The League of Women Voters (LWV) was founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt, a leader of the women's suffragist movement. Its purpose is to encourage citizens to participate actively in government by supporting the party of their choice. While the LWV is a nonpartisian organization and, therefore, does not support individual candidates, it does take a position on issues on a national, state, and local scale selected by the membership. Such issues of the past included support of a minimun wage, child labor laws, and equal opportunity for women in government.

In Virginia, the LWV began as the Equal Suffrage League which worked hard for the ratification of the nineteenth amendment. The Equal Suffrage League joined the national LWV and created a state league. The first local league in Virginia started in Richmond, followed by chapters in Alexandria and Arlington.

The League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area (LWVFA) was granted full league status in 1948. However, the LWVFA of the present day was established in 1964 after the town of Fairfax became a city in 1961 and thus a seperate governmental jurisdiction from the County of Fairfax. The League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area Collection contains materials from the LWVFA's history, including studies, information on political issues, meeting minutes, newsletters, correspondence, and photographs. The total volume of the collection is ten cubic feet or fifteen linear feet.

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