Welcome to LWVAA's Weekly VOTER
The Weekly VOTER is here to make sure everyone stays in the know about opportunities to empower voters and defend democracy in our community. Like what you see? Please share with your friends!
| Empowering Voters.
Defending Democracy. | 🍿👀 Watch the newest video from Laura Ts'ao: Wondering why things aren’t changing? Start with your ballot. 🗳️
From the Governor to Congress to Austin City Council, the people you elect make decisions that affect your everyday life. And with local propositions, you get a direct say in what happens in your city.
Before you vote, find out who’s running, what they stand for, and what the propositions would mean for you.
Go to VOTE411.org, enter your address to get a personalized ballot, or check out our nonpartisan Voters Guide here.
| 📢 Three things to do for democracy this week
1. Share nonpartisan resources voters trust!
Our midterm election ballot worksheet is a big hit with voters this election season: print the worksheet in English or Spanish, write down your choices, and bring it with you when you vote (remember, you can't use your phone or any other electronic device in a polling location). Stop by the League office to pick up printed worksheets, flyers, stickers, and voter education material. Check our calendar for drop-in hours or email Joyce Jackson to schedule a time to meet.
The Voters Guide covers candidates running in the midterm election for state, county, city, and school district offices and provides explanations for local propositions and bonds. Voters love to see the candidates' views on issues and explanations of propositions written in plain language. Read it before you cast your vote in the midterm election, then share it with others.
📲 VOTE411 provides a personalized Voters Guide.
💻 The LWVAA website provides trusted voting and election information and PDF versions of the Voters Guide.
📰 Find a printed Voters Guide at locations across Travis County.
2. Get Out the Vote!
Not everyone is comfortable with voting. Talk with your neighbors, friends, and family about the voting process. Tell your story about local, state, and federal elected officials and their impact on your everyday life: your job, health care, bills, education, food, transportation, etc.
3. Train to volunteer for Election Protection
Voters may encounter confusing voting rules, misinformation, and other barriers to participation. You can train to be a nonpartisan poll monitor for Election Protection. Help voters navigate issues at the polls and connect them with accurate information and support. The League of Women Voters is a proud member of the Election Protection coalition and encourages members to sign up for poll monitor training led by Common Cause. All poll monitor volunteers must attend one training session.
Online training is offered on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays through the end of October. Register for online training here. | This week's events
Oct. 19
🗳️ First day of early voting
🎉 Austin Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.: Party at the Polls at Austin Public Library, Carver Branch - RSVP
Oct. 21
🏫 Texas Tribune: Who Controls Our Schools? Inside Texas' State Takeovers - RSVP
📜 National Constitution Center: The Living Declaration - Rediscovering America’s Founding Text - RSVP
Oct. 23
📬 The day an application for a ballot by mail must be received by Travis County Elections - Info
Oct. 24
🗳️ Hands Off Central TX - Indivisible: Austin Vote Fest! - RSVP
🗳️ Austin Area Urban League: Democracy Day - RSVP
Oct. 25
🎉 Austin Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.: Party at the Polls at Millennium Youth Entertainment Complex - RSVP
Oct. 26
❤️🩹 Austin Equity and Inclusion: Know Your Rights - Healthcare Access - Join webinar
Upcoming events
Nov. 3
🗳️ Election Day - Info
📬 Last day for county to receive ballot by mail - Info
Nov. 13
🏢 LBJ School: Powering the AI Buildout: Data Centers, Public Power, & the Municipal Market - RSVP
Nov. 17
🏡 Austin Equity and Inclusion: Know Your Rights - Housing - Join webinar |  | 🎤 Watch City of Austin candidate statements and candidate forums
| | LWVAA President Carol Eckelcamp (left) and VP of Voter Services Claudia Torres-Yañez (center) joined emerging leaders at the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Hispanic Austin Leadership Civic Engagement session at the Texas State Capitol on October 13. | LWVAA inspires emerging Latino leaders at Hispanic Austin Leadership Program
The League of Women Voters of the Austin Area (LWVAA) was pleased to participate in the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Hispanic Austin Leadership (HAL) program on October 13, 2026, at the Texas State Capitol.
Claudia Torres-Yañez, LWVAA Vice President of Voter Services, led an interactive session on civic engagement and advocacy. Claudia was joined by LWVAA President Carol Eckelcamp, who contributed additional insights and helped answer participants' questions during the discussion following the presentation.
The session introduced participants to the League's nonpartisan work empowering voters and defending democracy, including voter registration, voter education, candidate forums, and the League's free Voters Guide.
Claudia explored voter participation trends in Texas, with particular attention to Latino voters and younger generations. Despite the growing influence of Latino eligible voters, significant gaps in voter turnout remain. The discussion highlighted the importance of reaching voters through trusted community organizations, providing accessible information, and encouraging participation beyond presidential elections.
A central message of the presentation was that civic engagement doesn't begin or end at the ballot box. Participants explored practical ways to make their voices heard, from identifying the right decision-makers and communicating with elected officials to attending public meetings, providing testimony, and advocating for issues that matter to their communities.
The presentation was followed by a question-and-answer session, during which Claudia and Carol engaged with participants, shared additional information, and helped connect the discussion to opportunities for civic involvement.
The session reinforced an important message: You don't have to hold elected office to make a difference. Everyone has opportunities to influence public decisions through voting, volunteering, organizing, and speaking up.
With the November 3 general election approaching, participants were encouraged to make a voting plan and share trusted, nonpartisan resources such as VOTE411 with their networks.
The HAL program brings together emerging leaders from business, nonprofit, and public sectors across Central Texas, helping them develop the knowledge, relationships, and confidence to make a positive impact.
