A Salute to Our Members
The League of Women Voters of Missoula salutes all members and supporters who worked so hard over these past few months to engage citizens to participate in our democracy and ensure that our elections are secure and trusted.
League members made presentations about voting rights and registered new voters at Big Sky High School and Willard Alternative School. Residents at 12 Senior Living Facilities registered to vote, updated their registration status, and learned what they needed to know about the election- thanks to the visits made by League members. We worked in partnership with Montana Women Vote at 33 different events and reached over 1000 citizens who registered to vote and gained information.
Many League members joined with other local citizens as election workers throughout Missoula County. They participated in the Montana Election Observer Initiative, sponsored by the Carter Center and the Mansfield Center at the University of Montana.
The League of Women Voters will continue to make Democracy work, advance voting rights for all, and provide information and access to citizens so that we can all have a voice in our community and in this country that we love.
VOTE411 and Election Season
Election season is upon us! The LWV Missoula is proud to present our local page for VOTE411 for the upcoming Missoula municipal elections! This is a wonderful nonpartisan resource for voting information. The candidates are sent questions that they then answer directly. Those answers are uploaded, unedited, to VOTE411, meaning the candidates have the opportunity to use thair own words and voters have the opportunity to compare answers directly without the influence of a campain website. LWV Missoula was contacted by our local news station KPAX for an interview. Thank you Barb and Mary for participating in the interview!
The article can be found here:
Contact Information
- Geoff Badenoch
- Sally Brown
- Hollin Buck
- Jennifer Copley
- Frankie Feinstein
- Nancy Leifer
- Janet McMillan
- Mary Nordhagen
Upcoming Events and News:
Check out the calendar on this website homepage or our Facebook page for upcoming events
Link to calendar page:
https://my.lwv.org/montana/calendar
Link to Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093658627417
Link to Missoula League Women Voters 2020-2023 editorials in Char-Koosta News:
https://www.charkoosta.com/search/?f=html&q=league+of+women+Voters+Misso...
Guest Editorials:
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The League of Missoula has adopted its own Diversity, Equity and Inclusion statement, and supports Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion resolutions passed by the city and county. The Univeristy of Montana also has a DEI polilcy. Links to these policies and resolutions:
Link to League of Women Voters DEI policy: https://my.lwv.org/montana-league-women-voters/about
City of Missoula: https://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentCenter/View/57911/Resolution-8533
Missoula County: 
County_JEDI_Resolution_2021.pdf
Missoula LWV Land Acknowledgement
“The League of Women Voters of Missoula acknowledges that we gather on the traditional lands of the Salish, Kootenai, Kalispel, Pend d’Oreille, Blackfeet, and Shoshone tribes. The voting rights of these native peoples were not secured until the 1960’s, 40 years after the 19th amendment secured the right to vote for some women. The League is committed to protecting equal access to voting and resisting efforts to disenfranchise.”
Approved November 10, 2022
History of the Missoula League
The League of Women Voters of Missoula was the first local league in Montana. Formed as a provisional league in 1951, it gained full status the following year. Many of the Missoula members helped to revive the defunct 1920 League of Women Voters of Montana in 1955 and served as its first officers.
The League's efforts and resulting respected reputation in the community hinge on its mission: "to promote political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government."
Througout our history, members have studies issues, reached consensus and formed positions, and used those positions to take action. Members have actively supported a city-manager form of government (1956) city-county consolidation (1961) a state constitutional convention and ratification of a new Montana Constitution (1972), standards for good government (1981), self-governing powers for the city of Missoula (1976 and 1996), formation of neighborhood councils (1996), guidelines for government if and when privatizing government services (2001), measures to protect the Missoula aquifer from contamination, and support for the City of Missoula to purchase its water system in 2013.
Bylaws (revised 2023):
Positions
Link to issue positions of the Missoula LWV:
Position on School District Enrollment PDF
Position on Protecting Drinking Water PDF
Position on Good Government Standards PDF
Position on Affordable Homes PDF
Position on Boards and Commissions PDF
Policies
coalition_guidelines_policy_missoula_lwv.pdf
political_activity_policy_missoula_lwv.pdf
standards_of_conduct_policy_for_montana_public_employees.pdf
missoula_policy_on_action.docx
Our Mission today:
Voter education and encouragement are THE core mission of the League.
The League registers citizens to vote and encourages active voting by all eligible citizens.
As citizen support for government has declined over the years, the League's mission "to promote political responsibility through informed and active participation of citizens in government", remains even more relevant today.
Join the Missoula LWV!
You can make a difference in public policies that affect your life and the lives of others. Your Missoula LWV membership also makes you a member of our Montana state League and the national LWVUS. Individual dues are $50, or you can enroll your household for $60. Please mail your check to the address below (while perhaps “old fashioned,” we benefit a bit more from a check than from online renewal), or use the on-line option via the link.
Are our $50 dues too big of a bite out of your budget? We have funds available to underwrite dues for members on fixed incomes. Contact our Treasurer, Barbara Holmes-Smith for a waiver.
Help us continue our efforts to make democracy work by joining today!
Or, you can join online by clicking on the link below:
https://my.lwv.org/montana/join-local-league
