News | LWVTSC | League of Women Voters of Topeka-Shawnee County

Posted July 22nd, 2026 by Kristin Hammer & filed under Voter.

Stay up to date on LWV happenings in Topeka and Shawnee County!

Saturday | August 1 from 4:30pm – 6:30 pm | Berryton United Methodist Church
DAY OF CIVIC ACTION: All are invited to join the LWVTSC as we canvas the neighborhood, encourage community members to vote, and honor the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. See more information below.

Saturday | August 1 from 5:00pm – 7:00 pm | Berryton United Methodist Church
Voter Services tabling at Berryton Block Party

Monday | August 3 from 7:30am – 11:30am | Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library
Voter Services tabling at the Monday Farmers Market

Tuesday | August 4 from 7:00am to 7:00pm | Your Shawnee County Polling Location
The 2026 Primary Election!

Tuesday | August 4 from 12:00pm to 1:00pm | Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library Marvin Auditorium
Tuesday Topics: Sara Tucker on “Kansas Women in Politics”

Friday | August 7 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm | First Fridays in NOTO
Voter Services tabling in front of ArtsConnect

Friday | August 14 from 11:00am to 12:00pm | Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, Anton Room 2nd Floor
Book Club – Dark Money, Jane Mayer

For dates of upcoming Voter Education, Voter Registration, Board Meetings, and more, please view the events calendar on our website.

President’s Perspective

The month of July was extremely active for the league. We attended a “field trip” to Constitution Hall, which recently opened. While there, we learned about the history and significance of the history in relation to Bleeding Kansas and the role that Topekans played in writing the Topeka Constitution. The hall offers tours and opportunities for you to engage our community or corporate business in hosting seminars and trainings.

The LWVTSC members and partners hosted a Candidate Meet and Greet forum on July 13. Over 100 were in attendance. We thank the candidates and our partners for their efforts and attendance.

August 1st Day of Civic Action

Our local league is participating in a Day of Civic Action as part of the national LWV initiative to honor the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. Come help us mobilize voters and strengthen democracy!

What: Canvassing to raise awareness of the August 4th Primary Election
Where: Berryton United Methodist Church
When: August 1st from 4:30pm – 6:30pm
RSVP: Sign up on Point, our volunteer platform, to let us know you’re coming!

This Day of Civic Action event coincides with the Berryton Block Party, where our fabulous Voter Services Team will be tabling. Meet us at Berryton United Methodist Church (7010 SE Berryton Rd) to pick up materials and plan out a route.

Construction Detour: Berryton Rd is under construction south of 69th St. Participants should plan to detour to Croco Rd or Topeka Blvd and reconnect to Berryton Rd from the south.

Primary Election Reminders

All registered Kansas voters, regardless of party affiliation, have a primary ballot in 2026 because of the judicial selection constitutional amendment ballot question. LWVTSC Opposes Constitutional Amendment.

Early voting in person at the Shawnee County Election Office:
- July 20 – July 31, 8am to 7pm
- August 3, 8am to 12pm
Advance mail ballots must be requested by July 28
- Return by 7pm on election day, August 4
Election Day is August 4, and polls are open from 7am to 7pm.
More information at the Shawnee County Election Office
- https://www.snco.gov/election/vote

Local Observer Reports

This month’s report includes discussion of data centers and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. One of our League members, Dennis Bosley, is featured as a public commenter! And on the Shawnee County side, the budget process has officially begun.

LWV observers keep you informed about what is happening in local government. The Local Observer Corps volunteers attend city, county and school board meetings and take notes.

Observer Reports will be posted on our website to help get our members this useful and actionable information in a more timely manner.

Adopt a Duck!

It’s time to adopt your little swimmers for the Great Topeka Duck Race! The ducks are in training getting ready to race, September 26 at 10:00 AM. Support Topeka charities and the LWVTSC and have fun doing it. Adopt a Duck online from the League’s team. Help the League beat its 300 duck adoption goal!

In addition to supporting the League, the Duck Race benefits Topeka Sertoma Clubs’ programs & beneficiaries, including Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters in Shawnee County, Capper Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network, The Villages, The Marian Clinic, Meals on Wheels, Head Start Programs, LULAC, and East Topeka Sr. Centers, Safe Streets, KVC, LifeHouse Child Advocacy Center, Ronald McDonald House, TARC, Boys & Girls Clubs, Sole Reason, hearing health missions, and many other worthy causes. More details on the Duck Race homepage.

Tuesday Topics is August 4: “Kansas Women in Politics” with Sara Tucker

Join us at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library for our monthly civic education presentation.

