This story was originally published by The Wake Weekly on July 17, 2024. 

Wake County resident Dianna Wynn has been chosen as the new president of the League of Women Voters of the United States.

On June 28 Wynn was elected to serve as the organization’s 22nd president. In the three weeks that have gone by since then, Wynn said, she has received many “congratulatory messages from friends and neighbors in Wake County.”

This year’s upcoming election has been keeping Wynn busy in her new role, especially as the League of Women Voters maintains the short-term goal of making sure voters are correctly informed and ready for voting in November. In regard to the organization’s goals of voter information and education, Wynn emphasized that an important resource that significantly helps voters stay informed is VOTE411.org.

This resource, which was launched by the League in 2006, contains a vast array of voter information from general to detailed information, such as election dates and factual data on candidates.

Though the League has short-term goals for this current year as the election races ahead, the League also has longer-term goals. Wynn said those goals include “making democracy work for everyone [by] expanding access for voters…making sure there are fair voting maps [involving] redistricting, and… fighting back against attempts to suppress the vote.”

Wynn made sure to emphasize one of the largest challenges facing politics today, which is misinformation in regard to elections, candidates, and news within the local and state government. It’s this misinformation that harms voters from making their own personal voting choices, engaging with elected officials, and going out to the polls for voting, she said.

The importance of young voters was highly emphasized by Wynn as the League is committed to outreach to high school and college students, and even those who are along another path. The League avidly strives to include younger people, especially younger women who are involved in the League’s leadership.

Wynn said, “it’s critically important that young people go out and vote and that they are fully engaged in the process” as young people have the potential to “change the course of the nation if they really turned out.”

Wynn has been involved with the League of Women Voters for years, including serving as the organization’s president for Wake County. Her work has included going out and getting people registered for voting and providing information about VOTE411.org.

She also worked on issues related to redistricting and ending gerrymandering in North Carolina. Through working with the League in Wake County, Wynn was able to grasp the importance of volunteers at the local level.

Wynn’s interest in the League began because it’s nonpartisan, meaning it’s truly about what is best for the community and is not influenced by a political party or candidates. Wynn also enjoyed the direct connections that she experienced through talking to people in the community as well as through town council meetings. 

Wynn avidly believes that people can make a difference and that everyone’s voice matters.

She said she wanted to let the readers of the Wake Weekly know, “it’s important to get out and vote in order to influence what happens in your community and it’s important…to turn out to vote when it’s time to elect people to your town council because the decisions they make affect your everyday life.”