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Welcome to the League of Women Voters of Lake Forest/Lake Bluff Area

 Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy. For More Than 100 Years.

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Protect Your Voting Rights


The League of Women Voters of Lake County is organizing 3 options to help protect the

integrity of the vote. We’ve all heard about rigging the election, stolen votes, and other

irregularities. See for yourself how the voting system works in Lake County and help ensure

that the election here is managed honestly, efficiently, and securely. This project is open to

all members of the four local Leagues in Lake County.

1. Volunteer to be a pollwatcher. Pollwatchers play an important role as official election

process observers. They both help protect a voter’s rights and may notice some voting

irregularities which should be reported.

Lake County Clerk’s Office is offering pollwatcher training on Wed. Feb. 11, 11:00am at

the Lake County Administration Building in Waukegan. It takes about 45 minutes.

Once you are trained, contact your local League to make arrangements for assignment

to a site and time. You will receive your pollwatcher credentials which are needed to

enter a polling site. There are a number of polling sites in each community.


2. After the pollwatcher training, League members may satisfy their curiosity about the

much talked about vote-by-mail process. Is it safe, secure, and reliable? The League has

arranged for a private showing of the vote-by-mail processing center. As voters already

have started to mail in their ballots, League members will see how the state-of-the-art

equipment works. Attendance at the pollwatcher training is not required to watch the

vote-by-mail process.


3. If you vote in person, what happens with your ballot once you feed it into the

tabulating machine? Illinois requires a public demonstration of the equipment for

accuracy and security. The official demonstration for Lake County is Tues. March 10 th at

10:00 in Waukegan.


If you have any questions about these important steps in the voting process, or wish to

sign up for one or all, please contact MaryMathewsLWVLakecounty@gmail.com or call

847-295-1494. The Clerk’s office needs to know in advance how many people to expect.

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Unite and Rise 8.5:

An Initiative to Defend Democracy


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Unite and Rise

is Now

Streaming


In its commitment to encourage civic action, the League of Women Voters (LWV) has launched its Unite and Rise 8.5 YouTube video series with three episodes. Hosted by LWV CEO Celina Stewart, the videos highlight the League’s historic commitment to advancing women’s leadership and inspiring communities to take meaningful civic action.  

Episode One: Meeting the Moment   Stewart and guest discuss how community mobilization, nonviolent strategy, and civic engagement remain essential tools for protecting democratic institutions today. 

Episode Two: Partnership, Faith, and Defending Democracy  Stewart and guests converse about women’s leadership in different movements, the intersection of faith and activism, and how spiritual traditions drive political participation.  

Episode Three: How to Engage Young Voters   Stewart and her guest explore young people’s tangible, youth-led projects that build a sense of agency and impact.  

Unite & Rise 8.5 aims to build a movement of 8.5 million individuals to unite and rise up against the anti-democratic actions of this administration. 8.5 million is the estimated number of voters it would take to bring about change through nonviolent protest, based off a finding from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights. 


Get Action Alerts on Your Phone

We're using the League in Action app to organize and take action—here’s how to sign up:

  1. Download the app on your cell phone (available via the App Store and Google Play)
  2. Sign in with your Google or Facebook account, or create an account with your email
  3. Search for the League of Women Voters Illinois on the app and click the Join button
  4. Scroll through the feed to see all of the ways you can support LWV's efforts

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WASHINGTON, DC — The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) today called on Congress to launch an immediate and independent investigation into a series of recent use-of-force incidents involving federal immigration enforcement personnel. LULAC is joined in this call by Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, reflecting a broad, nonpartisan, cross-sector concern about transparency, accountability, and constitutional compliance.  Read more at this link: LULAC, Joined by Leading Legacy Civil Rights Organizations, Calls for Congressional Investigation Into Recent Federal Immigration Enforcement Actions | League of Women Voters



Click Here for the LWVUS Member Portal



Who We Are and What We Do

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

Voter information, education, registration, and support for voters.
Observation and study of local governmental entities. Issue-based advocacy in our community, in Illinois, and in Washington D.C.
Nonpartisan sponsorship of candidate debates and forums.
In-depth education about current issues facing voters in local, state, and national elections.