Impact Docket – 09/02/26

Written By Yasmine Oubahi

This week demands action. Here are ten ways you can push back right now:

⚡ Quick Actions

  • Tell the Senate: Reject Dr. Heidi Overton for FDA Commissioner → Write to the Senate

  • Tell Congress: Support independent immigration courts — cosponsor the Real Courts, Rule of Law Act → Write to Congress

📩 Short-Term Engagement — Public Comments & Trainings

🛠️ Long-Term Engagement

🤝 Partner Actions

Whether you have 2 minutes or 2 days, join the fight. Keep reading for more context.

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🔴 The Moment We're In: A System Built to Fail

Yesterday, a federal whistleblower came forward with a warning that should stop every lawyer cold. According to a disclosure released by Senator Richard Blumenthal, the Postal Service is rushing to build a new ballot-tracking system to carry out the president's executive order restricting mail-in voting. The whistleblower calls that system "rushed, chaotic, and fundamentally flawed," and warns it could cause a "catastrophic failure" that would "derail the midterm elections."

Here is why that matters. Under a rule finalized on August 26, the Postal Service would for the first time have the power to refuse ballots that state election officials have already approved. The new system reportedly runs on a "zero percent failure rate" standard, which means that if a single barcode in a batch of 10,000 ballots fails to scan, because a voter recently moved or changed their name, USPS could reject all 10,000. Voters might never find out their ballot was rejected until it was too late to vote another way. And the whistleblower alleges that USPS kept building the system even after a federal court ordered the work to stop. One in three Americans votes by mail. This puts every one of those votes at risk.

We are less than two months from the midterms, and this is what the fight for the rule of law looks like right now. That is why so much of this week's Docket is about protecting the right to vote: training to monitor election disinformation, signing up to serve as poll challengers, helping voters understand their rights before November. Lawyers have a real role to play in protecting the vote, and this year that work matters more than ever.

Ten actions. Pick one. Start there.

⚡ QUICK ACTIONS

⚖️ Tell the Senate: Reject Dr. Heidi Overton for FDA Commissioner

📍 L4GG.org/RejectOverton

The FDA's mission depends on leadership grounded in scientific evidence, not political agendas. Dr. Heidi Overton, nominated on August 19, has advocated for congressional restrictions on mifepristone — an FDA-approved medication used safely for decades in abortion and miscarriage care — and has described medication abortion as "telebortion." She also played a central role in the August 10 executive order directing changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, a move widely denounced by pediatricians and major medical organizations.

Placing an outspoken opponent of evidence-based reproductive care in charge of the very agency that regulates mifepristone puts the FDA's scientific independence at risk. Concerns aren't confined to one party — even the Republican chair of the Senate's health committee has publicly questioned her fitness and lack of experience leading a large agency. As lawyers, we have a duty to defend evidence-based governance and the institutions that protect public health.Tell the Senate to reject this nomination.

🏛️ Tell Congress: Support Independent Immigration Courts

📍 L4GG.org/RealCourts

Immigration courts make decisions with profound consequences for individuals, families, and communities. Yet unlike other federal courts, the immigration court system is housed within the Department of Justice, and immigration judges are employees who ultimately answer to the attorney general. That structure lets court policies, priorities, and case-management practices shift with each administration — and raises real concerns about whether cases are decided consistently, impartially, and free from political pressure.

The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2026 (H.R. 7836 / S. 5094) would establish an independent Article I immigration court system, similar to other specialized federal courts Congress has created. An independent court would strengthen impartial decision-making, manage its own dockets and resources, promote consistency, increase transparency, protect due process, and restore public confidence in immigration proceedings. This isn't about weakening enforcement or advancing any single immigration policy — it's about ensuring these courts function as fair, effective, independent tribunals. Ask your members of Congress to cosponsor the Real Courts, Rule of Law Act.

📩 SHORT-TERM ENGAGEMENT- PUBLIC COMMENTS & TRAININGS

🎓 Submit a Comment: Tell the Education Department Not to Politicize Accreditation of Colleges and Law Schools — DEADLINE SEPT 21

📍 Follow the steps below | Comment deadline: MONDAY, September 21

The Education Department is proposing to overhaul the college accreditation process in ways that would threaten academic freedom, jeopardize access to federal financial aid, and target any program the administration deems "DEI." This comes on top of the department's recent move to strip the American Bar Association of its authority to accredit law schools — a role it has held since 1952 — a change that could disrupt student aid and complicate the path to bar admission across states. Accreditation is meant to be a check on quality, not a political weapon. Your comment can help build the record to stop it.

  1. Read the Alliance for Higher Education's toolkit and draft your comment

  2. Submit your comment by September 21, 2026

  3. Let us know you submitted at L4GG.org/TrackComment

📄 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 101 for Attorneys: A Practical Training

📍 L4GG.org/FOIA101 | Thursday, September 17 | 2:00 PM ET | Zoom

The Freedom of Information Act gives any person the right to request government records — a powerful tool for transparency and accountability. This introductory training gives attorneys a practical overview: when and how to submit effective requests, strategies for navigating agency responses and exemptions, and ways to use what you obtain in litigation, policy advocacy, and public education.

