After hiatus, League of Women Voters resurfaces in Nevada

After she retired, Barbara Wells wanted to become more politically involved. So, at the urging of a friend, she decided to join the local chapter of the League of Women Voters.

The only problem: It didn’t exist.

Nevada’s chapter of the nonpartisan group focused on voter registration and education had disbanded in 2020.

But that didn’t stop the 67-year-old former psychologist. She reached out to the national office and rebuilt the state chapter. She now serves as president.

With the November election looming, the group, which relaunched in August, has been hard at work registering voters, sending out a candidate questionnaire and coordinating with community partners.

“We’re trying to remain focused, given that we have only so many resources, and we have this priority: the 2024 general election,” Wells said.

On Sept. 17, National Voter Registration Day, the group set up a table outside Lush Cosmetics in Summerlin, registering voters in person and providing educational materials.

The organization is also planning to soon publish the results of its candidate questionnaire.

The national organization is putting increased focus on first-time voters this year. The Nevada chapter will be “vital for equipping young voters and newly naturalized citizens to make their voices heard,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“The league’s mission is to empower voters and defend democracy, not just for this upcoming election but for every election,” they said.

Wells said the state league has received a warm welcome back.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada helped rebuild the organization’s website. The Las Vegas NAACP recently became a community partner. And, to bridge the generational divide, the chapter has worked with Rise Nevada, which runs voter drives focusing on students.

In its relaunch statement, the state league also thanked Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, Nevada Moms Demand Action and the Clark County Election Department for their cooperation and support.

The chapter came together quickly, starting with a conversation around a table at a cafe about a year ago.

Rachelle Arkin, the group’s incoming secretary, said she wanted to join because of the league’s nonpartisan status.

“We’re all Americans,” Arkin, 71, said. “We’re not Republicans, Democrats or anything else, and our function is to get people involved and get people to vote so that we have a government that responds to our needs.”

Wells said nonpartisanship was “key” to the league. While the Nevada League of Women Voters doesn’t support or oppose candidates, it does “stand behind issues,” she said.

It was violations of the group’s bylaws that led to the Nevada group’s disbandment, according to the national office.

The organization withdrew its recognition of the state branch “after five months of concerted efforts to resolve multiple bylaw violations in conflict with our nonpartisan policy and our diversity, equity and inclusion policy,” the league said in a statement. “The board had no choice but to close the state League effective immediately.”

Sondra Cosgrove, the league’s president until the end of 2020, was asked to stop making public statements after she criticized Nevada’s then-Democratic governor over his opposition to a proposal for an independent redistricting commission, according to ProPublica.

Cosgrove wrote in a blog post that the group was disbanded because she refused to follow the national organization’s directives.

Cosgrove now runs Vote Nevada, a voter education nonprofit founded in the wake of the former state league’s closure.

“It’s good for Nevada to have a League of Women Voters,” Cosgrove said. “I’m just hoping that the league will align with the original founding principles of the organization: to be nonpartisan, to hold both parties accountable and to make sure you’re prioritizing voters.”