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!
|  | Celebrate! We won!
Together, we stopped a major new obstacle to voting before it could take effect. We encourage voters to use Texas' existing vote-by mail processes for the November election.
This victory belongs to everyone who believes every voter deserves a voice in our democracy.
While we should celebrate this victory, we also know our work isn't finished.
Every day we learn about more attempts to harass citizens using the SAVE system and data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Litigation empowers our fight for the issues that matter most to communities: protecting the right to vote, promoting fair and accessible elections, ending big-money corruption, and reinforcing the dignity that people across the country deserve. Check out our work at LWVUS Legal Center.
Find opportunities below to empower voters and defend democracy.
| Empowering Voters.
Defending Democracy. | 🗳️ Four things to do for democracy this week
- Volunteer to help register voters, help at a candidate forum, help with our postcard campaign, educate the community, and support League events. Check out our calendar or email us about where you'd like to help.
- Attend a LWVAA/Hands Off workshop to learn how to help protect the midterm election. Train with Common Cause to be a poll monitor and help ensure that every eligible voter can cast their ballot at the polls.
- Serve as a poll worker, a student election clerk, a ballot-by-mail clerk, or a call center representative. Help your community vote with confidence this election season. Go here to learn more about serving as a Travis County Election Worker.
- Shop with LWVAA for your nonpartisan election gear.
🗳️ Four things your church, organization or business can do to support democracy this week
- Sign up to provide the LWVAAVoters Guide at your business, church, or organization. Our nonpartisan Voters Guide is a trusted resource that helps our community get ready for election season. The order deadline is September 25. Copies will be delivered or available for pickup on Friday, October 9. Don't miss this chance to support informed voting in Austin!
- Share voter education material from LWVAA. We have flyers, voter info bookmarks, VOTE411 how-tos, voting plan checklists -- we've got you covered! Check our calendar for drop-in hours or email Joyce Jackson to arrange a pick-up time.
- Ask to have a VDR register voters at your business or organization.
- Request a LWVAA speaker for your organization's next meeting. We can provide a short version of "What is on the Ballot" in as little as 15 minutes.
| | Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy. It’s complicated. It’s costly. And in these times of constitutional crisis and high‑stakes elections, your support matters more than ever. We are profoundly grateful for every donation and every hour of volunteer time that fuels the League’s work.
Travis County Election Workers make voting possible for all of us. These dedicated public servants are the backbone of our elections, and some have even chosen to donate their Election Worker pay to the League to support our mission. If you have the ability and interest in contributing all or part of your pay, you can do so here.
If you’re interested in joining the community of Travis County Election Workers, you can learn more here . We think you’ll find the work both fun and deeply rewarding.
For more information, please contact the LWVAA Development Committee. | | |  | 🎤 September 21: Austin City Council District 8 Candidate Forum
6:30 - 8:00 p.m., Hampton Branch Library, 5125 Convict Hill Road - RSVP
How should Southwest Austin grow while protecting the places and resources residents value? Hear from District 8 City Council candidates at a nonpartisan forum moderated by LWVAA. Planned topics include housing and development, transportation infrastructure, support for local businesses, water quality, and the resource demands of data centers. The conversation will also explore wildfire preparedness, emergency response, and city spending priorities. Join your neighbors to compare candidates’ ideas for the district’s future and make an informed decision at the ballot box.
🎤 September 29: Austin City Council District 9 Candidate Forum
6:30 - 8:00 p.m., Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd Street - RSVP
Austin’s urban core is a place to live, work, study, and gather. What would the candidates do to help it serve those many needs? Join the League of Women Voters of the Austin Area for a nonpartisan District 9 City Council Candidate Forum. Planned topics include housing affordability, downtown economic vitality, safer and easier travel, public safety, homelessness, and welcoming public spaces. Candidates will also be asked about balancing growth with neighborhood identity and giving residents a meaningful voice in city decisions. Attend to hear their priorities firsthand before casting your vote.
