What's Up With the League

Volunteer Appreciation

By Melanie Busse, President

I applaud the work of our volunteers these last few weeks! Our Forums, GOTV, Voter Education and Voter Services teams have been extremely busy, and their efforts have been greatly received by the community and our members. Others worked behind the scenes, becoming involved in sign making and distributing signs and flyers to their friends and neighbors all over the metro area. Still others worked at the polls or with Election Protection to make sure people were able to vote.

At the risk of omitting someone, I won't make a list. Know that your efforts are appreciated! Of course, our work continues. Please step up and help as you are able to protect democracy and empower voters.

SAVE Act Message from LWVUS

By Melanie Busse, President

The Senate left Washington, DC for August recess from August 10 – September 11. During this time, the League is encouraging members and supporters to visit their Senator's state offices, call their offices, or send our action alert opposing the SAVE ("Safeguard American Voter Eligibility") Act.

When your Senators are in your area, you can speak directly with them or their staff by visiting them, calling their state offices, or attending community events. Doing so helps your Senators understand their constituents' interests and concerns, shows them that their constituents are paying attention, and compels them to put a face to their decisions.

As Senators head home to connect with their constituents, it's time for us to remind them how we feel about the SAVE Act. This bill would require citizenship documentation to register to vote, even though voters in every state are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering. Additionally, the bill will make voting more difficult by mandating that voters prove their identity using a photo ID from a strict list when casting a ballot.

It is already illegal for non-citizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. Plus, we have processes to ensure our elections are secure and that only eligible voters are casting ballots. State election officials have systems to verify an individual voter's eligibility and ensure voter rolls are accurate.

The Senate plans to make one last push to pass the SAVE Act before the November midterm elections. When they return from recess in September, they will have a couple of weeks to try to force a vote on the SAVE Act. We need to send them back to DC ready to oppose this voter suppression bill!

Legislation like the SAVE Act is part of a long list of tactics that seek to make it more difficult for voters of color and naturalized citizens to vote. Americans do not need MORE obstacles to vote. The League will not stand idly by, and we need your help to stop these unnecessary requirements.

Election Protection Anniversary Celebration

By Melanie Busse, President

Join the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition at the Center for Healing and Justice Innovation, 2881 E. 31st Street, Kansas City, MO 64128, on Saturday, August 22, 2026, 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., for a Kansas City fundraising reception to celebrate 20 years of Election Protection! Twenty years ago MOVPC and a team of partner organizations and incredible volunteers came together to start our state's Election Protection program. For two decades since then, we have anchored election protection for voters across the state of Missouri.

Election Protection is more important this year than ever. Join us for a reception benefiting our EP program, and come together with other voting rights advocates as we gather in fellowship and look back on 20 years of Election Protection. We will also honor some of the wonderful people who have contributed to this critical work including decades-long KC Election Protection Coordinators Pat Jones Macklin and Anita Russell. In addition, this event will raise funds to ensure that this program continues in Missouri for decades to come.

Registration form is available at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/movpc20yearskc

Please note. This is not a LWVKC event. Free tickets are offered. You do not have to make a donation in order to attend.

It's Not Over Yet

By Jim Calvert, GOTV Chair

Friends and Fellow Volunteers,

Tuesday's vote demonstrates again just how powerful we can be when we work together for what's RIGHT! Both Amendments 4 and 5 were not only defeated, but SOUNDLY defeated, with margins for both exceeding 80%.

This victory was in the face of well-financed operations with out-of-state donors involved. But the work we did through personal contacts at table events and voter education outreach easily offset the monied interests because we were right in believing that Missourians didn't want to give up their access to direct democracy.

As we all take a breather from the demands of the August 4 campaign, we must look forward with purpose. Our amendment fight isn't over yet. Amendment 3, which would replace "The Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative" in Missouri's constitution (passed in 2024 by Missouri voters) with severe reproductive and medical privacy rights restrictions.

The amendment's attack on medical privacy rights includes prohibiting minors, their parents, their doctors, and their clergy from making sexual identification decisions. The language clearly demands conformity to "traditional" gender expectations based on out-dated standards.

The League supported "The Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative" two years ago, in part through collaboration with many other organizations. We should be working hard to reach out to these same organizations again.

Please know that success is not guaranteed. It takes League members willing to work alongside other members, and volunteers from other organizations, to impact our local voters. We cannot sit back and watch as those who always answer the call burn themselves out carrying the full burden alone.

The Volunteer page on the League's website (available once logged in) will have opportunities for each of us to step up and increase our active engagement with the voting public. Many of these opportunities require DEI/Non-partisan training. If you have not yet completed this critical training, please sign up for the next available session, or sign up on the waiting list.

Our voice needs to be combined with those from our partner organizations around the state to keep reproductive and medical privacy rights intact. Our rights are not guaranteed. We must continue to fight against those who would control us.

In short, WE NEED YOU!

Seven Successful Forums, Eight More to Go

By Elizabeth Darr, Forums Committee

Our LWVKC forums received over 1900 views. The forum for U.S. District 4 was the most popular, with 536 views. YouTube is extremely successful in helping us educate voters about their candidates.

Now we are in the planning stages for the November election with eight forums on the drawing board. If you would like to help with organizing, candidate contact, or timing during the forums, please reach out to Anitra Steele, Forums Chair, at forums@lwvkc.org.

Observer Corps Leadership Opportunity

By Donna Hoch, Observer Corps Committee Chair

The League of Women Voters of Kansas City is seeking a volunteer to join the Observer Corps Leadership Team. This is a wonderful opportunity to help strengthen one of the League's most important programs promoting transparent and accountable local government.

