Photos from our League Annual Dinner 2026

Special Guest: Delegate Lily Franklin

Keynote Speaker, Caitlin Jewitt, VT Associate Professor of Political Science: "Safeguarding Elections: Real and Perceived Threats."

Thursday, May 7, 2026, 5 p.m.
5 p.m. Social Hour; 6 p.m. Dinner
Warm Hearth Village Center
2387 Warm Hearth Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24060

Our Annual Dinner was an opportunity to connect with old friends and make new ones, to conduct annual League business, and learn from our guest speakers. Delegate Lily Franklin, our new representative to the General Assembly, spoke, followed by Caitlin Jewitt, VT Professor of Political Science, who will speak on Safeguarding Elections: Real and Perceived Threats.

Every day it seems there is a new threat to the integrity of our elections in the United States and a proposed way to safeguard elections. Some recent examples include: foreign interference in elections, aging voting machines and infrastructure, voter fraud, the proposed federalization of elections, gerrymandering, limits on vote by mail, required documentation to vote, the SAVE act, and Virginia’s proposed constitutional amendment. In this talk, Dr. Jewitt will explore what claims are being made about voting and the integrity of our elections, detailing which threats are ones to take seriously and which are overblown. She will also discuss whether there are proposed safeguards to elections that are actually threats to elections, and talk about what should be done to ensure that the United States remains a democracy with free and fair elections. 

Photos