| Empowering voters. Defending democracy.
| | You can GiveBIG! Learn about Candidate Forums now to be ready to participate later this year! Come hear the reading of the Constitution! Tell Congress how you feel about immigration, ICE, and more! Speak up, be heard, empower voters and defend democracy! | | Can You Volunteer?
This Friday, May 1 at the Washington Women in Trades Fair at the Fisher Pavilion at Seattle Center, the LWVSKC will be hosting a voter outreach table. Can you volunteer for this shift? RSVP to Connie at fosterhc@hotmail.com by tomorrow, April 29! Shift 1: 9:00am - 11:30am. | | | Also need volunteers at the Seattle Library - Central Branch
Wednesday, May 20 at 11am to 1pm. 1000 4th Ave, Seattle.
We'll be sitting outside to connect with folks passing by as well as people at the library.
| Rise to Leadership with LWVSKC!
You can rise with LWVSKC! Watch this video! We have extended the application deadline to May 10 for the following roles:
- Communications Director: This role coordinates the LWVSKC's communications, including the weekly email, The Voter monthly newsletter, our Because of You! bi-annual report, LWVSKC's website and social media. This can also be a shared role.
- Advocacy Chair or Co-Chairs: LWVSKC's advocacy work supports the "Defending Democracy" part of League's mission and is based on long held League positions.
- Unit Liaison Co-Chair: The Unit Liaison Co-Chairs coordinate communications amongst all the LWVSKC Units.
| Your Chance to GiveBIG!
GiveBIG is an annual statewide fundraising campaign where individuals and organizations come together across Washington to invest in our communities. When we give, we take a proactive step towards creating the society we want to live in. The League of Women Voters of Seattle King County (LWVSKC) is asking you to Give Big to empower voters and defend democracy now! | Right Now! Tell Congress To Reject More Money For ICE and CBP
Help demand that Congress reject any additional funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) HERE. Congress is back in session and working on a fast-track legislative process to allocate billions of additional dollars to ICE and CBP. Due to last year's One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), these agencies already have an unprecedented amount of funding for immigration enforcement and detention. After the League's last email about federal immigration funding, members and supporters sent more than 10,000 letters to Congress in just five days! Contact Congress today and share this message with three friends to magnify your impact! | This Satuday! Candidate Forum Training, May 2, 10am
Join LWVWA for candidate forum training. Discussion to include an overview of resources available from LWVWA, guidelines and best practices, models being used by Leagues across the state, and challenges to participation. Register here. | Spring Symposium: Pacific Northwest Immigration Enforcement Trends and Community Responses
Register and join in - featuring Univ of WA Center for Human Right’s Immigrant Rights Observatory research on Pacific Northwest immigration enforcement trends and how communities are responding to today’s heightened enforcement and changing tactics.
University of Washington Center for Human Rights Spring Symposium
Thursday, May 14, 2026
5:00 - 6:00 pm | Reception
6:00 - 7:30 pm | Main program
Kane Hall, Room 225
Free and open to the public, join us in person or online live-stream. Register here. | Get caught up on the SAVE act:
Between 1985 and 2025 there have been just 0.000008% instances of voter fraud - 1,620 of 1.3 billion votes cast in presidential elections over that period (Heritage Foundation).
Understand The SAVE Act
Watch this LWVUS webinar on what you need to know about the SAVE Act and similar acts here. | LWV Guidance For Events: Why we are joining demonstrations; safety tips for participation and being nonpartisan at events:
| Unite and Rise
Unite and Rise 8.5 aims to build a movement of 8.5 million individuals to fight back against the anti-democratic actions of the current administration. The number 8.5 million is the estimated number of voters it would take to bring about change through nonviolent protest. This is based on findings from the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights: “Nonviolent protests are twice as likely to succeed as armed conflicts...and those engaging a threshold of 3.5% of the population have never failed to bring about change.” According to the Univ of Florida, approximately 245 million Americans were eligible to vote in the 2024 general election. According to the above research, if 3.5% of these eligible voters — 8,575,000 people — engage in nonviolent protests, we will bring about meaningful change. Unite and Rise 8.5 includes:
-
Legal & Policy Advocacy: Challenge unconstitutional actions through litigation, advocate for electoral integrity reforms at state and federal levels, fight voter suppression, and protect due process.