If you’re unable to attend in person, all forums will air live on ATXN and KAZI 88.7 FM, with recordings posted afterward on ATXN’s YouTube channel.
|
But wait -- there's more!
Sept. 22:
LWVAA: Paws to the Polls at ACC Highland - RSVP
Sept. 23:
Hands Off Central TX & LWVAA: Election Protection Activation - Register
Sept. 24:
Austin Equity and Inclusion: Know Your Rights - Refugees' Rights - Join webinar
Sept. 26:
LWVAA & Braver Angels Central Texas: The Life of the Party film screening & community conversation - Tickets
Indigo Girls with Special Guest Linda Perry (national partner with LWV) - Tickets
Sept. 28:
National Constitution Center: Previewing the Supreme Court's 2026 - 2027 Term -
Sept. 29:
City Council District 9 Candidate Forum - RSVP
Oct. 1:
City Council District 3 Candidate Forum - RSVP
Amy's Ice Creams / Phil's Ice House profit share day benefiting LWVAA
|  | We have a lot of voters to register before October 5!
👀 Watch KVUE's interview with Valerie DeBill, LWVAA's Director of Voter Registration & Turnout, on National Voter Registration Day: What Texas voters need to know before the midterms.
🗳️ Registering voters is a great way to volunteer with LWVAA. Find opportunities to register voters before October 5, the last day to register to vote in the November 3 midterm election.
Are you a Volunteer Deputy Registrar (VDR)? Yes? Then sign up for a shift below. No? Then become one today! Visit our calendar to sign up for a volunteer shift. We set up the events and provide support and materials. You just have to sign up and show up!
Sept. 25
Sept. 26
Sept. 27
Oct. 2
Oct. 3
Oct. 4
Oct. 5
🎉 Last Day to register to vote for the November 3 midterm election 🎉
Email our Voters Service team to learn more about sharing your time and talents with LWVAA.
Train to safeguard the November elections!
🗳️ Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays in September and October. The League of Women Voters, a proud member of the Election Protection coalition, encourages members to sign up for poll monitor training led by Common Cause. The Election Protection program and its volunteers make sure eligible voters know how to cast their ballots and ensure they are counted. All poll monitor volunteers must attend one training session. Register for a session today!
🗳️ Support First Vote! before the October 5 deadline! 📚
🚌 We need LWVAA volunteers to help to reach first-time high school voters before the October 5 registration deadline!
Sept. 22
Sept. 23
Sept. 24
First Vote! Data Entry and Kit Restocking - RSVP
First Vote! Weiss HS
Sept. 25
Sept. 27
First Vote! Data Entry and Kit Restocking - RSVP
Check our calendar to find more opportunities to help our First Vote! team. Contact Susana Carranza, First Vote! Chair, to learn more.
Young Voter Power Initiative
🇺🇸 Are you age18-30? Apply for the national League's Young Voter Power Initiative (YVPI), a program dedicated to building a pipeline of young civic leaders nationwide. Participants in YVPI will gain experience and skills in advocacy, organizing, and community work, and prepare themselves to make a difference in the nonpartisan democracy space as we head into a critical period in our nation’s history. |  | Help LWVAA get out the vote for the midterms!
Address postcards to help turn out the vote for the November 3 general election. LWVAA will provide pre-printed cards, pens, address lists, and postage. Drop by the League office -- and bring a friend!
Want to work at home or host a postcard party for your friends or civic group? Swing by and pick up supplies!
|
LWVAA maintains an online event calendar for meetings, trainings, voter outreach, and registration opportunities.
| Volunteers needed for City of Austin candidate forums
The League will be moderating five candidate forums in September and October, and we need our members to help everything run smoothly. Log in to our website, then click one of the links below to sign up for a shift:
New to volunteering or to candidate forums? Don't worry -- Pam Bixby, our Candidate Forum Chair, will guide you every step of the way! Email Pam if you have any questions about candidate forums.
