LWV-Wake Update 3/16/2026 | 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. |
March is Women’s History Month. The National Women's History Alliance (NWHA) theme for 2026 is “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future.” This theme honors the women who have and are reimagining and rebuilding systems to ensure long-term sustainability - environmental, economic, educational and societal.
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FINAL DAY TO COMMENT: Monday, March 16th is your last day to add your public comment on proposed Voter Role changes.
League of Women Voters of North Carolina has joined with Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Common Cause NC, and the Fair Elections Center to submit public comment to the North Carolina State Board of Elections raising concerns about proposed rules governing voter roll maintenance and the use of the federal SAVE database to verify citizenship. While supporting accurate voter lists, the coalition warned that reliance on error-prone data, vague standards, and insufficient safeguards could result in eligible voters being wrongly challenged or removed. The letter urges stronger protections, clearer due process, and safeguards against improper removals—especially close to elections—and encourages members to submit their own comments before the March 16 deadline. Learn more, including talking points to provide your own public comment visit the LWVNC portal. | Join with our Voter Services team on St. Patrick's Day, March 17th, 4:30-6:30, for conversation and idea sharing. All are welcome (guests too)!
| | Meet members from other local Leagues, share ideas, build your network! March 21st in Durham. Lunch provided. 7 open spots remain.
| | Join us for a Timely Topic on Voter Suppression; March 26th at Noon.
Are you concerned about getting out the vote for the fall elections? Efforts are underway to make it more difficult for US citizens to register to vote, to know where to vote, to vote early, or to vote by mail. These voter suppression tactics are occurring at the federal and state level here in NC and disproportionately affect communities of color, married women, and those that have been affected by natural disasters.
Timely Topics is open to the public. Light refreshments available. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lunch.
| | March 28th NO KINGS RALLY
Join us at a local rally.
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You are cordially invited to League 101, a special event designed to introduce you to the League of Women Voters. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet one another and learn about our organization, activities, and ways you can get involved. We promise an enjoyable and interesting morning in good company. If you have joined LWV-Wake County in the last year, we especially encourage you to attend!
Saturday, April 11, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
League of Women Voters, Wake County Office
1001 Wade Ave., Raleigh, NC 27605
We look forward to seeing you there!!
Karen Ferguson, Celeste Stanley & Kathy Turnowchyk
Membership Committee Members
| Pot Luck Dinner - April 16th 6PM-8PM - Informal opportunity to meet members for some great fun. Register Here
| Meet and Chat: April 22nd, 6-8pm. - Join other League members and friends for cocktails at Hearsay (inside Matthews House) in Cary. Cash Bar 6-8pm. Charcuterie and dessert options are available for purchase. Register here.
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More events:
Affordable Housing - April 24: Julie Paul of the Lotus Campaign will speak to the Affordable Housing Committee about the organization's work in Raleigh.
LWV-Wake Annual Meeting for Members - June 16th, 5:30-7:30 PM at the NCSU University Club.Mark your calendar!
Women's Equality Day Event - August 26th
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The NC Board of Elections recently announced that once its current supply of Voter Registration forms is depleted, it will no longer provide printed forms to third parties for voter registration drives. This will NOT slow down any of our voter registration activity.
We have a good supply of forms now and when we need more, LWV-Wake will have them printed for our outreach events. Third parties may continue to register voters.
|  | | On March 9th the Saxon Flyer arrived in Raleigh!
Pictured above is President Gaye Williams in the Saxon Flyer on the March 9th ERA Driving Tour in Raleigh.
In 1916, suffrage was stalled, just like the Equal Rights Amendment is stalled today. Following in the suffragists’ footsteps, when they toured the US in the same model car, the ERA NOW tour will travel through 25 states to raise awareness and activate supporters as it mobilizes voters and collects petition signatures for the National ERA petition drive.
In partnership with the ERA-NC Alliance, multiple stops are happening in North Carolina before they go onto to other states. On Monday, March 9th they stopped at the Women’s Club of Raleigh so the Mayors of Wendell and Garner and the Mayor Pro Tem of Raleigh, Stormy Forte, could sign the petition.