Primary responsibilities include:

• Attending the monthly Committee Chairs Zoom meeting
• Preparing a brief monthly report for the LWVKC Board
• Leading the quarterly Observer Corps Committee meeting

Current Observer Corps Chair Teri Lane will be moving to the Chicago area in January, creating this leadership opportunity. The work is shared among a leadership team, with additional responsibilities divided between Johnda Boyce, Melody Armstrong, and Donna Hoch, so no one person carries the entire workload.

If you enjoy working with others and supporting civic engagement, please contact us at ObsCorpsAdmin@lwvkc.org to learn more about joining our leadership team.

Membership, We Volunteer!

By Laura Marcus Mountjoy, Membership Chair

Please sign up for the many events listed under the Volunteer tab on our lwvkc.org website.

The League is only effective in achieving its mission of empowering voters and defending democracy if we have dedicated members willing to volunteer their time.

We can make a difference for our upcoming November election, by volunteering for Voter Registration and Get Out the Vote/GOTV events. Be sure to sign up for our next DEI training on August 15th to volunteer for events out in public. Work parties are a great way to help with making the supplies we need to hold events, and don't require DEI training.

Members volunteer using their skills in many areas, and your time and effort are appreciated!

You can sign up to be Greeters at our Ballot Measure Presentations on the crucial Amendments on which we'll be voting on November 3. Also, plan to attend a Ballot Measure event, and bring friends! Host a watch party for the Forum in your area, too. In other words, share the work of our League!

Info You May Need!

Women's Equality Week Events in August

By Cheryl Barnes, Women's Equality Coalition Committee Member

For the past 15 years, long-time League member Alice Kitchen and her good friend Gail James, along with a few other volunteers, have contacted other women's organizations to celebrate the Aug. 26, 1920 anniversary of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote. Black women did not truly gain access to the ballot until 1965, with the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

We all suffered an acute loss when Alice passed last November. But in the spirit of what Alice would do, the Women's Equality Coalition committee has organized events celebrating women and their accomplishments. We hope you will join us. All events are free with free parking - an Alice rule. More information is available at https://www.facebook.com/WomensEqualityGKC/.

August 23, Sunday

Join us for a celebration honoring the life of Alice Kitchen — beloved co-founder of the Women's Equality Coalition — along with the Coalition's 15th anniversary. We want to hear your Alice stories, and we'll be recording them to share with future advocates. She inspired so many people and organizations across so many different walks of life, and we'd love for that to be reflected in the stories we gather. Join us from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Operation Breakthrough, 3036 Troost (west side of street). Park by the main building on the east side of the street or by the south side of Ruby Jean's. Please RSVP using this link: https://partiful.com/e/Q5ifcw7yg2zniWvmbo6I?c=MD9dqYpx

August 24, Monday

Join Denise Lieberman, Executive Director of the Missouri Voters Protection Coalition (MOVPC), for a review of Missouri suffragettes, including many unsung African American Missouri women who worked tirelessly to secure voting rights for all women. While we celebrate August 26, 1920 as the day women won the right to vote, it actually took another 45 years with passage of the Voting Rights Act to strike down Jim Crow laws and make that right a reality for all women. Location: Plaza Library, 6 p.m.

August 25, Tuesday

The future is here and the biomedical sciences welcome women. Join us for an exceptional panel called "Forward Without Fear: A New Generation of Scientists" led by Michele T. Pritchard, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair, Dept. of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, and Director, Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Biomedical Sciences, University of Kansas Medical Center. Location: All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, 4501 Walnut Street, 5 to 7 p.m. Parking available next to the building and on the street.

August 26, Wednesday

A Plaza Library Signature event. Share an evening with award-winning journalist and narrative historian Elaine Weiss. While we now fear our history is being sanitized, Weiss' political history books capture civil rights struggles and the everyday champions whose work makes our votes possible. She is best known for the books "The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote" and "Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools that Built the Civil Rights Movement." Location: Truman Forum Auditorium in the Plaza Library, 4801 Main Street. Reception 5:30, program at 6 p.m. Parking is available in the adjacent garage and on Main Street. To RSVP, go to https://kclibrary.org/events/fighting-womens-rights-suffrage-through-civil-rights.

My Mea Culpa

By Jim Calvert, GOTV Chair

In last month's eVoter, I published an article (as I often do) encouraging members to step up their involvement in our effort to protect democracy. In that article, I violated League standards, and a member's privacy by publishing a non-League sponsored event with the contact information of the host. I have apologized to the host for my indiscretion, but I would like to apologize to the membership as well. Because of my error, further safeguards have been put in place to prevent this in the future.

Members In Action

How to Become a Volunteer with LWVKC

• Attend a DEI/Non-partisan training session if it's needed (get on the list here).
• Find and sign up for an opportunity on our website here (be sure you are logged in first!).
• Attend any training or view any training videos required for your volunteer opportunity (here's the voter registration training video).
• Show up and do the work!

Upcoming Events

League Events

New Citizens Voter Registration at the K!

When: August 12, 2026, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Where: MLB Stadium "The K", 1 Royal Way, Kansas City, MO 64129
Log in and Register

DEI/Non-Partisan Training

When: August 15, 2026, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Where: Plaza Library, 4801 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64112
Log in and Register

LWVKC Book Club

When: August 20, 2026, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Where: Link to event: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84083430103

2026 Missouri Ballot Measures Presentation for AAUW

(Open to members of the American Association of University Women)

When: September 1, 2026, 6:00 p.m.

Committee Meetings

Voter Guide / Vote411 Committee Meeting

When: August 11, 2026, 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Link to event: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84326330757

Forums Committee Meeting

When: August 17, 2026, 6:30 p.m.
Link to event: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89523016094

Technology Committee Meeting

When: August 27, 2026, 12:00 p.m.
Link to event: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88953712786

Membership Committee Meeting

When: September 1, 2026, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Link to event: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88399330170