LWV-Wake Update 10/13/2025 | Welcome back to your exclusive, bi-weekly newsletter of the League of Women Voters of Wake County. If someone forwarded this to you and you'd like to become a member, or are interested in learning more, just click here. | |
LWV-Wake President Gaye Williams sent a message last week to call on members to stand up for democracy during this critical time resulting in what the LWV US has now declared a Constitutional Crisis. On Saturday, October 18, LWV-Wake members will join peaceful “No Kings” demonstrations in Cary, Raleigh, and Wake Forest, alongside League of Women Voter members and citizens across the country.
Members are encouraged to sign up to participate HERE or connect with others before the march here: Meetup for NoKings. Those who prefer other forms of engagement can find other ways to engage on our website on the DAY OF ACTION - 10/18/2025 page.
Together, we defend democracy—nonpartisan, but never neutral. | |
The League of Women Voters sponsored several virtual Candidate Forums. for 2025. These presentations are now available on our YouTube channel. You can use the QR code above or click on the links provided here:
Thank you to our moderators and event organizers and members who made it possible for us to hold these forums and make them available to the community. |  | |
Looking for a few more volunteers to help with placing yard signs.
Can you help in Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs, or Zebulon? We are placing Vote411 signs in mid-October, close to the time that early voting starts. We have 8 of the towns covered and just need 3 more volunteers to help place, monitor, and remove signs. If you can cover Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs, or Zebulon, find all the details and sign-up on our Volunteer page: Vote411 Yard Signs in Wake County Municipalities.
Many thanks to all of the volunteers who have stepped up to support elections this year.
THANK YOU! |  | Have you heard of the LWV Observer Corp?
Consider logging into the statewide Observer Corp (OC) virtual meeting on Tuesday Oct 14th at 7pm.
Different from the existing and very important Board of Elections Monitoring Program, OC is a long standing program of the League of Women Voters to observer many different boards and commissions, depending on your area of interest. It is a great way for new members to become involved, help our League stay attuned to what is going on in our community, and build partnerships with other non-partisan groups.
Register in advance for this meeting. |  | |
Join us for a warm and welcoming Open House hosted by our Membership Committee at our new League of Women Voters of Wake County office! We’re excited to open our doors and show you around our updated space — a fresh start for continued impact.
Whether you’ve been with us for years or just joined, this is a perfect chance to connect with fellow members, meet our leadership team, and learn more about the work ahead. Light refreshments will be served, and there will be opportunities to get involved, ask questions, and celebrate our growing community. This is a drop-in event, so come for just a few minutes or the full time. While registration is not required, doing so will guide us in assuring we provide enough food. Come and see where the future of the League begins - we can't wait to welcome you!
Thursday, October 23, 2025 5:00pm to 7:00pm
Light refreshments served.
Register on the LWV-Wake calendar
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Come join LWV members for an important Timely Topic with our featured guests: Shadonna Headen and Rebecca Cerese.
This presentation will provide an overview of the Federal changes to Medicaid and SNAP, the impact of these changes in North Carolina, key decisions that the North Carolina General Assembly is facing, timelines for decisions, and actions League members can take in response to decisions that must be made.
Registrants are encouraged to bring their own lunch.
Highland United Methodist Church
1901 Ridge Rd
Raleigh, NC 27607
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Join LWV-Members for an After-Work (or Pre-Dinner) Meet and Chat in North Raleigh!
Meet other members of LWV-Wake for a casual evening at Vinos Finos Tapas and Wine Bar in Lafayette Village on Tuesday, November 11, from 5:00–7:00 p.m.
Drop in whenever it fits your schedule—there’s no formal program, just good conversation and an opportunity to connect with fellow members. You’ll also have a chance to hear briefly from LWV-Wake President Gaye Williams, who will share highlights and lessons from her first year leading our League.
Vinos Finos offers a wonderful selection of wines by the glass, along with beer, soft drinks, and delicious tapas. Come enjoy a relaxed evening of connection and community!
No sign-up is needed, but if you do register, you will receive text reminders. As always, friends are welcome. For your GPS: Lafayette Village Shopping Center is located at 8450 Honeycutt Rd.
Questions? email Pauline Houlden at paulinehoulden82@gmail.com Hope to see you there!
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The LWVNC sent a message to urge every member to take action now by submitting a public comment to the EAC by October 20. A strong volume of public feedback will demonstrate that voters across the country are paying attention and will not accept regulatory changes that undermine access to the ballot. This proposal is still under review—and public input can make a real difference in stopping restrictive rules before they reach polling places in any state. Read more here. |  |
As an all-volunteer organization, our work is largely achieved through Committees. Investing your time here is a great way to learn about the work of our League and meet other active League members. You can review our online calendar anytime for upcoming meetings and other events happening every month.
This Saturday, October 25, 2025, 7:30 AM until 12:00 PM we have a Voter Outreach event at the Apex Farmer's Market. Apex is an early voting site and Oct 25th is the first day of early voting at that location. This is a great opportunity to encourage Wake County voters to turn out and take advantage of Same Day registration if they aren't yet registered.
See more Events and Upcoming Meetings and register online. To learn more about LWV-Wake’s current committees or to email a chair/co-chair, go to our Our Work page.
|  | | ACTION ALERT HB192 Defund Planned Parenthood Bill
On September 22nd the NC Senate Appropriations Committee met to vote on a rewrite of HB192. The bill which was passed by the House originally addressed teacher pay raises. Those raises were gutted and replaced by an attempt to defund Planned Parenthood (PP) by prohibiting them from being an approved provider of Medicaid services. They would need to immediately cease providing services and would no longer be reimbursed by any Medicaid funds.