- Public Mobilization & Coalition Building: Turn out millions for quick activations and longer-planned activist campaigns, uplift local voices, and partner with grassroots, national, and international organizations
- Civic Education & Engagement: Launch large-scale public awareness campaigns, expand voter registration and turnout efforts, host educational forums, connect policy to real-life impact, and equip people with tools to act
- Democracy Resilience: Build lasting infrastructure to protect democratic values and institutions for the long haul
Every 90 days LWVUS introduces a new power playbook that focuses on what local Leagues can do to Unite and Rise 8.5.
Starting Now! Playbook 5, May - July 2026, centers a nationwide Day of Action on August 8! More information coming soon!
Playbook 1, May - July 2025 focused on Shifting Power Narratives and invited us to reframe how we talk about democracy, moving away from fear toward possibility.
Playbook 2, Aug - Oct 2025 focused on Holding Power Accountable.
Playbook 3, Nov 2025 - Jan 2026 focused on Building Power Through Partnerships.
Playbook 4, Feb - April 2026, focused on Deepening Electoral Power.
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How do You contact your members of Congress?
| | League Events and Activity | | We the People
This Sunday, May 3rd, 3-5pm, Third Place Commons, Lake Forest Park Town Center, 17171 Bothell Way NE. Located at the corner of Bothell Way (SR 522) and Ballinger Way (SR 104).
All are welcome at this event to deepen our knowledge of our Constitution and build community. Please go to LFPReads.com to sign up to be a reader, or to learn more. Sponsored by the LWVSKC and the LWVSKC North King County Unit. | | | Influencers, Information Environments, and Civic Power
Watch this LWVUS hosted webinar - the second in LWVUS's Digital Democracy: Media Literacy for Democratic Participation series HERE↗️ Passcode: &MT282*F. | Digital Democracy: Media Literacy for Democratic Participation Today - Part 3
This LWVUS webinar series will help League members understand how and why online civic information spreads, recognize emerging digital actors and tools that shape public opinion and build confidence in evaluating information without needing to be technical experts. May 7, 12:30pm. Register here. | LWV's Collective Impact!
Check out this LWV factsheet featuring aggregate data from Leagues across the county. And view LWVSKC's factsheet too! You are making an impact! | |
Recap of the WA State Legislative Session - focus on environmental issues
LWVWA Advocacy Team Chair Martin Gibbins, hosted a very informative meeting. Unfortunately, it wasn't video taped but you can read his slide presentation here. | June 14 - Defend Democracy Events
Mark your calendar to participate in a June 14 event near year to defend democracy. Look for updates coming soon on links to events you can register for or possibly table at a local event. | LWVWA Council June 6 - 7
Register here for LWVWA's Council to be held at South Puget Sound Community College’s Lacey Campus, located at 4220 6th Ave SE, Lacey, WA from 10 am June 6 - noon on June 7. Please let Barb Tengtio at president@lwvskc.org know if you plan to attend. | LWVSKC Annual Meeting!
Mark your calendar for Thursday, June 18 at 6pm to join the LWVSKC annual meeting. You will get an update on the past year, vote on the 2026-27 Board, 2026-27 Budget and a small update to the LWVSKC Bylaws, and hear about this year's LWVSKC award winners! Zoom link to follow. Also, in preparation for the meeting, please review the two changes to the bylaws (highlighted in yellow) found here. | Register Now For LWVUS Convention
| Unit Meetings
West Seattle Unit - 5/12/2026
Committee Meetings
LWVSKC Board Meeting, Saturday, May 16, 10 - 12:00 p.m.
All League members are welcome and encouraged to zoom in!
Join on Zoom
Meeting ID: 837 0399 7986
Passcode: 271130
| Thank you to the LWVSKC members who helped organize and present the new member orientation this past weekend, including: Judy Deiro, Marie Cooley, Janet Lenart, Mary Coltrane, Connie Foster, Keela Williams and Sarah Beth Miller. And thank you to Susan Waller, Phillippa Kassover, Allison Feher, Deb Carstens, and Michael Knoff who came to add support. And finally, thank you to the twenty-one new LWVSKC members that participated!
| League of Women Voters of Seattle King County
1511 3rd Avenue, Suite 801
Seattle, WA 98101
Email: info@lwvskc.org
Phone: (206) 329-4848
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