Action News! August 2024
Joleen E Smith | Published on 8/1/2024
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It’s certainly been an unusual summer so far. We've had cooler and wetter weather than normal, disappointing Supreme Court rulings, an assassination attempt on former President Trump, and the surprise announcement from President Biden that he will no longer seek reelection.
We've been busy in the League, too, from our national convention in Washington, D.C., at the end of June to our LWV Texas board planning retreat at the end of July. Our focus has been on creating the Voters Guide for the November election, organizing get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts, and preparing for the 2025 Legislative session.
Today is Poll Worker Recruitment Day! With the November General Election just three months away, it’s time to recruit poll workers to ensure that our polls—and our democracy—are accessible to everyone who wants to cast their vote. Working the polls is one of the most effective ways you can support democracy. Please sign up to be a poll worker and help our elections run smoothly! You can sign up at powerthepolls.org/lwvtexas.
A special thank you to our recurring donors! The work of defending democracy never ends. Consistent support allows us to plan and adapt day after day, year after year. Thank you!
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The League of Women Voters of Texas is working tirelessly to advocate for all Texans this election season and beyond. Donate today to support our mission of empowering voters and defending democracy!
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| Your Texas League in Action |
General Election Voters Guides Timeline
The LWV Texas Voters Guides for the 2024 General Election will be ready in plenty of time for Early Voting! Please keep an eye out for your order forms, which are scheduled to go out August 23rd. The deadline for orders is September 6th, and we plan to ship out the Voters Guides no later than October 6th.
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Interim Hearings
The Senate State Affairs Committee and the House Elections Committee held hearings in June that focused on elections. LWV Texas submitted written testimony in the Senate in support of county-wide polling. You can read the testimony here.
The House Committee took invited testimony only, much of it focused on protecting ballot secrecy. As elections have become more transparent, and interest in scrutinizing election records has increased, an issue has arisen here in Texas regarding ballot secrecy. For an excellent discussion of how and why ballot secrecy can be compromised here and across the country, read this article.
Following the House hearing, LWV Texas and partner organizations sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking them to support election administrators in Texas in not only protecting the secrecy of ballots but also maintaining a proper chain of custody regarding those ballots as required by both federal and state law. Read more about it here.
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National Poll Worker Recruitment Day
Today is National Poll Worker Recruitment Day! National Poll Worker Recruitment Day is a national day of action established by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) in 2020 to inspire civic engagement and encourage people to sign up to become a poll worker. National Poll Worker Recruitment Day aims to address the continued need for poll workers to sign up ahead of the general election in November to #HelpAmericaVote and strengthen our democracy.
We urge you to sign up to be a poll worker and to recruit your family, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and community members to sign up as poll workers, too! Use this customized link to sign up and learn more: powerthepolls.org/lwvtexas.
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LWV Wichita Falls
Photo credit: League of Women Voters - Wichita Falls, TX Facebook page. LWV Wichita Falls held their annual board planning retreat and had a wonderful time bonding and planning the next year! Read more here and here.
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LWV San Antonio
Photo credit: League of Women Voters of San Antonio Area Facebook page. Pictured here with the Spurs Coyote, the LWVSA Community Outreach volunteers are attending many Back to School events over the next few weeks to register and educate voters. Read more here and here.
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LWV Fort Bend
Photo credit: League of Women Voters of Fort Bend Facebook page. LWV Fort Bend gave a First Vote! presentation at the Expose Excellence Summer Law Enforcement Academy. Read more here.
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LWV Amarillo
Photo credit: Amarillo League of Women Voters Facebook page. League members Jami Cowart and Linda Allen enjoyed registering voters and listening to live music at the Starlight Theater in Sam Houston Park! Read more here.
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LWV Williamson County
Photo credit: League of Women Voters Williamson County Facebook page. LWV Williamson County VDRs registered voters at Amy's Ice Cream's Cedar Park and Round Rock locations National Ice Cream Day. Read more here.
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LWV Austin Area
Photo credit: League of Women Voters Austin Area Facebook page. LWV Austin Area volunteers registered voters at a naturalization ceremony. Read more here.
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| Your Texas League in the News |
Voter advocacy groups ask DOJ to step in after Texas allowed some voters’ ballots to be identified
NATALIA CONTRERAS, VOTEBEAT TEXAS |Published on 6/13/24
A coalition of watchdog and voter advocacy groups asked the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday to use “all available legal authorities” to protect the secrecy of ballots after Votebeat and The Texas Tribune confirmed that the private choices some voters make in the voting booth can in some instances be identified using public, legally available records.
Click here to read the full article.
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Election Protection
LWV Texas is a partner of the nonpartisan Election Protection Coalition, working to ensure equal voting opportunities for all in Texas. This includes running the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline for voter questions and issues, as well as recruiting, training, and deploying nonpartisan poll monitors (who are different from poll workers and partisan poll observers). League members and supporters are encouraged to participate in the Poll Monitoring Program for democracy defense. Stay tuned for updates and training opportunities in the coming months!
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League of Women Voters of Texas
1212 Guadalupe St. #107
Austin Texas, 78701
(512) 472-1100
lwvtexas@lwvtexas.org
lwvtexas.org
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