LWVAA appreciates the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for the invitation and its commitment to cultivating the next generation of Latino civic leaders. Partnerships like these help extend the League's reach and strengthen civic participation throughout our communities.
Early voting runs October 19–30, with Election Day on November 3. Visit lwvaustin.org or VOTE411.org for nonpartisan election information.
- Claudia Torres-Yañez, Vice President of Voters Service
| 🍦LWVAA celebrated volunteers with a scoop of ice cream! Whether you registered voters, made presentations, staffed Let's Vote tables, addressed postcards, shared social media, or worked behind the scenes to empower voters, this celebration was for you! | Volunteer at Let's Vote tables at ACC Riverbat Bash events
Volunteers will connect with students, sharing the Voters Guide and VOTE411 along with other voting and election resources.
Oct. 21:
Oct. 26:
Oct. 27:
Sign up to volunteer at Let's Vote tables
Help staff LWVAA Let's Vote tables at Alamo Draft House and other locations. Share the Voters Guide and VOTE411 along with other voting and election resources.
Oct. 23:
Oct. 24:
Oct. 30:
Oct. 31:
| And that's a wrap -- every postcard has been addressed!
Since our campaign began on September 22, LWVAA volunteers have addressed just over 8,600 postcards to help get out the vote in Travis County. Whether you hosted a postcard party, addressed cards at home while listening to music or watching TV, or compared your favorite books and movies while working at a drop-in, whether you addressed 20 cards or 200: thank you for making this effort a success!
Please return completed cards by October 21. The LWVAA office will be open on the following days and times:
Oct. 20, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. - Info
Oct. 21, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. - Info
If you have postcards to return but can't make it to a drop-in, email Joyce Jackson to schedule a time to meet. |
LWVAA maintains an online event calendar for meetings, trainings, voter outreach, and registration opportunities.
| Midterm Election
📬 Read What older Texans need to know about voting by mail - Charlie Sharpe. KUT News
Local Government
💰 Read Austin approved $566M without voter say, including projects cut from this November’s bond package - Andrea Ball, The Austin Current
💰 Read Austin’s own DOGE? Debate over how to audit City Hall heats up as election nears - Sam Stark, The Austin Current | Track City of Austin bond program expenditures
🗳️ The City of Austin’s new bond dashboard lets folks see how bond money is spent - View
- Jazmin C. Cuellar, Advocacy Director | On Friday, October 9, the League of Women Voters of Texas joined MOVE Texas Civic Fund in filing a lawsuit against the Texas Secretary of State and the Texas Department of Public Safety. The Texas Civil Rights Project filed the suit on our behalf, alongside Waters Kraus Paul & Siegel.
In 2021, the League and our partners won a settlement in Stringer v. Hughs. It required the state to let Texans register to vote, or update their registration, at the same time they renew their driver’s license or change their address online through DPS. It’s the only form of online voter registration in Texas, and roughly 8 million Texans have used it since 2021.
For months, though, voters have reported that their registration updates through the DPS website never went through. Some sat unprocessed for months, and the state hasn’t told voters whether they were affected or why it happened.
We didn’t go straight to court. In July, we sent DPS and the Secretary of State a demand letter and filed public records requests. Both agencies insisted they were following the settlement, even as voters kept running into delays. These delays dumped hundreds of thousands of registrations on counties right before the election, and the state is still withholding key records.
“Alongside our partners, we helped secure online voter registration through the Texas DPS driver’s-license system by joining a successful lawsuit in 2020,” said LWVTX President Tae Mi Lee. “We remain committed to ensuring Texans can use this process without barriers or delays. Our members and many other Texans have been affected, and we need assurance that these delays will not happen again in the future, and certainly not in the lead-up to an election.”
Read the full press release here. | News
Read League of Women Voters Releases Top 5 Tips to Vote Early in the 2026 Midterms. With 94% of voters eligible for early voting, the nonpartisan group outlines essential steps to protect your ballot ahead of Vote Early Day on October 24.
Read League of Women Voters, Campaign Legal Center Secure Permanent Victory Restoring Voter Registration at Naturalization Ceremonies
Blog
Read What Are Midterm Elections? | If you've read this far, it must be worth it.
Share the LWVAA Weekly VOTER with your friends!
|  | | Watch and share: Laura Ts'ao stars in "The Voters Guide Date." |
|
|
💌💘 Dear Voters Guide 💕💐
You never let me down. You make understanding my ballot SOOOO much easier 🫶 and i just don't know how i made it through elections without you in my life. Is it too soon to say we're in love?????? 🥹😍
I've never met another guide that is as smart and well-rounded as you are!! 💚 AND you communicate clearly and you tell me everything I need to know and then let me make the decision?!?? 🥰😩 AND I DON'T HAVE TO SPEND A SINGLE DOLLAR ON YOU??? PRINCESS TREATMENT!!! 💅🎀🤑
AND BABE, YOU'RE LITERALLY EVERYWHERE 😭💘 you are there online (at VOTE411.org) and in person (at locations all around Austin) for me?????🫦 Not me having a DIGITAL boyfriend AND the real thing 💌📱📚 The accessibility??? The availability??? The commitment??? 🤩
I'm looking forward to our weeks-long date with early voting 😚💕 We'll be frolicking between the poll booths from OCTOBER 19–30, and I just know it'll be a dreamy time. 🍂🗳️ Holding hands, filling out our ballots, making informed decisions together. You have made me into a better person 😘
xoxo,
your emotionally invested voter 💋
| | The League shall not support or oppose any political party or candidates. It may take action on governmental measures and policies in the public interest after significant study and consensus is reached. | |