Women have determinedly worked for women’s rights starting before we had a state constitution! Piece by piece like sewing a quilt, Sara will talk about how Kansas women have made progress from our initial statehood through 21st century. View the library event listing for more information including the link to join by Zoom.

Sara Tucker is professor emeritus of history at Washburn University. She holds a Ph.D. in history from Indiana University. For 20 plus years, Sara’s research has focused on American women’s lives in the 19th and 20th centuries as well as various aspects of teaching with computer technologies.

Note: August 4 is also primary election day in Kansas! Visit vote411.org/kansas to make your voting plan and research the candidates on your ballot.

Join the LWVTSC Book Club

The LWVTSC book club meets at 11 am on the second Friday of every month. We’re currently meeting in the Anton Room on the 2nd floor of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. Lunch in the Millennium Café following the discussion is optional. Anyone is welcome. Contact Carole Jordan for more information.

Upcoming titles:

Aug. 14 Dark Money, Jane Mayer
Sept. 11 A Woman of No Importance, Sonia Purcell
Oct. 9 White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo
Nov. 9 There There, Tommy Orange
Dec. 11 Talk about books and the coming year

Full list on our website.

Local League Members Attend 2026 LWVUS National Convention

(Virtually!)

Every two years, the LWV US holds a national convention to conduct its business. This year, three LWVTSC members attended virtually as voting delegates: Allan Foster, Mary Galligan, and Cindy Lash. During the convention, the LWVUS introduced a new program “Defending Democracy under Siege”, adopted several resolutions related to democratic elections, and concurred on 2 state league positions on immigration and religious freedom. Read the full recap here.

LWVTSC Board Member Mary Galligan Honored by LWVUS: “Helping Hands Award”
Mary Galligan, LWVTSC Treasurer, was honored at the LWVUS Convention with a Helping Hands Award. The award recognizes her role in assisting Leagues with the new portal: from rosters to websites, finance screens to Stripe. Mary doesn’t just help us with portal problems- she is a regional membership support liaison for Leagues in multiple states. Well done, Mary!

LWV Board Updates

LWVTSC received a “clean” audit report for the year ended March 31, 2026.
We were awarded a $3,000 grant from LWVK for a civic engagement and advocacy academy, a program to help grassroots leaders from underrepresented communities develop skills to influence local policy.
Kansas will celebrate the LWV Day of Action with activities on August 1.

Unite and Rise 8.5: A LWVUS Initiative to Defend Democracy

Unite & Rise 8.5 aims to build a movement of 8.5 million individuals to unite and rise up against the anti-democratic actions of this administration. Launching in May 2025 and running until the 2026 midterm elections, this initiative is part of our Women Defend Democracy campaign.

Unite and Rise 8.5 will fight for our democracy on multiple fronts, from the courts to the streets. More actions will be outlined in the future, but there are several actions along with more information at https://www.lwv.org/uniteandrise.

State League Action Alerts & Newsletter

Stay informed of State League of Women Voters activity.

Do you find this information valuable?

Your membership dues make this work possible. Consider making an additional donation to the LWV of Topeka and Shawnee County to support the programs, events, and communications that promote civic engagement in our community.

Posted July 19th, 2026 by Kristin Hammer & filed under Board of Directors, Membership.

The LWVUS holds a convention every two years to conduct its business. This year the convention was held June 26-28 in Columbus, OH. Each State and Local League sends voting delegates to the Convention based on its number of members. LWVTSC was represented this year by Cindy Lash, Mary Galligan and Allan Foster. Our delegates attended virtuallyvia Zoom.

At the start of the 2026 Convention, delegates adopted a new LWV national program for 2026-2028. The program is the education and advocacy platform that the LWV adopts to guide activities during the biennium to move its mission forward. The new program is titled “Defending Democracy Under Siege,” and is focused on:

Voting Rights: Ensuring that every eligible voter has equitable access to register, vote, and have their ballot counted fairly and accurately.
Protecting Elections: Protecting and empowering voters to ensure that our elections are fair, accessible, and representative of all Americans.
Redistricting: Ensuring fair and equitable representation for all residents through transparent and accountable redistricting processes and protection of the US Census.
Immigration: Advocating for a fair immigration process and a path to citizenship. Standing up for immigrant communities to ensure they receive fair treatment under the law and encouraging new citizens’ participation in our democracy.
Individual Rights: Protecting and defending the rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and preventing attacks that undermine those fundamental freedoms.
The Presidency: Working to guarantee that presidential power is exercised within the constitutional framework of a dynamic balance between the three branches of government (checks and balances). Supporting the Abolition of the Electoral College, including the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.

