WHEREAS,  on February 14, 1920, 6 months before the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, the national League of Women Voters was formally organized in Chicago; and

WHEREAS,  the purposes of the new organization included equal suffrage and citizen education aimed at all of the electorate; and

WHEREAS,  the League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan citizens' organization that strives to improve our government and engage our people and our communities in the decisions that affect our lives; and

WHEREAS,  the League of Women Voters has been striving to make democracy work for everyone for 100 years and has held the public trust by respectfully bringing elected leaders and the public together through nonpartisan, civil means and through thoughtfully advancing policy solutions; and

WHEREAS,  the League of Women Voters operates at national, state and local levels through nearly 800 state and local leagues in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands and Hong Kong; and

WHEREAS,  the League of Women Voters of Maine has more than 500 active members and supporters throughout the State, with local chapters serving the Portland area, Bath and Brunswick, Hancock County, Camden and Rockland, Machias, the greater Augusta area and the greater Bangor area; and

WHEREAS,  the State has benefited tremendously from the countless volunteer hours donated by league members over the league's history of enhancing democracy; and

WHEREAS,  although the League of Women Voters was formed from the movement that secured the right to vote for women, the centerpiece of the league's efforts remains to expand voter participation and give political voice to all Americans; and

WHEREAS,  since its inception, the League of Women Voters has helped millions of women and men become informed participants in government, providing information and support on such issues as protection for women and children, the rights of working women, food supply and demand, social hygiene, the legal status of women, American citizenship, aid for maternal and child care programs, social security, food and drug safety and changing the system of hiring within the federal civil service system; and

WHEREAS,  the League of Women Voters helped lead the effort to establish the United Nations and to ensure United States participation and was one of the first organizations in the country officially recognized by the United Nations as a nongovernmental organization, and the league continues to maintain official observer status; and

WHEREAS,  the League of Women Voters believes in representative government and in the individual liberties established in the United States Constitution and that democratic government depends upon informed and active participation and respects the citizens' right to information about government records and proceedings; and

WHEREAS,  the League of Women Voters believes that every citizen's right to vote should be protected, that every person should have access to free public education that provides equal opportunity for all and that no person or group should suffer legal, economic or administrative discrimination; and

WHEREAS,  the League of Women Voters believes that efficient and economical government requires competent personnel, the clear assignment of responsibility, adequate financing and coordination among the different agencies and levels of government; and

WHEREAS,  the League of Women Voters believes that government should be responsive to the will of the people and that government should maintain an equitable and flexible system of taxation, promote the conservation and development of natural resources in the public interest, share in the solution to economic and social problems that affect the general welfare, promote a sound economy and adopt domestic policies that facilitate solving international problems; and

WHEREAS,  the League of Women Voters believes that cooperation with other nations is essential in the search for solutions to world problems and that the development of international organization and international law is imperative in the promotion of world peace; now, therefore, be it