At each stop, Jeryl Schriever, author of Driving the Vote for Women will tell stories about Alice and Nell’s courageous 1916 journey for women’s right to vote. ERA Champions will speak about their support for and sponsorship of the ERA bills in the N.C. legislature. ERA NOW and ERA-NC Alliance organizers will give updates on the ERA at both the federal and state levels.
Sign the petition if you support of publishing the ERA 28th Amendment written over 100 years ago and ratified in 2020.
| | LWVNC’s 2026 Advocacy Day
We invite you to join fellow League members at the General Assembly for a morning of civic engagement and legislative meetings.
LWVNC Advocacy Day
Theme: Democracy in Action – Your Voice, Your Power
Date: Tuesday, April 28, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Location: Raleigh, NC
All members are encouraged to participate as we advocate for free and fair elections and voting rights during the General Assembly’s short session.
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To assure that every vote for President counts in every election, we urge the North Carolina Legislature to pass the National Popular Vote Bill, moving our state and the nation closer to making every vote count in the United States.
There are more than 500,000 elected offices in the United States. For all but one of them, the candidate with the most votes wins. The one exception is our one national office – the presidency. To sustain a healthy democracy every vote for president should count equally. Count all the votes, every vote equal, whoever receives the most votes wins – this is simple and fair.
Join us! Sign the LWV NC petition to make your voice heard.
This is open to non-Leaguers, so please share this link with your networks.
Sponsored by the League of Women Voters of North Carolina.
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| Visit the LWV-NC news page to read about the LWV work across the State of North Carolina. | LWVUS Sends Letter to Senate Opposing the SAVE Act
LWVUS sent a letter to the US Senate urging members to oppose the SAVE Act, which would require citizenship documentation to register to vote despite the fact that voters in every state are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering. CLICK FOR MORE | Learn more about our national organization VISIT SITE | Action Alert: Tell Congress Federal Immigration Enforcement Has Gone Too Far
We join LWVUS and LWVNC in this ACTION ALERT regarding escalating federal immigration enforcement actions that violate constitutional rights and undermine democratic accountability. At its core, this issue is not about immigration policy—it is about the protection of constitutional rights, the rule of law, and the principle that no government agency is above accountability. The use of intimidation, surveillance, and lethal force against people exercising their First Amendment rights threatens the foundations of our democracy and demands congressional oversight. The League has a long history of defending civil liberties and civic participation. When constitutional rights are eroded anywhere, they are weakened everywhere. Add your voice by using the LWVUS action tool to contact Congress and demand transparency, investigation, and accountability.
| TUNE IN: EQUAL MEANS EQUAL V. TRUMP HEARING. Registration will open soon for the March 24th, 2pm livestream. (rescheduled from Dec 16) WATCH a 6 minute review of the case. | | Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs), which are unlicensed, non-medical Pregnancy Centers, are receiving $19 MILLION in NC state funding with little oversight or accountability. This is taxpayer money meant for legitimate reproductive healthcare.
They are NOT healthcare clinics.
They are NOT regulated or under HIPPA.
They DON’T provide prenatal care.
They MISLEAD people about birth control.
Yet They are NOT audited!
Oversight and regulation are necessary to ensure that taxpayer money is being spent on legitimate licensed and regulated healthcare clinics.
By signing this petition, you request the State Auditor to immediately initiate an audit of all NC’s unlicensed, non-medical pregnancy centers.
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In Memoriam: Jack Clark
We remember LWV-Wake member Jack, who passed away on March 4, as a dedicated defender of democracy and a compassionate advocate for others. A good-hearted, kind, and generous man, Jack stood up for voters’ rights as a named plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s two-witness absentee ballot requirement during COVID-19 while he himself was battling lung cancer. A Moral Monday arrestee, he lived his values—and even in death continued to give by donating his body to Duke Medical School in the hope that what doctors learn from his survival through five cancers may help others. His infectious smile and quick wit will be deeply missed.
Our thoughts are with his wife, Retta Riordan, Co-Chair of our Healthcare Committee. Members who wish to send their sympathies may contact Gaye Williams to obtain Retta’s mailing address.
|  |  | 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. | |