In addition, delegates voted to retain all current LWVUS positions in the areas of representative government, international relations, natural resources, and social policy.

Convention Actions

Election of 2026–2028 LWVUS Board of Directors, Officers, as well as the next Nominating Committee

The new President of the LWVUS Board is Dr. Sania Irwin. Dr Irwin has been a member of the LWVUS board and the LWV Education Fund Board and has a long history as a technology executive, and a community leader in Illinois. In her acceptance speech, Dr. Irwin said “The League has always met history with courage, conviction, and action. Today, we are called to be an unshakable, visible force for a just and inclusive democracy. Together, we will continue building a League that equips people to organize, advocate, educate, and lead so that power remains where it belongs: with the people.”

Resolutions Adopted

Be it resolved the LWV:

Reaffirms its commitment to the value of nonpartisan civil service to democracy and good governance as both a matter of Equality of Opportunity for civil service workers and to ensure Representative Government that is nonpartisan, meritocratic, and democratic, to serve the public good.
Strongly supports legislation that will establish statehood for the people of the District of Columbia.
Reaffirms the LWV declaration of a constitutional crisis, as well as efforts to hold Congress accountable for protecting the rule of law, defending the Constitution, and ending executive overreach.
Continues to support members advocating for the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact as an acceptable interim solution until the Electoral College is replaced by the direct election of the president.
Is deeply concerned that laws, ordinances, and policies regarding surveillance technologies are not keeping pace to ensure appropriate oversight, transparency, and sufficient accountability are in place to govern how these systems and collected data are used.

Bylaws Amendments Adopted

The Convention adopted the following amendments to the League’s bylaws:

Member Rights and Responsibilities Policy (new bylaw) – League members and leaders shall comply with the rights and responsibilities policy and shall participate in accordance with League governance standards. The League expects that members will treat others with respect and civility when participating in all League activities. Note: This language must be incorporated in the bylaws of local leagues.
Emergency Powers (new bylaw) – In the event of an emergency that prevents convention delegates from readily assembling…the Board of Directors may declare an emergency and temporarily assume all power and authority reserved to convention delegates and the membership. Actions taken must be reported to the membership. Emergency powers shall only be effective during the identified emergency. (The By-Laws Committee explained that this was needed to protect the League in case of a catastrophic event such as a weather or health emergency, as well as other types of emergencies such as government-declared emergencies.)

Nominating Committee (addition to existing bylaw) – a member of the nominating committee who fails to fulfill their duties and responsibilities may be removed by a majority vote of the committee, after due process.
Budget Committee (addition to existing bylaw) – The treasurer may serve as chair of the Budget Committee. The biennial budget shall be presented for adoption at the Convention.

Position Concurrences

LWV concurs with LWV Washington State position on Protecting the Rights of Immigrants

Summary: The League of Women Voters believes that all residents, regardless of immigration status or citizenship, should be treated with dignity and respect. This means that residents, regardless of immigration status or citizenship, should have access to essential state-funded services, have the opportunity to avail themselves of legal representation in court and immigration proceedings, and have the opportunity to live and work in safety. The League encourages all elected officials and government leaders to take action to ensure these fundamental rights. It also means that political leaders have an obligation to condemn xenophobia, discrimination, and anti-immigrant rhetoric.

LWV concurs with the LWV of Colorado religious freedom position

Summary: The League of Women Voters of Colorado stands for the separation of church and state and religious freedom founded upon individual conscience, free of social or political influence by any state or religious body; these fundamental civil rights are threatened by religious nationalism.

LWVUS Budget

The convention adopted the 2027-2028 budget submitted by the Board. Here’s the approved budget:

Note: the budget above is the LWVUS budget that must be approved by delegates at the convention and represents the 501(c)(4) portion of the League. The LWV’s work is supported both by the convention-approved budget and the budget of the LWV Education Fund (LWVEF) which is a 501(c)(3) organization. The LWVEF Board approves the Education Fund annual budget in April. The combined budgets are based on projected revenues of about $27 million and $31.7 million in FYs 2027 and 2028 respectively.

Posted July 19th, 2026 by Kristin Hammer & filed under President's Perspective.

The month of July was extremely active for the league. We attended a “field trip” to Constitution Hall, which recently opened. While there, we learned about the history and significance of the history in relation to Bleeding Kansas and the role that Topekans played in authoring the Topeka Constitution. The hall offered tours and opportunities for you to engage our community or corporate business in hosting your seminars and training.

Our August Tuesday Topics event will be back at the Library. We will host Sara Tucker of Washburn University who will present on Kansas Women in Politics. The session promises to be quite exciting and educational.