This prohibition was paired with a section in the bill on healthcare cost transparency. It would recognize a patient’s right to a good faith estimate for electable services at least three days in advance. But this benefit does not compensate for all the harm that would be done to maternal healthcare.
Many people spoke against the bill, but it was accepted without changes and instead of going to the Rules Committee it went straight to the floor of the Senate where it was passed. Because the House has not seen this version of H192 (which was supposed to increase teacher salaries) it will go back to the House for review.
In other states, this type of harassment is closing down PP. As of 10/1 Planned Parenthood closes Louisiana clinics after 40 years due to financial and political pressure. Planned Parenthood cites relentless political pressure and funding cuts for Closing two Louisiana clinics that served over 10,600 patients last year, ending 40 years of care in the state.
ACTION Alert: Contact your representatives, especially in the NC House to vote against this bill that will worsen the maternal healthcare deserts in our state where as many as 26 counties have no OB-GYN, when Medicaid funds from the federal government have already been cut to our state, and defunding Planned Parenthood will only make our maternal and infant mortality rates worse than they already are.
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The Membership Committee invites you come find out more about the LWV-Wake at an upcoming event.
Before our Meet and Chat from 1pm-3pm, all LWV-Wake members are invited to attend the Membership Committee meeting at the Turkish Coffee Lady from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM on Thursday, October 23rd. For more information and to register, please visit the Membership Committee Meeting event on the LWV-Wake website. Registration is required.
The Membership Committee is hosting a potluck brunch in central Cary on Saturday, November 1st, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with other members in a relaxed home setting, enjoying stimulating conversation and good food. Any member may attend. Spaces are limited, so please register as soon as possible on the Potluck Brunch event on the LWV-WC calendar.
To renew your membership visit the Join page on our website and click "Join and Renew" to access the renewal portal on LWV.org. If you'd like to make an additional contribution to LWV-Wake, there is an opportunity to do so in the renewal process. Please note that your credit card will only be retained in the lwv.org system if you sign up for automatic renewals. Thank you for your support!
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LWV-Wake Environment Committee Update
Members Bobbi Mullins and Marcee Silver have been researching the problem of increasing light pollution in urban areas. The impetus for Bobbi came last December, when an annoyingly bright light was installed in a street lamp that shone directly into her bedroom. Bobbi has been trying to get it changed by working with her HOA, the City of Raleigh, and Duke Energy: no small task! Bobbi has learned a lot about the benefits of installing shields on street lamps and using low-wattage amber bulbs.
Bright street lights are also bad for birds. Bobbi and Marcee, who are involved in Audubon NC’s Lights Out North Carolina initiative, are partnering with other community members to make their neighborhoods more bird-friendly by turning off unneeded lights at night, especially during fall and spring migrations. Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh, and Cary have all developed Lights Out policies. This simple practice saves birds from disorientation and deadly collisions, reduces energy usage, saves money, and protects the environment, benefiting wildlife and humans alike.
Bobbi and Marcee encourage LWV-Wake members to create a better nighttime environment by signing a pledge with Lights Out Wake. They also suggest asking faith communities and local businesses to turn off non-essential outdoor lighting. This is one action members can take that will make a difference. Let’s all pitch in together and care for our human and non-human neighbors!
Lights Out NC occurs each fall from September 10 to November 30 and each spring from March 15 to May 31. Turn off unnecessary lights from 11:00 pm to 6:00 am.
| PARTNERSHIP NEWS AND EVENTS |
The ERA-NC Alliance is holding its Annual Meeting on Saturday, November 15 at 10:30 AM. Their guest speaker will be Jeri Burton, who led Nevada NOW's successful campaign for their inclusive state ERA in 2022.
2025 ERA-NC Alliance Annual Meeting
Saturday, November 15 (New date)
10:30 a.m. EST
Virtual meeting on Zoom
| | The City of Raleigh Wants to Hear from You!
Affordable housing, transportation, and environmental initiatives all depend on how city resources are allocated. Make your voice heard by sharing your priorities with the City of Raleigh during the annual budget process.
The schedule has included six in-person listening sessions held across Raleigh. There is a virtual session on Wednesday, October 15th.
To learn more, take the online survey, and to register for an upcoming session, click here. |  | | Media placements help us get our voice heard. And being heard helps us make an impact. You can keep up with LWVUS press coverage at the League of Women's Voters Newsroom.
October 10, 2025: Voters, Civil Rights Groups Seek to Halt DOJ Attempts to Seize Pennsylvania Voter Data League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, Common Cause, and individual PA voters move to intervene in DOJ lawsuit Read more here.
September 30, 2025: Vance Administration’s Unlawful “National Data Banks” That Consolidate Sensitive Personal Information Across Federal Agencies. Read more here
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October 21, 1967 - Thousands of anti-war protesters stormed the Pentagon during a rally against the Vietnam War in Washington, D.C. About 250 were arrested. No shots were fired, but demonstrators were struck with nightsticks and rifle butts.
October 24, 1945 - The United Nations was founded.
October 27, 1787 - The first of 85 Federalist Papers appeared in print in a New York City newspaper. The essays argued for the adoption of the new U.S. Constitution. They were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay.
October 28, 1886 - The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor. The statue was a gift from the people of France commemorating the French-American alliance during the American Revolutionary War. Designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the entire structure stands 300 feet (92.9 meters) tall. The pedestal contains the words: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
|  |  | The League of Women Voters of Wake County is a designated 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization by the IRS. Donations and membership dues are fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. | |