Welcome to the Weekly Voter, your League's Monday Newsletter
Democracy runs on people like us, and every week you'll find ways to help: concrete actions, news worth knowing, and what our chapter is doing across five counties.
Thanks for being here. Let's get to work! |  |  | You probably know these rules, and many of you are working the polls. But friends and neighbors often ask League members, so here’s a quick refresher to help you answer with confidence.
No chatting at the voting booth. Once you’re at a voting station, you can’t talk with other voters, even your spouse at the next machine. If you have a question about the ballot or the machine, ask an election clerk. They’re there to help.
Need help with your ballot? Voters with a disability or who can’t read the ballot may choose a helper, including a spouse or relative. Just tell the clerk at check-in. Your helper fills out a short form and takes an oath, and then can assist you.
Voting for a write-in candidate? In Texas, write-in votes count only for declared write-in candidates. Their names appear on a list posted at your polling place, so check the list first. On the voting machine, choose the write-in option for that race and type the candidate’s name. Don’t worry about perfect spelling: under state law, a vote is counted as long as the voter’s intent is clear. Not sure how? Ask an election clerk.
Put your phone away. In Texas, phones, tablets, smartwatches, and other electronic devices must be put away and out of sight in the room where people vote. No one may take photos or record audio or video within 100 feet of the voting stations, so skip the ballot selfie. If you’ve been using your phone to keep track of your choices, print them out instead. Paper notes are allowed in the voting booth. Our Ballot Worksheet makes it easy.
👉 Print the Ballot Worksheet
A few more reminders: Texas doesn’t allow straight-party voting, so you choose race by race. Leave campaign hats, buttons, and shirts at home. Early voting ends Friday, Oct. 30. On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and anyone in line at 7 p.m. can still vote.
👉 Polling places for all five counties - Voters Guide |  | What’s Happening with the League This Week
📣 A Message from Our State President
“We are making history in Texas,” writes Tae Mi Lee, president of the League of Women Voters of Texas. Counties across the state, including Colorado County right here, are reporting record first-day turnout. Tae Mi thanks League members for their part: “You are directly responsible for contributing to these numbers.” With Election Day almost here, her message is simple: let’s stay focused and keep showing up for voters.
🗳️ Are You Working the Polls? Tell Us!
Many League members are serving as election judges, clerks, and poll workers this election, and we want to thank you! If you’re working early voting or Election Day, or you’d like to serve in a future election, please take a minute to fill out our quick survey. We’d love to recognize our members who are keeping democracy running in our five counties.
👉 Election Volunteer Survey
☕ Save the Date: Gonzales Chamber Chatter, Friday, Nov. 6, 8 a.m.
Our League is hosting Chamber Chatter, a member meet-and-greet at the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce (304 Saint Louis Street). It’s a chance to introduce the League to local business and community leaders and share what we do across our five counties. We’d love to have members there to help welcome guests and talk about the League. More details next week!
👉 Willing to help? Contact Janis Richardson (361-772-3228).
🎨 Coming Soon: Design Colorado County’s Next “I Voted” Sticker!
Our League is partnering with the Colorado County Elections Office and the Live Oak Art Center on a contest to design the “I Voted” sticker voters will receive in 2027 and 2028. Entries open Nov. 9 and are due Dec. 22. In January, all entries go on display at the Live Oak Art Center in Columbus for community voting. Our League will host the reception where the winner is unveiled, along with a display on the history of voting. More details will be coming.
👉 Want to help with the reception or the display? Contact Janice MacBride (979-732-1562).
🐶 Voter Dog Says: Almost Time to Rest
Leave your Voter Dog sign up through Friday, Oct. 30, then take it down and store it for the next election. Spotted a Voter Dog in your neighborhood? Snap a photo and text it to Janis Richardson at 361-772-3228.
🎂 Happy 20th Birthday, VOTE411!
On Tuesday, Oct. 27, the League’s online nonpartisan voter guide turns 20. Millions of voters have used it to look up their polling place and preview their ballot. If you haven’t yet, check yours before you vote, and share the link with someone who’s still deciding.
👉 VOTE411.org
🌟 Help Us Make History: Women Making History, March 14, 2027
Our biggest event of the year is coming up on Sunday, March 14, 2027, and we’re building the volunteer team now. Planning gets underway in earnest after the election, and there’s a role for everyone. You could help spread the word so people nominate remarkable women in the community. You could serve as a judge for the community nominations or the student writing showcase. Or you could lend a hand with organizing, decorating, welcoming guests, or behind-the-scenes work. Raise your hand now, and we’ll be in touch.
👉 Interested? Contact Helen Niesner (512-497-1561).
✍️ Calling All Writers!
Do you enjoy writing? Our League has a small team that regularly writes columns and articles for local newspapers, sharing nonpartisan information about voting, local government, and League issues with readers across our five counties. We’re looking for 1–2 more members to join the team. No experience needed, just an interest in writing and a few hours here and there.
