| It's Constitution Week! The Constitution signed in Philadelphia in 1787 didn't settle who could vote. That took the 15th and 19th Amendments, decades apart, and, for Native Americans, not until citizenship in 1924, and in some states not until decades later. Even then, it took the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to put real enforcement behind those promises.
Knowing that history starts with knowing the basics, and a new Annenberg Public Policy Center survey suggests we have homework to do: about a third of Americans can't name the three branches of government, and only freedom of speech was named by more than half of respondents when asked about the First Amendment. Constitution Week (Sept. 17-23) is a good moment to remember that voting rights were built, not given, and that work isn't finished.
|  |  | Celebrate! A Win for Vote by Mail!
In a major win for voting rights, election integrity and democracy, the US Supreme Court left in place a preliminary injunction that blocks the US Postal Service (USPS) from enforcing key parts of a new rule that would have significantly restricted mail voting and disenfranchised voters who rely on mail ballots. The preliminary injunction will remain in place through the November 3 election.
The injunction stems from a lawsuit filed by a coalition of nonpartisan voter service and civic organizations: the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, League of Women Voters of the United States, Association of Americans Resident Overseas, US Vote Foundation, OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. They are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Massachusetts, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, Legal Defense Fund (LDF), Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC and LatinoJustice PRLDEF.
Together, we stopped a major new obstacle to voting before it could take effect. This victory belongs to everyone who believes every voter deserves a voice in our democracy. The lawsuit continues, but for this November, vote by mail in Texas works as it always has.
|  | Three things to do for democracy this week:
Be the Reason Someone Votes Early. You probably have your early voting plan. Now help someone else make theirs. Early voting runs Oct. 19-30, and Texans can vote at any early voting location in their county. Text a friend, family member or neighbor the dates, ask "When will you go?" and offer to go together. Point them to the Texas My Voter Portal for locations or VOTE411.org to preview their ballot. Anyone who has moved has until Oct. 5 to update their registration.
Ask the Governor to Call a Special Session on Data Centers. The League of Women Voters of Texas says data centers are expanding across the state at breakneck speed, straining the power grid, draining scarce water supplies and affecting nearby communities, often with little public input. The League is calling on the governor to convene a special session of the Legislature, including consideration of a moratorium on new large-scale data center permitting until safeguards are in place.
Get to Know the Election Protection Hotline. Check out Election Protection and add 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) to your phone now. It's a free, nonpartisan hotline staffed by trained volunteers who answer questions about registering, voting early and vote by ballots, and who help if people run into a problem at the polls. You can call or text. Share the number with a friend.
|  | County League Member Gatherings Coming Up:
Members in Lavaca, Colorado and Fayette counties are meeting for coffee and lunch to share updates, plan voter outreach and organize Voters Guide delivery. Guests welcome!
- Lavaca County League Member Coffee, Tuesday, September 22, 9:30 am - Shinerville Coffee House (803 N. Avenue D in Shiner)
- Colorado County League Member Lunch Meeting, Thursday, September 24, 12:00 noon - Lamberto's Restaurant in Columbus (616 Walnut St.)
- Fayette County League Member Coffee, Wednesday, September 30, 10:30 am - Kathy Bailey's Home in La Grange. Members: find the address in the Member Directory on our website, or contact Helen or Janis.
👉 Questions? Contact Helen (512-497-1561) or Janis (361-772-3228).
Voter Registration at Cuero High School
Friday, September 25 - 9 am to noon
We have the volunteers we need - thank you!
Voter Registration at Schulenburg High School
Tuesday, September 29 - Morning (specifics tba)
Contact Helen (512-497-1561) for more information or to volunteer.
Voters Guide Processing & Distribution
Friday, October 2 (tentative with place tba)
Voters Guides for the November 3 election will be back from the printer and ready to distribute to area newspapers, libraries and community locations around October 2. We're planning a work day to fold, count and bundle Voters Guides - and then get them on their way to their intended destinations. The date, time and place for our workday will be confirmed once we know when we can pick up the Guides from the printer. Stay tuned!
