LWV-Wake Update 10/27/2025 | 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. |  | |
Your Voice Matters—Make a Plan to Vote!
Wake County residents, outside of Raleigh, your local election is happening now. Take time to learn where the candidates stand that will shape your community’s future. Visit Vote411.org to explore the nonpartisan voters’ guide and hear directly from candidates before you cast your vote. LWV-Wake members volunteer as Poll Workers each election cycle. Poll workers play a vital role in ensuring that every voter—including those with disabilities, those needing language assistance, and those voting in person—has a smooth and fair experience at the polls.
It’s never too early, or too late to take action for democracy. Vote early, stay informed, and help others do the same.
LWV-Wake has many ways for members to be involved. You can invest a small amount of time and make an impact. Attending events and exploring our committees are two easy ways to discover ways to engage with the League. Each newsletter highlights just a few events we have coming up. Our calendar gives you more choices of committee meetings and events to attend. See if there is something for you this month. Events
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VOTE411.org is live. You can visit the site, plug in your address, and see the races on your ballot and get the 411 on candidates running. Click here to find out. The League thanks Sandy Hutchinson for leading a robust volunteer effort in support of Vote411 activities. And, we join Sandy in thanking the the following volunteers who personally contacted Wake County candidates to encourage and/or facilitate their participation on our online voter guide: Suzanne Botts, Kristen Howard, Judy Shneider, Joyce Pollack, Fiona Susie, Liz Bryant, Kenille Baumgardner, Dagmar Kauffman, and Mary Jane Slipsky. And, also a thank you also to these volunteers who took signs to Wake County municipalities where elections are taking place:
Diane Simmons, Terri Ring, Mary Ellen Anderson, Judy Schneider, Ruth Balton, Fiona Susie, Liz Bryant, Kenille Baumgardner, and Dagmar Kauffman.
|  | | The League of Women Voter's sponsored an in-person candidate forum on October 9th. The VIDEO for this is now available on our YouTube site along with the forums we shared last week:
Apex Town Council
| | Come join LWV members on October 30th 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
| Take advantage of this chance to get acquainted in a member's home, with stimulating conversation and good food. Any member may attend. It's a great way to connect and learn what has drawn others to join, especially if you're new.
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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!
|  | | 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. A few events coming up soon:
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 4:30 PM until 5:30 PM: The Environment Committee will be meeting 4:30 PM until 5:30 PM
Thursday, October 30, 2025, 12:00 PM until 1:30 PM: Timely Topics The Impact of Federal Medicaid and SNAP Changes in North Carolina
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. |  |
The Rising Demand for Civic Education
In recent years, there's been a growing push to better educate citizens about how government works and the role each person plays in a democracy. This renewed focus stems from civic knowledge gaps, political polarization, misinformation, low voter turnout, and global threats to democracy. Increased support for civic education is widespread, coming from educators, nonprofits, policymakers, communities, and even national figures. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, for example, has recently highlighted the vital role of civic education in preserving and strengthening American democracy.
Now that the Civic Education Resources are in place on the LWV WAKE Civics Education page the Civic Education Committee is looking for ways to engage our community with these resources. If you are interested in helping with this work, please join us! We meet on the second Monday of the month at 10:30 AM.
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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!
Join, Renew, Invite friends to join.
| | Are you looking to help the League where you live? The Affordable Housing Committee is looking for volunteers who will keep abreast of affordable housing issues and related rezoning cases in their municipalities. Gathering this information is critical and we cannot do it alone. More information is available online. Connect with us- we need you!
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A big thank you to the Membership Committee for hosting the Open House and to everyone who attended the LWV-Wake Open House! It was wonderful to see new and established members. An additional thank you to the Committee co-chairs (or representatives) who were able to join us; it is always good to hear what is going on around the chapter!
| PARTNERSHIP NEWS AND EVENTS | North Carolina, with an engaged LWV-Wake showed up in force on October 18th for the No Kings rally, calling for action to save our democracy.
| Dianna Wynn, president LWVUS, joined Wake Co. Public Schools: Chris Haggerty (Chair) and Tyler Swanson (Vice chair); Common Defense: Ted Spencer (Board member of NC Common Defense); Indivisible: Steve Glass (one of the Event organizers) for a press conference at the Cary No Kings Event. |
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
|  | | 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.
Your membership and donations to LWV support fees for legal services when legal action is determined necessary. Defending Voter Access is currently in Federal Court. Below is some of the media coverage.
October 14: Civil rights groups head to trial to challenge SB 747’s ‘undeliverable mail’ provision
The battle over an omnibus North Carolina elections law passed in 2023 returns to federal court next week. Civil rights groups say the legislation impedes the rights of young people to register to vote and have their ballots counted when using same-day registration during the early voting period. Read More
October 15: League of Women Voters of North Carolina Returns to Federal Court to Defend Voter Access
The League of Women Voters of North Carolina (LWVNC) will be back in federal court on October 20 in Winston-Salem challenging a key provision of North Carolina's 2023 elections law, Senate Bill 747. Read More
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October 14, 1964 - Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He donated the $54,000 in prize money to the Civil Rights movement.
October 28, 1949 - Helen Anderson became the first woman ambassador, appointed by President Harry Truman to be Ambassador to Denmark.
| 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. | |