The LWVTSC members and partners hosted a Candidate Meet and Greet forum on July 13. Over 100 were in attendance. We thank the candidates and our partners for their efforts and attendance.

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/

We continue to educate across the state on the constitutional amendment vote in August on whether the merit system for the Supreme Court should be changed. Palm cards are now available educating the public on this issue. We have posted our position statement on the constitutional amendment on our website so that the public knows our stance.

We stand united with the Kansas and other local leagues in posting our league position of voting NO on the constitutional amendment to change the judicial selection from a merit based process to an elected process during the primary election in August. Don’t forget to remind your family, friends, and community to vote on August 4. Advance voting is underway by going to the Election office.

Also, please note there is a proposed constitutional amendment for the general election in November to vote on the Kansas Citizenship Voting Requirement. The board will be taking up a position on this amendment soon and will share with the membership.

Day of Civic Action

On August 8, 2026, the National League and our partners will host a nationwide day of civic action in honor of the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. To coincide with our August 4 voting day, the LWK and local chapters received permission to host our Day of civic action on August 1. Look for our community event on our website at LWVTSC.org

National Convention Updates 2026

Many thanks to our members who were able to attend our National convention. There were two consensus positions adopted by the national convention:

The Rights of Immigrants

The League of Women Voters believes that all residents of the United States, regardless of immigration status or citizenship, should be treated with dignity and respect. This means that all residents, regardless of immigration status or citizenship, should have access to essential federal, state, and local funded services, have the opportunity to avail themselves of legal representation in court and immigration proceedings, and have the opportunity to live and work in safety. The League encourages all elected officials and government leaders in the United States to take action to ensure these fundamental rights. It also means that political leaders have an obligation to condemn xenophobia, discrimination, and anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Religious Freedom

The League of Women Voters stands for the separation of church and state and religious freedom founded upon individual conscience, free of social or political influence by any state or religious body; these fundamental civil rights are threatened by religious nationalism.

The First Amendment of the US Constitution reads; “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”.

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.

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.

Posted July 19th, 2026 by Kristin Hammer & filed under Observer Reports.

Each month, LWV volunteers attend city, council, and school board meetings. Their observer reports help keep us informed.

Thank you to observers Paul Post, Elvera Johnson and Vicki Arnett for attending city and county meetings in the past month, and keeping us informed on the major items discussed.

This month’s report includes discussion of data centers and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. One of our League members, Dennis Bosley, is featured as a public commenter! And on the Shawnee County side, the budget process has officially begun.

The most recent report is available to open as a pdf.

League members sitting at table during monthly board meeting

Interested in joining the observer corps? Send us an email today.

Posted June 18th, 2026 by Kristin Hammer & filed under Voter.

Stay up to date on LWV happenings in Topeka and Shawnee County!

Calendar of Events

Saturday | June 20 | Hillcrest Community Center
Voter Services tabling at the Topeka Family & Friends Juneteenth Celebration

Friday | July 3 from 5pm to 7pm | ArtsConnect in NOTO
Voter Services tabling during First Fridays Art Walk

Monday | July 6 from 7:30am – 11:30am | Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library
Voter Services tabling at the Monday Farmers Market

Tuesday | July 7 at 12pm | Constitution Hall in Downtown Topeka
Tuesday Topics: Summer Field Trip Presentation & Renovation Tour of this Historic Site

Friday | July 10 at 11am | Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library Anton Room
Book Club: One Nation Under Guns, by Dominic Erdozain. View more information.

Monday | July 13 5:30-7:30pm | Marvin 101 at Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library
Primary Candidate Meet & Greet. View more information.

July 14-18 evenings | Fiesta Topeka
Voter Services Tabling at Fiesta Topeka

Monday | August 3 from 7:30am – 11:30am | Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library
Voter Services tabling at the Monday Farmers Market

Tuesday | August 4 from 7am to 7pm | Your Shawnee County Polling Location
The 2026 Primary Election!

*Check our website in upcoming weeks for information on the August 4 Tuesday Topics at the library.

For dates of upcoming Voter Education, Voter Registration, Board Meetings, and more, please view the events calendar on our website.

Volunteer Sign Up on Point

As you can see from the calendar of events above, our Voter Services team is busy this summer! However, our League is currently without a Chair for Voter Services. Various members are coordinating tabling activities at community events. We have some upcoming events with few or no volunteers. Please help out by volunteering during this important election cycle. Tabling is an essential part of our voter education effort.

We use POINT to schedule volunteers. It’s an online app that helps the League’s volunteers and activity coordinators all on the same page. Join POINT today!