League of Women Voters works to empower young people in Manistee County

This story was originally published in the Manistee News Advocate.

The League of Women Voters Manistee County will team up with the Manistee County Clerk's Office and the Vogue Theatre this week to register high school seniors to vote.

The event is set to begin at 9 a.m. on April 27 at the Vogue in Manistee.

Students from around the county are expected to travel to Manistee to attend a viewing of "Iron Jawed Angels" and learn about the struggles faced by suffragists leading up to the passage of the 19th amendment.

The 2004 film stars Hilary Swank as suffragist leader Alice Paul, Frances O'Connor as activist Lucy Burns, Julia Ormond as Inez Milholland, and Anjelica Huston as Carrie Chapman Catt.

After the movie, students have the opportunity to register to vote in front of the Manistee County clerk, "allowing them to take advantage of all their rights and responsibilities as voters in the state of Michigan," according to a news release.

“The LWV is excited to bring back this event which was held for four years, starting in 2016, then on hiatus during COVID-19. The teachers in the past likened it to a 'rite of passage' as seniors transition into adulthood and accept their participation in our democratic process,” said Nancy Behring, Manistee league president.

The league has two goals: voters service and citizen education, and action/advocacy.

"We present unbiased nonpartisan information about elections, the voting process and important issues," reads a news release in part. "We are nonpartisan, but, after study, we use our positions to advocate for or against particular policies in the public interest. The league never supports or opposes any candidate or political party."

Membership in the league is open to men and women of all ages.

For more information about the league visit lwvmanisteecounty.org.