Greetings,
Our commitment to educate and advocate across the state on voting no to the constitutional amendment vote in August was successful! Many thanks to our informed voters for their diligence in lifting their voices for the benefit of our state.
And as if the voting process on the constitutional amendment in August wasn’t enough, we are now facing another constitutional amendment vote for the general election in November to vote on the Kansas Citizenship Voting Requirement. The LWVK board has adopted the position of voting no and the LWVTSC has adopted the position of voting no, offering further clarification for members.
Handouts will be provided as well as an opportunity to hear more on the constitutional amendment from guest speakers.
Speaking of speakers, our September Tuesday Topics speaker will be Marisa O’Gara. She will present on the upcoming Constitutional amendment. You will want to be in attendance for this session so that you have the information needed to make an informed decision. We look forward to seeing you.
Sarah Tucker provided us with a whirlwind of historical information on Kansas women in politics. We could have certainly had an extended session on this topic. Thank you Sarah for sharing such interesting information with our members.
A shout out to all our members who engaged in their civic duty by working the polls on August 4. We appreciate you and all that you do. Thank you!!
Get ready for our next Candidate Meet and Greet forum. It will be held on September 16, 2026…. The day after the National Voter Registration Day. Mark your calendars and plan to join us.
Reminder: New bills passed during the 2026 legislative session became effective on July 1, 2026. Here is a link provided by KSNT on the bills passed:
https://www.ksnt.com/capitol-bureau/what-new-laws-take-effect-in-kansas-on-july-1-2026/amp/
Day of Civic Action
We had a successful day of action with two different events on August 1, 2026. We partnered with Berryton United Methodist Church during their community day and league members canvassed the RockFire neighborhood talking with and dropping off voting guide literature to 106 residents. Many thanks to our members who played a role in supporting the Day of Action.
Remember… you are needed! Below are areas we can use your support. Please consider your time and let us know if you can help us help make this organization grow. All persons considered must be members of the league.
Young Adults Advocacy Initiative, now known as our Civic Engagement Academy
We were successful in receiving a $3,000 grant from the LWVK to help with the start up of this Academy. If you have skills or hobbies that include mentoring, teaching, debate, public speaking, research, legislative advocacy, social media and/ or tech marketing, this committee is for you! This role is very important in including our young adults in civic engagement while promoting the work of our organization. We will start recruiting efforts in September.
Financial Mentee
A Financial mentee position is available for someone interested in shadowing the treasurer and learning about managing, overseeing and safeguarding the organization’s financial operations as part of a succession planning strategy.
Voter Services Team co- chairs
This is an awesome opportunity for you and a friend to work together to get the community engaged in voter experiences. We already have established members that work with naturalization services, school networking, and we need more connections with community tabling events and coordination with our volunteer system, POINT. New members: This is a great opportunity to get involved in community fun while helping to inform voters. It’s a win-win!!
Our lifeblood – you!
Our calls continue to reach out to you – our members. If you know anyone who would be a great fit for our organization, please forward them our contact information. In addition, we continue to send invitation letters to non-partisan organizations and individuals encouraging them to join us in defending and strengthening democracy, definitely a task where we continue to need all hands on deck.
We are up to 174 in our membership ! We are continuing to support our student members who are interested in renewing by paying ½ of their membership as scholarships. It is vital to our organization to keep our students engaged in democracy through our organization!
Welcome to our New members! Brooke, Charlotte, Kathy, Patricia, and Vivianne We are glad you have joined us and we look forward to working with you!
Thank you to our renewing members: We appreciate all you do! Let’s get busy!!
Legislative Action
Here is a link to the Election Committee site. This is how you can help:
- Access this site weekly to determine progress
- Watch for our Legislative Action Alerts
- Sign up to be a testimonial writer
- Sign up to be an observer
- Sign up to be a member speaker
- If interested in signing up, please contact me at President@lwvtsc.org
- Watch or participate in committee meetings on kslegislature.org
Consider joining our LWVUS Unite & Rise 8.5 effort which aims to build a movement of 8.5 million individuals to unite and rise against the anti- democratic actions of this administration. Go to LWV.org to sign up!
Let’s get to the POINT!
Feel free to continue to connect with our voter services team! Things are gearing up and this is a great time to get on board and express your interest in participating. Join them on the POINT application and get in on the experience! They are outreaching to the community providing education on registration and voting. Below is the link to volunteer for our events.
💜💜Your board members are always available to answer questions and help you move the League’s mission forward. Feel free to reach out!
Remember as we work to protect democracy, Teamwork makes the dream work!
Best regards,
Dr. Glenda Overstreet Vaughn, President
Community Connections
Remember: If you have a community group interested in learning about the recent proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution, which eliminates the merit selection of Supreme Court Justices, please reach out to the League and we will connect you with a resource to come make presentations to your group(s).
Legislative Session Resource. I encourage you to contact members of the Shawnee County legislative delegation, by phone or email, regarding proposed or passed legislation. Included below is their Statehouse contact information.
- Sen. Brenda Dietrich Room #223-E 785.296.7648Brenda.Dietrich@senate.ks.gov
- Sen. Rick Kloos Room # 418-E 785.296.7645Rick.Kloos@senate.ks.gov
- Sen. Patrick Schmidt Room #135-E 785.296-7372 Patrick.Schmidt@senate.ks.gov
- Sen. Kenny Titus Room #124-E 785.296.7656Kenny.Titus@senate.ks.gov
- Rep. John Alcala Room #173-W 785.296-7371 John.Alcala@house.ks.gov
- Rep. Jesse Borjon Room #512-N 785.296.7374Jesse.borjon@house.ks.gov
- Rep. Ken Corbett Room #187-N 785.296-7679 ken.corbet@house.ks.gov
- Rep. Kirk Haskins Room #43-S 785.296.7673Kirk.Haskins@house.ks.gov
- Rep. Kyle McNorton Room #561-W 785.296.7460Kyle.McNorton@house.ks.gov
- Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen 785.296.7669 Room #174-W Tobias.Schlingensiepen@house.ks.gov
- Rep. Alexis Simmons Room #43-S 785.296.7632Alexis.Simmons@house.ks.gov
- Rep. Virgil Weigel Room #451-S 785.296.7104virgil.weigel@house.ks.gov
Furthermore, you may access the Kansas Legislative website at http://kslegislature.gov to review bill status and content, house and senate calendars and committee schedules. Through this website you may listen to or via video streaming follow committee hearings and General Session proceedings.
An additional resource is the State Library. You may access their services in the following ways:
- Phone:800-432-3919 or 785-296-2149
- Legislative Hotline: 800-432-3924
- Email: infodesk@ks.gov
- Download the Ask a Librarian app to your mobile device.
