About the League

The League of Women Voters of Falls Church is a nonpartisan organization that serves the citizens of Falls Church City by encouraging informed and active participation in government, working to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influencing public policy through education and advocacy. We neither support nor oppose any political party or candidate.

The League of Women Voters has two separate and distinct roles.

• Voters Service/Citizen Education: We present unbiased, nonpartisan information about elections, the voting process, and issues.

• Action/Advocacy: While nonpartisan, after thorough study we develop and use our positions to advocate for or against particular policies in the public interest.

To conduct our voter service and citizen education activities, we employ funds from the League of Women Voters Education Fund, which is a 501(c)(3) corporation, a nonprofit, educational organization. The League of Women Voters, a membership organization, conducts action and advocacy and is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) corporation.

Our Vision, Beliefs, and Intentions guide our activities.

The League's By-laws can be found here.

The League of Women Voters never supports or opposes candidates for office, or political parties. Any use of the League of Women Voters name in campaign advertising or literature has not been authorized by the League.

Read a short history of the League of Women Voters.

The League of Women Voters of the National Capital Area (LWV-NCA) has awarded its top honor to the Falls Church League of Women Voters for the City Council candidates' forum it co-sponsored in April 2010.

At its annual luncheon May 7, the regional League organization honored the Falls Church League with its biannual Madeline Naumann Achievement Award. The award, named in honor of the LWV-NCA's first president, recognizes a local league for an outstanding achievement whose effects, applicability, and interest transcend local league boundaries.

The Falls Church League was cited for making its candidate forum available on multiple platforms, including the local community cable channel, a video feed on its own Website and video clips on YouTube. For sample clips provided via the online Falls Church Times, please click here.

Faced with the challenge of producing a 90-minute forum that would give equal treatment to eight candidates while producing an event that would be lively enough to engage the audience, the League adopted a new format last year. After an initial round, in which each candidate responded to a single question, candidates then had one minute to respond to a question that they picked out of a hat. Questions were submitted by audience members and then screened by representatives of the League and the non-partisan Village Preservation and Improvement Society, which co-sponsored the forum. Olga Hernandez, president of the League of Women Voters of Virginia, served as moderator.

"The new format gave voters an exceptional opportunity to see candidates thinking on their feet and answering in a limited time frame," said League President Ellen Salsbury. "We are thrilled to be recognized by our regional peers, particularly for a Voter Services project because that is the core of the League of Women Voters' mission."