Volunteer or show up for the fun at Paws to the Polls!
🐾 Our last Paws to the Polls event will be on Tuesday, September 22, and we need you!
📆 Tuesday, September 22
🕰️ 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
📍 Austin Community College Highland Campus, 6101 Highland Campus Drive
Volunteer slots are still open: setting up, cleaning up, and helping with kids' activities. Set-up starts at 9:30 a.m. and clean-up starts at 1:00 p.m. LWVAA Members, log in and volunteer here. We hope to see you there! | Midterm Election
🗳️ Read Hear from Austin City Council candidates at 5 public panels - Ben Thompson, Community Impact
Public Health
❤️🩹 Read Travis County approves Central Health budget, tax increase to support mental health initiatives - Olivia Aldridge, KUT News
Read City Council Punts Contract Debate While OK’ing Widely Approved Investments / Infrastructure, affordable housing, and social services get a shot in the arm - Brant Bingamon, Austin Chronicle
Public Schools
🏫 Read Austin ISD launches new dashboard tracking turnaround plan progress - Jessica Mclaren, Community Impact
Open Government
Read Sunshine day: Government disclosure experts to meet – openly – in Austin - Shelby Ligon, Austin Free Press |
❤️🩹 Read Central Health approves $54M for mental healthcare
Jessica Mclaren, Community Impact
Travis County Commissioners Court approved Central Health's fiscal year 2026-27 budget Sept. 15, committing a historic $54 million in new mental health investments. The $650 million operating budget directs $127.5 million total toward crisis and recovery care services, funding new psychiatric beds, a mental health crisis center and expanded treatment access across the county.
⚡ Read Short circuit: New Austin data center leaves council members with questions
Piper Guinn, Austin Free Press
The former 3M facility in Northwest Austin is getting a potential data center makeover that appears to bypass efforts by Gov. Greg Abbott and the Austin City Council to pump the brakes on these resource-intensive facilities...the new Cosmos Technology Campus spans 1 million square feet. It will host up to 50 megawatts of critical IT capacity at peak use, including “data centers,” according to a securities filing by parent company SB Energy.
⚡ Read New Project Cosmos details emerge as northwest Austin neighbors press for answers
Allison Hill, KVUE News
SB Energy and Austin officials addressed questions about what’s being built at the former 3M campus and its potential impact on water and power. The town hall brought together residents, SB Energy representatives and local officials to address questions surrounding the project off River Place Boulevard, including its expected water and electricity needs.
⚡ Read Gov. Greg Abbott orders Texas water agency to penalize data centers that don’t report their water usage
Alejandra Martinez, The Texas Tribune
Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Water Development Board, the state agency tasked with overseeing the state’s water planning process, to penalize data centers that do not report their water usage. The directive comes as Texas grapples with rapidly growing demand for water from data centers and other large industrial users — and as few as 28% of data centers have responded to a state-mandated water usage survey in the last three years.
⚡ Read Paxton says his office is investigating proposed data center on deeded parkland in Taylor
Kailey Hunt, KUT News
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Thursday that he is investigating the proposed development of an AI data center in Taylor. He said the land for the development was conveyed more than 25 years ago for use as public parkland in the future.
Contact Jazmine Cuellar, Advocacy Director, to get involved.
| Upcoming League & community events
Oct. 2
AFS Cinema: First They Came for My College - Tickets (discount code LWV4)
Oct. 3
AFS Cinema: First They Came for My College - Tickets (discount code LWV4)
History Surrounds: Explore Austin history - RSVP
City of Pflugerville: Howl-O-Ween! - Info
Oct. 5
Official screening: The Librarians - Tickets
ACC Riverbat Bash Northridge - Info
| If you've read this far, it must be worth it.
Share the LWVAA Weekly VOTER with your friends!
| Students loved practicing on a realTravis County voting machine at the PAWS to the Polls Civic Futures event.
| | 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. | |