👉 Candidate info is now live on VOTE411.org and the Voters Guide goes to the printer on September 28! We're almost there.
|  | Heads up: Misleading Voter Registration Mailing
Some residents in our area have received a mailing that looks official but comes from a third party, the Center for Voter Information in Austin, TX. It is addressed to "Current Resident" and has been received by people who are already registered to vote. It includes a voter registration form, already filled in with the recipient's address, and a postage-paid return envelope addressed to the Elections Division of the Texas Secretary of State's P.O. Box.
This is not the standard Texas voter registration application. It asks two extra questions: your political party affiliation and your race or ethnic group. The instructions note that you don't need to register with a party to vote and that the race question can be left blank, but the form itself doesn't mark either question as optional. Neither question appears on the official form.
If you do need to register or update your information:
- Don't use the form in this mailing.
- Use the official form from your County Elections Administrator's office.
- Register by October 5, 2026, the deadline for the November 3 election.
- Return your completed form to your county elections office, not to Austin. Our county elections office reports that forms sent to Austin have been slow to process.
Older voters and new voters may be especially likely to find this mailing confusing, since it looks official and arrives with their address already printed on it. Please share this with friends, family and neighbors, and check in with anyone who might have received it. |  | Sharing a few headlines worth your attention this week:
- Federal Judge Pauses Texas GOP Bid to Close Primaries: On Sept. 18, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk put the Republican Party of Texas's lawsuit on hold until after the 2027 legislative session, so Texas primaries stay open for now. He cited the chance that lawmakers will change the law next year, meaning the question of restricting primaries to party-registered voters may be decided in Austin. 👉 Read more - The Texas Tribune
- Texas Announces Noncitizen Voting Charges — and Confirms Hundreds of Flagged Voters Are Citizens: State and federal officials charged seven people in Tarrant County with voting-related crimes and referred 117 more cases for investigation. The same announcement confirmed that 578 voters previously flagged as potential noncitizens are citizens after all, and county officials have been ordered to reinstate them to the rolls. 👉 Read more - Votebeat Texas
- Civil Rights Groups Sue Over Federal Agents at the Polls: On Sept. 18, the NAACP and eight other groups sued, arguing that deploying armed federal agents near polling places could violate the Voting Rights Act's ban on voter intimidation. A DOJ spokesperson told The Hill the agency has never said it would send federal law enforcement to polling locations. 👉 Read more - UPI | The Hill
- Trust in Elections Slips Across Party Lines: A UC San Diego survey found only 49% of Americans expect a free and fair midterm election, and just 55% are confident votes are counted accurately, down from 77% after 2024. Trust fell among Republicans, Democrats and independents, though their concerns differ. 👉 Read more - KPBS
|  | Listen: The Founders' Guide to Happiness. What did 'the pursuit of happiness' really mean?
Because it's Constitution Week, here's a new twist on the Constitution that the history lovers in our League might enjoy. Start at the beginning of the National Constitution Center's podcast series "Pursuit: The Founders' Guide to Happiness," where host Jeffrey Rosen, scholar Robert P. George and filmmaker Ken Burns explore what the founders really meant by "the pursuit of happiness": becoming a better person and a better citizen. It's the first of 12 episodes, each about a founder and a virtue they worked on, from Franklin and the Adamses to Washington and Frederick Douglass.
|  | | Hill Country Teen Recognized for Protecting the Aquifer
Kaitlyn Tran, 17, a mural artist and founder of Rain Barrels for Runoff, drove hundreds of miles to collect food-factory drums, recruited more than 40 young artists to paint them into rain barrels and raised over $2,500 for local environmental programs. When her city planned a large corporate development on a quarry above the Edwards Aquifer, she taught herself groundwater modeling and took her research to City Council. The council indicated it will likely remove 64 acres from the quarry development, keeping over a million gallons of contaminated runoff a year out of the aquifer. "There's always a want in people to protect what they love," says the national winner of the 2026 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes, who also won a KVUE 5 Who Care award.
Have a great day! See you next week! | | | League of Women Voters of South Central Texas
PO Box 78, Hallettsville, TX 77964
361.772.3228
lwvsouthcentraltx.org
lwvsouthcentraltx@gmail.com
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