About the League

We Shall Overcome, Hands Off! Rally, Asheville

Statement on the NC Court of Appeals Decision

North Carolina State Board of Elections, April 4, 2025, Raleigh, N.C. — The North Carolina Court of Appeals issued a decision in the election protest brought by state supreme court candidate Jefferson Griffin. The court’s decision may require the county boards of elections to contact voters whose voter registration forms did not include a driver’s license number or last four digits of a social security number, and to allow those voters to provide that information to their county board of elections, to ensure their votes for the supreme court contest count in the 2024 general election.

The court’s decision may also require the county boards of elections to contact military and overseas-citizen voters who used absentee ballots to provide a copy of their photo identification, to ensure their votes for the supreme court contest count in the 2024 general election. This protest does not affect these voters’ selections in any other contest on the ballot.

The court’s decision is not yet in effect and is likely to be appealed. If the court’s decision does go into effect, the State Board of Elections will provide instructions to affected voters on how to comply with the court’s decision.

Regardless of the ultimate outcome of this ongoing legal dispute, any voter who is concerned that their voter registration information is incomplete or is not up to date should submit an updated voter registration form. Submitting an updated voter registration form is easy. Any voter who has a license from the DMV can go to payments.ncdot.gov to fill out a voter registration application. If you’re already registered, submitting this information will merely update your existing voter registration. You don’t need to create a special account with the DMV. You can select “Continue as Guest” on the DMV’s website and proceed directly to submitting your voter registration.

If you don’t have a license from the DMV, you can download a voter registration form at ncsbe.gov/registering, and then print, sign, and submit that paper form to your county board of elections. Contact and address information for the 100 county boards of elections is available at https://vt.ncsbe.gov/BOEInfo/.

Has your vote been challenged?

Votes from individuals on the Griffin List who do not update their voter file (or, in the case of military or other overseas voters, provide a copy of a photo ID) will not be counted.

The court order, which is not yet in effect, would give voters on the Griffin List 15 days to address deficiencies that would allow their votes to count. The court’s ruling will be appealed.

Regardless, voters on the Griffin List should update their voter file to ensure their votes count in future elections.

Click here to search the list.

Asheville Citizen Times March 26, 2025; Letter to Editor

SAVE Act will make it harder for people to vote

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act will make it harder to vote for many people. Under this law, every American citizen would have to show specific documents (passport or an original birth certificate) in person when registering to vote or updating their voter registration.

In Western North Carolina many voters have been impacted by Helene. They may have lost important documentation and would be required to jump through hoops to replace these documents to register to vote while going through the traumatic process of rebuilding their lives.

Military voters would be required to present documentation every time they re-register to vote when their family moves. Military service members would not be able to use their military ID alone to prove citizenship; they would need additional documentation to show their birthplace or naturalization status.

Many married women likely changed their last name. They, along with other Americans who have changed their last name, would be required to secure updated documentation to register to vote. Surveys show that eight in 10 married women have changed their surname, meaning they do not possess a birth certificate that matches their current legal name and could not present it as valid proof of citizenship. There are an estimated 69 million American women who lack the paperwork that reflects their current name.

Under current U.S. law, it is illegal for non-citizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. We do not need the SAVE Act. Tell your Representative and Senator to vote no.

Suzanne Fisher, President – League of Women Voters Asheville, Buncombe County

Don’t let Congress make voting harder!

The House and Senate introduced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require citizenship documentation to register to vote despite the fact that voters in every state are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering.

It’s already illegal for non-citizens to register and vote in federal or state elections. Additionally, 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 bill’s requirement of a document to prove American citizenship to register to vote in federal elections is unnecessary and seeks to divide us. Further, it creates one more barrier to the voting process, as many eligible voters do not have easy access to the necessary documents. Compared to white US citizens, citizens of color are three times more likely to lack documents such as birth certificates, passports, naturalization certificates, or certificates of citizenship or face difficulties accessing them. For example, while approximately half of all American adults possess a passport, two-thirds of Black Americans do not.

Legislation like the SAVE Act is another in a long list of tactics, like strict voter photo ID requirements and limitations on voter assistance in languages other than English, which seek to make it more difficult for voters of color and naturalized citizens to vote. Americans do not need MORE obstacles to vote.

Congress must act to ensure that every eligible US citizen has the freedom to vote unimpeded by discriminatory rules rooted in fear and division.

Click here to tell your members of Congress to vote NO on the Save Act

BCRuckus founder, Sheila Mikhail, gave a presentation to the LWVAB about dense breast screening and the legislation needed in NC to make sure this important diagnostic tool is covered by insurance.

Watch the presentation here.

BCRuckus (Breast Cancer Ruckus) is a North Carolina group focused on awareness of breast cancer screening and diagnosis issues. They are working to enact legislation in North Carolina and nationwide mandating that private insurance cover screening methods that effectively detect tumors in dense breasts.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, volunteer-based, political organization consisting of women and men passionate about our democracy. Born out of the national women’s suffrage movement in 1920, the League continues to work to serve the needs of the voting public and protect the rights of all voters.

Our efforts are two-fold:
Voters Service, Citizen Education – presenting unbiased, nonpartisan information about elections, the voting process and current issues.

Action, Advocacy – following education on the issue(s), action is taken towards enacting policies in the public interest and striking down policies harmful to society.

A just society is derived from a democracy consisting of an engaged and educated public that has faith in the political process.

The League of Women Voters is a membership organization encouraging action and advocacy as a nonprofit 501(c)(4) corporation. To conduct our voter service and citizen education activities, funds are derived from the Florence Ryan Education Fund, which is a 501(c)(3) corporation, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to building citizen participation in democratic process, studying key community issues at all government levels in an unbiased manner, and enabling people to seek positive solutions to public policy issues through education and conflict management.

The League of Women Voters of Asheville-Buncombe County currently offers meetings and events for members as well as educational programs for the public. Quarterly member events include two meetings each year, a Holiday Social in winter and an Annual Luncheon & Meeting in May or June. League action teams and committees also hold regular meetings for the members involved in those groups.

Join us! Check us out on Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky. And check out our YouTube Channel for past meetings and voting issues we’re involved with. Our Calendar page has upcoming events.

Connect with your State League: North Carolina League of Women Voters
Connect with the National League: National League of Women Voters

Our chapter is centered around Buncombe County and includes several adjoining counties. This is the homeland of the Cherokee and other nations. We recognize the sovereignty and traditional territories of these local tribal nations, the treaties used to remove them, and the histories of dispossession. We honor and respect the many diverse indigenous people who came before us, who are still here, and who are connected to the land on which we reside.