In League,

P.S. 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!

If a candidate missed the print deadline to participate in our Voters Guide questionnaire, there is still time for that candidate to be included in our online, interactive version of the Guide found at VOTE411.org.

We ask that you reach out to any non-participating candidates in statewide races (U.S. Senator, Railroad Commissioner, Texas Supreme Court Justice, etc.) that are important to you and encourage them to respond to our invitation. Call them, message them, and post on their website or social media pages. Voters deserve to hear from all candidates running to represent them!

Visit LWVTexas.org to view PDFs of our Voters Guide and see which of your candidates has responded and who still needs to respond. The online, interactive version of the Guide,VOTE411.org, will go live Friday, October 4th!

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.

Polling Monitor training begins this week!

By becoming a nonpartisan Poll Monitor, you can play a direct role in helping protect Texas voters and our electoral process. Poll Monitors are essential to our efforts during early voting and on Election Day, ensuring that voters at polling locations throughout Texas have the information and support they need. As a Poll Monitor, you will observe polling sites, answer voters’ questions, and report any problems that may arise. Be a part of ensuring that every Texan’s vote counts.

Poll Monitors are not Poll Watchers! Poll Watchers are observers inside the Polling Center and belong to a political party.

Sign up for online poll monitoring training or in-person training (in Austin, DFW area, Houston, and San Antonio) and be sure to share the election protection hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE. Together, we can help protect the right to vote and make a real difference this election season. For more information, please email mminnaar@lwvtexas.org.

• Tell your senators to enshrine sex-based equality by affirming the Equal Rights Amendment as part of our Constitution!
• Demand bipartisan cooperation on voting rights!
• Support the expansion of voting rights!
• Urge Congress to address the climate crisis and protect our youth!
• Ask Congress to decrease the influence of dark money with the DISCLOSE Act!
• Demand that Congress end voter discrimination and support the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act!

Be on the lookout for your trusted, nonpartisan Voters Guides! Printed LWV Texas Voters Guides are being mailed to libraries, food banks, supporters and, in some areas, directly to voters across Texas.

The online, interactive version of the Guide, VOTE411.org, will go live Friday, October 4th!By entering your address, you will be able to view races and candidates on your ballot, compare candidate responses to unbiased questions posed by the League, and create a print-out of your choices to take to the polls. If there is a local League in your community, you can also find information on local races.

In a few days, web-friendly, printable versions of the Guide in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Simple Chinese will be available at LWVTexas.org.

LWV Texas also has created election social media graphics, bookmarks, and flyers. Please feel free to download these resources and share them widely!

LWV Texas hosted presenter Numa Dhamani, Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, on Friday, Sept. 13th, 2024 to discuss "Digital Strategies for Democracy! Strategies for Combating Mis- and Disinformation" over Zoom.

The presentation covered:

• Common tactics used to spread false narratives during election periods, including social media manipulation, deep fakes, and coordinated disinformation campaigns
• Psychological and societal factors that make populations vulnerable to these tactics
• Strategies for empowering citizens with critical thinking skills and media literacy to recognize and challenge misleading or false information
• Tools and techniques for fact-checking, verifying sources, and understanding the role of social media in amplifying misinformation

Watch the recording of the webinar here. If you attended the webinar or watch the recording of the webinar, please fill out this evaluation form.

Karina King, Capital Tonight, Spectrum News 1 | Published on 9/30/24

LWV Texas President, Joyce LeBombard, sat down with Karina King on Capital Tonight to discuss Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's lawsuits, Voter Registration Day, and more. Watch the video here.

TX League of Women Voters participates in National Voter Registration Day

Freda Ross, Public News Service | Published on 9/30/24

"LeBombard said if you are already registered to vote, now is a good time to check your voter registration status.

Texas has removed more than a million voters from the rolls since 2021.

LeBombard said since its inception, National Voter Registration Day has had a huge impact on elections.

"I think it's a very important day," said LeBombard. "It started in 2012 with both democracy-organizing groups and also elections officials. And since 2012, over 5 million voters have registered to vote or updated their voter registration."

Read the full article here.

Texas' Right-Wing Leaders Are Going To ‘Scary’ Lengths To Intimidate Political Rivals

Matt Shuham, Huffpost | Published on 9/5/24

“There’s absolutely no evidence of any widespread noncitizen voting in Texas elections,” said Joyce LeBombard, president of the League of Women Voters of Texas, whose volunteers often register voters at naturalization ceremonies for new U.S. citizens.

“The concern is that this false claim of noncitizen voting ... is just a pretext for undermining the access to the vote by marginalized communities — communities of color, especially those that are naturalized citizens,” LeBombard continued, adding that Texas leaders could also be laying the groundwork for more restrictive voting laws or sowing distrust in election results — as they did in 2020."

Read the full article here.

The League of Women Voters of Tarrant County recently achieved a significant win for democracy! They successfully advocated for preserving college campuses as Early Voting locations, despite initial efforts to remove them. Alongside over 140 residents, members of LWV Tarrant County spoke at the Tarrant County Commissioner's Court (TCCC) and collaborated with student groups and partner organizations like NAACP-LDF, the Barbara Jordan Institute, and LULAC Council 4568, as well as a group of TCU students with Move Texas who initially contacted the League to help them reinstate TCU as a polling site location.

After community mobilization, Commissioner Ramirez's motion to reinstate the original Early Voting location list, first recommended by Tarrant County Election staff and the Election Administrator (EA), Clint Ludwig, which included TCU, UTA, TCC South, Texas Wesleyan, and SW Baptist Seminary, was approved.

This victory highlights the power of civic engagement and exemplifies the League's ongoing commitment to protecting voting rights and expanding access to the polls. The unprecedented community support underscores the critical role of local activism in safeguarding democratic processes. We extend our gratitude to all who participated in this effort, from dedicated League members to partnering organizations and the engaged student community. Your voices made a difference, ensuring that local government works for the common good and that every eligible voter has convenient access to exercise their fundamental right to vote!

Many local Leagues across Texas celebrated Voter Registration Day, including LWV Comal Area, LWV San Antonio, LWV Amarillo, LWV Brazos Valley, LWV Fort Bend, LWV Galveston, LWV Houston, LWV South Central Texas, LWV Southwest Texas, LWV Wichita Falls, LWV Williamson County, and more. Click on the pictures below to learn more.

Connect with us!