Vote Democracy is Not a Spectator Sport

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Lotte Scharfman is cited for coining the phrase “democracy is not a spectator sport.” Scharfman was a refugee from Nazi Germany who escaped to Austria with her family. Scharfman moved to the United States and, in 1955, became active in the Massachusetts League of Women Voters (LWV). Scharfman worked to increase citizen involvement in government and politics and taught communities to “embrace the concept that ours is a government of, by, and for the people.” She was also passionate about affordable housing and juvenile justice. Scharfman was president of the Massachusetts LWV until passing away in 1970 on her 42nd birthday. The LWV established the Lotte Scharfman Memorial Fund in her honor to support “a variety of voter engagement and civic education programs.”