Why It Matters
Increased accessibility to the electoral process is integral to ensuring that every American can exercise their right to vote. Leagues across the United States work year-round to promote pro-voter reforms that both preserve our existing rights and provide flexibility for casting ballots in order to be inclusive of historically underserved communities.
While we have made progress in expanding voter access, many people still face disproportionate challenges to participate in elections due to factors including health, age, race, and gender. Our democracy is strongest when every voice is heard, which is why we strongly advocate for measures to make voting more accessible.
Voter Accessibility Measures Supported by LWV
- Automatic voter registration
- Online voter registration
- Multilingual voting resources
- Extended polling hours
- Mail-in voting
- Early voting
- Eliminated ballot notary and witness signature requirements
- Extended registration deadlines
- Expanded polling locations
- Eliminated or relaxed ID requirements
- Added protections for in-person voting
Pro-voter reforms have transformed our democracy and led to unprecedented voter turnout in the 2020 Election. But they are too often threatened by politicians and special interests who prioritize their own needs over an equal and fair democracy. When it comes to opposing these anti-voter efforts, the League is on the frontlines, advocating in state houses and in Congress, fighting anti-voter laws in court, and organizing activists to make their voices heard.
As we work to expand voter access, the League also empowers voters through VOTE411, a nonpartisan, ‘one-stop-shop' for all the election information you need to cast a ballot in every election – available in English and Spanish. From registration to voting rules and candidate guides, this award-winning website is your guide to making your voice heard in every election.
Support the fight for everyone's freedom to vote.
How We Expand Voter Access
Advocating for Voter Access
We work with legislators, grassroots organizers, and people like you to promote laws and policies that make the promise of democracy real for all Americans. These include:
- Expansion of the Voting Rights Act: More than 50 years after the Voting Rights Act was passed, full protections for voting rights are not guaranteed for all voters. Many people still face challenges to participating in elections due to factors including income, health, age, race, disability, and gender. Voting is a fundamental right, and all Americans deserve an equal opportunity to make their voices heard in our democracy.
- DC Statehood: Over 700,000 DC residents pay taxes, are eligible for the military draft, and contribute to our nation and their community the same as residents of every other state, yet they are without full representation in Congress. The majority of these Americans are people of color. We support full statehood and representation for the people of DC.
Learn more about the legislation we support and contact your representatives!
Legal Work
The League of Women Voters national office and Leagues nationwide engage in legal action supporting voting rights all year round. From Colorado to Wisconsin to Alaska, we’re fighting discriminatory and suppressive voting regulations that limit access to the ballot.
In 2024 alone, we protected more than 9.38 million voters through election-related litigation. Of those cases, LWV had a 71% win outcome.
In 2024, we protected 9.38 million voters
LWV had a 71% win rate in election-related cases in 2024
Empowering Voters with VOTE411
To participate in our democracy, Americans deserve trustworthy, nonpartisan information about local and federal elections, including voter guides, candidate information, polling rules and locations, and more. We make this information easy to find with our free, digital voter resource, VOTE411.
Take Action
- Urge your representatives to take action on voting rights issues!
- Sign up for our email list or digital outreach platform to stay updated on breaking news and ways to take action
- Find the election information you need at VOTE411.org
- Spread the word about voting rights by sharing this page with your friends and family on social media
To become a League member, join one of the 700+ state and local Leagues.
"Tina Merlitti, who heads up the League of Women Voters of the Akron Area and is a former Akron councilwoman, was an observer on behalf of the state Issue 2 campaign at Callis Tower in Akron, a single-precinct polling location... Merlitti said the biggest problem she saw at the polling place was voters who had moved and weren’t sure where they needed to vote. ... 'Often the people were supposed to vote there,' she said. 'We would look it up for them and then take them back to the judge — the one checking voters in — and say, ‘They’re supposed to vote here.’ They would then give them a provisional ballot. After it happened a couple of times, they would send them to us to have us look it up for them.'”
"A coalition of voter protection groups gathered on the steps of the Miami-Dade and Orange County courthouses Monday urgently calling for an independent task force be created to investigate what went wrong in Florida on Election Day and the early voting period. 'It is clear that Florida’s 2012 election process was shameful and unacceptable,' said Maribel Balbin, president of the Miami Dade League of Women Voters."
"'El Paso is not alone in low voter turnout, because Texas also lags behind other states,' said Linda Krefting, president of the Texas League of Women Voters... 'The states that have consistently high voter turnout have voter-friendly election procedures, and the Texas Legislature could adopt comparable procedures,' Krefting said. 'Same day voter registration which allows voters to register on election day is common in states with consistently high voter turnout.' ... 'Texas needs to make sure that voter registration at DPS offices is simplified and registrations are processed appropriately.'"
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