AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – From voter guides to public forums, the Amarillo League of Women Voters has been a trusted resource for decades. And now, as the organization celebrates its 75th anniversary, leaders said their work is just as important as ever.
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“The league has provided a lot for this area with voter guides and live candidate forums and voter registration events, and education for the community,” Michelle Hoggatt, Amarillo League of Women Voters co-president, said. “We do seminars and write all sorts of documents, pamphlets, anything we can think of that will help voters be educated, because that’s our purpose. We’re here to support democracy.”
75 years ago, a small group of Amarillo women came together with one goal — to help their neighbors make informed decisions at the ballot box. This year, the League of Women Voters is celebrating a legacy that’s shaped civic engagement here in the Panhandle for generations.
“In late 1949, a group of ladies got together,” Hoggatt said. “They wanted to support voters, and so they formed a group, found out what it would take, and elected their first president in 1950. It takes a year to become a full league. You’re provisional at the beginning. But even so, they held a live candidate forum in November of their very first year, and then went from there.”…