👉 Interested? Contact Janis Richardson (361-772-3228).
🏛️ From Our State League
Save the Date: Lobby Days, Feb. 22–23, 2027. Members of our League have taken part in Lobby Days year after year and always come home inspired. It’s a wonderful chance to see the Legislature up close and make our voices heard. Join League members from across Texas in Austin for advocacy training on Monday, Feb. 22, at the Holiday Inn Midtown, followed by visits with our legislators at the Capitol on Tuesday morning, Feb. 23. The full schedule will be available soon. The LWVTX room block at the hotel is now open for reservations. Want to go as part of our local League team? Let Janis know. We’ll connect about carpooling and room sharing to keep costs down.
👉 Join our team: text Janis at 361-772-3228 or email janis@janisrichardson.com
👉 Reserve a room at the LWVTX rate - Holiday Inn Midtown in Austin
Save the Date: Making Democracy Work® Dinner, Feb. 22, 2027. LWV Texas’s annual dinner will be held at the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, with keynote speaker Joyce Vance. It falls on the first evening of Lobby Days, so it’s easy to make a trip of both. Individual tickets go on sale at the end of October.
👉 Want to go with a group from our League? Let us know: email Janis
Wanted: State Issue Chairs for Health Care and Women’s Health. LWV Texas is looking for members to lead its statewide work on two issues close to our hearts in rural Texas. Training will be provided. If you’re interested, or would like to learn more, contact Yvonne Pelayo, LWVTX Vice President for Advocacy, through the state League office (512-472-1100). |  | Three Things to Do for Democracy This Week
📋 Be the Friend Who Knows What to Do. After this year’s state registration glitches, some voters may get a surprise at check-in: their name isn’t on the list. Most of us will never face that, but a friend, neighbor, or grandchild might. Take five minutes to learn the basics. Anyone whose name doesn’t appear can still cast a provisional ballot, and Votebeat explains how it works in Texas and what to do afterward so the vote counts. Then you’ll be ready to help, or to share the hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE.
👉 Read more - Votebeat
📊 Speak Up on the Census by November 2. The Commerce Department and Census Bureau have proposed counting only U.S. citizens and green card holders when dividing up seats in Congress, leaving out millions of other residents. The League opposes the change and is still pressing for a longer comment period. LWVUS makes it easy to add your voice in a few minutes.
👉 Submit a Comment - LWVUS
🤱 Ask the State to Release the Maternal Mortality Report. The Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee’s report was due Sept. 1 but has been delayed. Texas Impact asks Texans to email the committee, thank them for their work, and urge them to release the report before Dec. 1. You can also call the House Public Health Committee (512-463-0806) and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee (512-463-0360) to ask whether they’ll hold a hearing when it’s out.
👉 Email the committee: MaternalHealth@dshs.texas.gov
👉 Learn more - Texas Impact |  | News from Our Local Papers
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Our Counties Are Turning Out! Colorado County broke its all-time record for first-day early voting on Oct. 19 with 917 ballots. The previous high was 727, set in the November 2020 presidential election. In Fayette County, 702 people voted on day one in La Grange.
— As reported in The Colorado County Citizen and The Fayette County Record
Lavaca County: Hallettsville Council Takes No Action on “Safe Haven” Resolution. At its Oct. 20 meeting, the Hallettsville City Council discussed a resolution declaring the city a Safe Haven City for the Unborn but took no action. The pro-life group Rise Up For Life opposed the resolution because it isn’t enforceable. The group is pressing instead for the binding ordinance it has sought for 20 months, and plans to keep attending council meetings.
— As reported in the Hallettsville Tribune-Herald
DeWitt County: Hospital Board Member Makes Case for Annexation. In letters to The Cuero Record, DeWitt Medical District board member Martin Leske III urges adding Yorktown and Nordheim to the district to broaden its tax base. Any annexation would need two voter-approved elections, and none has been called. He notes the Goliad clinic closes Nov. 13 and warns Yorktown’s clinic could follow if the base doesn’t grow.
— From a letter in The Cuero Record
Fayette County: ICE Partnership Brings Money and Attention. Fayette County has received more than $1 million in federal funding this year through ICE’s 287(g) program, according to the county auditor, and has spent about $652,000. Roughly $260,000 went to salary reimbursements and $392,000 to equipment, including two vehicles and 35 thermal binoculars. The county’s participation came up at an Oct. 15 hearing in Austin held by Democratic members of a U.S. House committee. At Monday’s La Grange ISD board meeting, a resident raised concerns about how immigration enforcement is affecting students and families.
— As reported in The Fayette County Record
Colorado County: Donation Adds a Second Mental Health Deputy. An anonymous donor gave $121,123 to help the Sheriff’s Office add a second deputy dedicated to mental health crises. The county’s first mental health deputy started in 2022 after community fundraising. That deputy’s job is connecting residents in crisis with treatment and support rather than the criminal justice system.
