Thanks to all of you who are contributing actions
and ideas to this bi-weekly Action List.
Actions 9.21.2026
These are just suggestions of actions you could take as an individual.
If you are a League member, always remember to express your personal views, and not to speak on behalf of the League. Only League Presidents or designees can speak on behalf of the League.
Local-Level Actions
Candidate Forum Volunteers Needed
As you know, October is shaping up to be a very busy month for our League, with five major candidate events on the calendar. Details for each event are below. We need help with a few key roles:
- Timekeeper – keeping everyone on schedule
- Greeters – welcoming our guests and helping them get where they need to go
- Question Screeners – reviewing audience questions
- Question Collectors – getting those question cards from the audience to the screeners
Contact cbishopmcleod [at] ftc-i.net (subject: I%20want%20to%20volunteer!, body: ) (Carolyn Bishop-McLeod) to sign up.
Our October events are:
- October 1 – Clemson City Council Candidate Forum
- October 5 – Oconee County Council VOTE411 Live Meet-and-Greet house members
- October 6 – SC House District 3 Forum
- October 7 – U.S. House District 3 Forum anderson
- October 8 – Pickens County Council VOTE411 Live Meet-and-Greet
VOTE411 Live: S.C. House and Oconee County Council Candidates
Monday, October 5, 6-8 pm
Public Welcome!
Seneca River Baptist Association Family Life Center, 298 S. Poplar St, Seneca
S.C. House District 3 Candidate Forum
Tuesday, October 6, 6-8 pm
Public Welcome!
Central-Clemson Library, 105 Commons Way, Central
☑️ Listen to the candidates as they share their views and answer questions.
U.S. House District 3 Candidate Forum
Wednesday, October 7, 6-8 pm
Public Welcome!
Anderson Main Library
☑️ Listen to the candidates as they share their views and answer questions.
VOTE411 Live: Pickens County Council and SC House Candidates
Thursday, October 8, 6-8 pm
Public Welcome!
Central-Clemson Library, 105 Commons Way, Central
Midterm Election Deadlines
Early Voting Information for 2026 Statewide General Election
- Early Voting days for the 2026 Statewide General Election are Monday, October 19 - Saturday, October 31.
- Early voting centers are open 8:30 a.m.- 6:00 p.m. (Monday-Saturday)
-
Closed Sunday, October 25
Local Politics Matter!
☑️Stay informed and involved by attending meetings where important decisions are made.
LWVOP.org maintains an extensive calendar of local public meetings.
- Monday, September 21: Pickens County Council Mid-Month at 6:30 pm in the Main Conference Room of the Administration Facility, 222 McDaniel Avenue Pickens, SC 29671. View links to their 2026 Council Meeting Calendar, Pickens County Calendar, and to the agenda and minutes and videos (scroll down the page).
- Monday, September 21: City of Clemson Council meeting at 6:30 pm held at Council Chambers, Clemson City Hall, 1250 Tiger Blvd #1, Clemson, SC 29631, unless otherwise noted. View the 2026 calendar.
- Tuesday, September 22:Oconee Library Board meeting at 5:30 pm held in the Council Chambers at 415 S. Pine St, Walhalla, SC 29691. View the Calendar; agendas and minutes.
- Monday, September 28: Pickens City Council Work Session at 6 pm in City Hall, 219 Pendleton St, Pickens, SC 29671. Find the Schedule of Meetings, City Council Minutes, Agendas, and Livestream Recordings (scroll to the bottom of the page).
-
Monday, September 28: Pickens County School Board Meeting at 6 pm in the Boardroom of the Curtis A. Sidden Administration Bldg, 1348 Griffin Mill Rd, Easley, SC 29640. Board meetings are livestreamed; to watch, please connect to the SDPC YouTube page. You may view video of past meetings.
Find a detailed list of Pickens and Oconee public meetings.
Share our posts on Facebook and Instagram.
☑️ This is the easiest and fastest way to amplify our message. Facebook and Instagram are only effective as outreach when you like and share the posts!
State-Level Actions
Stay informed about Data Centers.
This will be an issue in the next Legislative Session.
AI Development Requires AI Regulation
By Lynn Teague, League of Women Voters of South Carolina Vice President, Issues and Action
Reposted from Substack. Follow her: @lteague
“Today the NY Times has an article pointing out the obvious — people fight AI and the data centers that support the industry in part because they know that there is grossly inadequate regulation of both AI development itself and the associated infrastructure. There are no effective guardrails to protect the public, and we all know it.
The dangers of AI exist on several levels, those of the AI itself and those of the bad neighbor infrastructure development policies of conspicuous leaders in the AI industry. (See, for example, Musk’s Colossus.) The author of the Times piece talks about those dangers, but is much too dismissive of the potential harms. A casual reference to the byproducts of industrialization as “child labor, urban poverty, and so on” suggests a less than humanitarian perspective. These were not minor disruptions. Millions were doomed to blighted existences through their entire lifetimes through no fault of their own, as the benefits of industrialization flowed upward. This continued until people demanded protections, regulation, and a social safety net in the mid-20th century. AI experts tell us this time around could be worse. Much worse.”
National Level Actions
Call for Submissions: Justice Speaks Out: A Poetry Anthology
by Members of The League of Women Voters
The 2027 volume, Justice Speaks Out, is inspired by artist/activist Niki Johnson’s four-part series, Pillars of Democracy.
“As poets and members of the League of Women Voters, we recognize the power of language to connect people, to stir hearts and minds, and to reaffirm the enduring promise of this nation. Together, we lift our voices in solidarity for due process, truth, fair treatment, and justice for all. These are more than ideals; they are the bedrock principles that shape our democracy and guide how we treat one another. When these principles are disregarded, we stand together, speak out and defend our better nature. We hope LWV members from all 50 states will contribute to this anthology.”
Submission Deadline is November 15, 2026.
Co-Creators/Authors/Publishers
- christy [at] swancygnet.com (subject: , body: ) (Christy Schwan), Co-President LWV Ozaukee & Washington Counties, Wisconsin
- Eloisa Gómez Comité por el Voto Latino, LWV Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
League of Women Voters Responds to Whistleblower Allegations About USCIS ‘Unlawful Voter Initiative’
Press Release / Last Updated: September 14, 2026
“The League of Women Voters today responded to new whistleblower allegations that US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials directed personnel to use voter registration and citizenship data to identify and investigate purported noncitizen voters, including naturalized US citizens. The allegations come as the League remains in active litigation challenging the federal government’s expansion and use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system for voter verification.
Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States, issued the following statement:
“If these reports are true, this is not merely alarming. It is a five-alarm fire for American democracy. Allegations that federal workers were pressured to fabricate evidence and falsely frame citizens as criminals strike at the heart of the Constitution and the rule of law.”
“The League will continue to keep a close eye on these allegations. We call on all voters to call their members of Congress and demand a full investigation into these claims.”
Join the League (if you are not already a member!)
Help support the League in their mission of educating and informing voters.
Sign up for the mailing list.
If someone forwarded this email to you, sign up to get it directly!
We would love to hear from you about this initiative. Feel free to forward this email to others who wish to find ways to participate. Whether it’s how this made you feel, results you saw, or suggestions for future topics, please let cherie.walker.lwv [at] gmail.com (subject: Defending%20Democracy, body: ) (Cherie Walker) know.
