A short history of the Dane County League of Women Voters

The league of Women Voters of Wisconsin Came into existence in February 1920 at a mass meeting called by the Wisconsin Woman Suffrage Association. Mrs. Henry C. Ambiance of Waukesha, President of WWSA presided and presented the proposal that the Suffrage Association, whose work was done, be replaced by a league of women voters.

In a short time a number of local leagues were functioning. One of the first of these was the Dane County League of Women Voters. Like the statewide organization, it replaced a suffrage organization, the Dane County Suffrage Association. The organizational meeting was called on May 22, 1920 by Mrs. M. B. Rosenberry, and Mrs. Walter Ayer was elected the first president. In 1927 the name of the organization was changed to the League of Women Voters of Madison.

Because of its proximity to the University and the leadership exercised by women faculty and faculty wives the Madison League (and its successor, the Dane County League) became one of the most active and influential leagues in Wisconsin.

Written by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin