vote, to take a 
stand on issues. A great deal has changed in this country since the 
newsreel days, but the league's dedication to encouraging citizen 
participation in their government has not. I join my Senate colleagues 
in saluting the League of Women Voters and its membership on their 
anniversary of service.


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