— As reported in The Colorado County Citizen
On Your Ballot: Local Measures in Colorado, Fayette & Lavaca Counties.
Weimar ISD: Voters will decide two bonds totaling $15 million. Prop A ($12 million) covers career and technical education, a new gym, band space, and campus upgrades. Prop B ($3 million) covers athletic facilities. The ballot will call them a tax increase, as state law requires, but the district says it can repay them without raising its tax rate. After community feedback, the district dropped plans to replace the historic Veterans Park grandstands. The district reaches into parts of Fayette and Lavaca counties. A drop-in Q&A is Wed., Oct. 28, 5–7 p.m., at the WISD Cafetorium.
City of Schulenburg: Prop A would let the city issue up to $8 million in certificates of obligation for City Hall and police station renovations and water and sewer improvements. The ballot language notes it is a tax increase.
— As reported in The Colorado County Citizen and The Schulenburg Sticker |  | Sharing a Few Headlines Worth Your Attention This Week
Appeals Court: Immigrants in ICE Custody Have No Right to Bond. On Friday, the full 5th Circuit ruled 10–7 that immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally can be held without a bond hearing during deportation proceedings, even if they’ve lived here for decades. The ruling covers Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The Department of Homeland Security called it a “big win.” The dissent called it an “impenetrable wall” between the Constitution and long-term residents. The Supreme Court will hear a similar case.
👉 Read more - Texas Tribune
Justice Department Sues to Stop California From Counting 20,000 Mail Ballots. The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to block California from counting mail ballots from more than 20,000 voters it says are likely noncitizens. California’s Secretary of State called the demand “unprecedented” and said the government’s method for identifying noncitizens can’t be verified. Ballots had already been mailed.
👉 Read more - NPR
Judges Keep Rejecting DOJ Demands for State Voter Rolls. Since September 2025, the Justice Department has sued 30 states and Washington, D.C., to demand their unredacted voter rolls. Every one of the 26 judges to rule so far has thrown the lawsuits out, including eight appointed by President Trump and four by President George W. Bush. The administration is appealing and has said it may take the fight to the Supreme Court.
👉 Read more - ProPublica
Federal Prosecutor Warns Texas Voters as Early Voting Opens. Aaron Reitz, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, announced plans to monitor polling places and investigate credible allegations of federal election law violations, warning he would “hunt down” violators. He noted that his district election officers “are not armed agents; they’re lawyers.” Eligible voters can vote as usual. Problems? Call 866-OUR-VOTE.
👉 Read more - Houston Chronicle |  | New on the League Leaders Blog: What Would I Have Done? Now I Know
All her life, co-president Janis Richardson has wondered what her German immigrant family would have done if they had stayed in Germany into the 1930s. Then she drove past a roadside stop here in Lavaca County and found her answer. Her new post is a personal reflection on looking away, and on what we owe our neighbors.
👉 Read the post - League Leaders Blog |  | For When You Have a Little More Time
Join: What to Expect on Election Day and Beyond – Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2 p.m. Central
What’s normal on Election Day, and what isn’t? The cross-partisan National Task Force on Election Crises hosts a free webinar walking through each stage, from the moment polls open to the certification of results. Former Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson moderates a panel with David Becker of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, Republican election lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg of Stanford’s Hoover Institution, and Jennifer Morell of The Elections Group. Bring your questions.
👉 Register - National Task Force on Election Crises
Read or Watch: The War for the Rio Grande
Texas Monthly writer Jack Herrera spent seven months following the Rio Grande 1,900 miles, from the Colorado mountains to the Gulf. His story shows how drought, heavy farm use, and a strained 1944 water treaty with Mexico have pushed the river toward collapse, putting drinking water at risk for millions on both sides of the border. A 22-minute companion documentary airs on PBS, and the story is also available in Spanish.
👉 Read - Texas Monthly |  | Young Artists, Big Civic Pride
If you’ve voted in Lavaca County this fall, you’re wearing a student’s artwork! Sweet Home School students Ryan Rogers and Scarlett Jaquez won the county’s latest sticker contest. Ryan designed the “I Voted” sticker as a seventh-grader, and Scarlett designed the “Future Voter” sticker as a fourth-grader.
Other Texas counties celebrate student artists too.
👉 See Williamson County's student stickers
👉 See El Paso County's student stickers
Next up: Colorado County's "I Voted" Sticker Contest, opening Nov. 9! | 💬 Read It? Skip It? Tell Us!
Haven’t taken our 3-minute newsletter survey yet? There’s still time. Your input will help make this better!
👉 Take the Survey | League of Women Voters of South Central Texas
PO Box 78, Hallettsville, TX 77964
361.772.3228
lwvsouthcentraltx.org
lwvsouthcentraltx@gmail.com | |