This session will be recorded and shared with all registrants. MCLE credit: approved for 1 unit of general MCLE credit in California, pending accreditation in Texas (must attend live to receive credit). Register for the September 17 webinar.

 

🛠️ LONG-TERM ENGAGEMENT

📡 Election Mis/Disinformation Response Network: A Social Media Monitoring Training

📍 L4GG.org/Disinfo | Monday, September 14 | 12:00 PM ET | Zoom

L4GG is launching the Election Mis/Disinformation Response Network in partnership with Voter Protection Corps — a social media monitoring program open to both attorneys and non-attorneys ahead of the midterms. Trained volunteers, supervised by an election mis/disinformation expert, will monitor social media for election-related misinformation, flag concerning content, and support rapid response efforts leading up to and on Election Day.

This 101 training covers the information threats voters are likely to encounter and how to respond — including threats to voter information access in 2026, incident response scenarios, rapid-response and counter-messaging resources, legal intervention, Know Your Rights language, and a live disinformation-monitoring walkthrough. Once you complete the training, you'll be able to sign up for volunteer shifts happening each Tuesday between now and Election Day. Register for the September 14 training.

🗣️ Spanish Speakers Needed: Habeas Corpus Info Session for Volunteer Interpreters and Attorneys

📍 L4GG.org/HabeasInfoSession | Wednesday, September 16 | 12:00 PM ET | Zoom

L4GG is seeking volunteer attorneys, law students, and legal professionals fluent in Spanish to serve as interpreters supporting habeas corpus petitions for people unlawfully detained by ICE — facilitating intake interviews, interpreting legal explanations, and coordinating with counsel and family members. Volunteer attorneys are also invited to learn about representing detained individuals in habeas cases directly.

This info session covers what habeas petitions are, the tasks interpreters perform, and the support L4GG provides — including training materials, model petitions, malpractice insurance, legal research tools, and mentoring. No immigration experience required. This session will be recorded and shared with all registrants. Register for the September 16 info session.

⚖️ Michigan Election Protection Attorneys: Launch Training for Poll Challengers and Affidavit Collectors

📍 L4GG.org/MichiganEP | Friday, September 18 | 12:00 PM ET | Zoom

L4GG, the Promote the Vote Fund, and the ACLU Fund of Michigan are recruiting Election Protection Attorneys to be on the ground at early voting sites and polling places in Michigan as nonpartisan poll challengers — prepared to collect affidavits so credible problems observed in the field can directly support emergency litigation. This one-hour launch session walks through the program model, deployment logistics, and what to expect, and unlocks access to two hours of required asynchronous training.

Who should join: licensed attorneys (any state) able to travel to areas of highest need across Michigan during early voting (Oct 25–Nov 1) and/or Election Day (Nov 3). Registered Michigan voters are preferred (they can serve as poll challengers with more rights and responsibilities), but volunteers not registered in Michigan can serve as poll monitors — the training covers the difference. Register for the September 18 training.

🗳️ Get Out the Vote: A Nonpartisan Toolkit for Lawyers

📍 nationoflaws.org/lawyers-gotv-toolkit

L4GG is part of the Nation of Laws Coalition — a nonpartisan group of lawyers, bar associations, and pro-democracy organizations — that just released a Get Out the Vote Toolkit to help legal professionals support election protection and voter participation ahead of November. Whatever time you have, there's a way to plug in:

Explore the full toolkit!

 

🤝 PARTNER ACTIONS

🗳️ North Carolina: Attorneys Needed for Nonpartisan Election Protection

📍 Register here | Wednesday, September 16 | 2:00 PM ET | Zoom

As threats to our elections escalate, it's more important than ever for lawyers to step up. Join Common Cause North Carolina, Democracy Rising Collaborative, and Protect Democracy for an urgent Election Protection Mobilization Webinar. You'll hear from 501(c)(3) organizations about how to sign up for critical opportunities across North Carolina, including voter hotline support and poll-presence vote protection. Every attorney who steps up strengthens our ability to safeguard the vote. RSVP for the September 16 webinar.

🎉 Host a Party at the Polls — Bring Pro-Democracy Joy to Your Community

📍 whenweallvote.org/party/host

Party at the Polls, an initiative of When We All Vote, helps people organize nonpartisan community events that promote voter turnout while spreading pro-democracy joy — block parties, barbecues, live music, and more. Hosts receive tools, resources, and technical assistance, and may be eligible for financial support. Sign up to host, provide resources, or amplify the effort in your community. Get involved with Party at the Polls!

 

🎉 Community Impact: A Win for Protected Care in New Jersey

Governor Mikie Sherrill has signed New Jersey's long-awaited healthcare shield law, S2260/A2218 — strengthening protections for the full range of care across the reproductive lifespan, including gender-affirming care for transgender residents. And L4GG's community helped make it happen. Throughout this fight, you sent letters urging New Jersey's legislators to pass this bill and thanked them when they did.

As our Director of Gender Justice & Health Equity, Khadijah Silver, told legislators in testimony to the state Senate: this law is a shield, not a sword. It draws one clear line: providers practicing legally in New Jersey answer to New Jersey's laws, not to politicians in another state reaching across the border. That means a doctor can keep treating patients without a hostile out-of-state investigation hanging over every appointment, and families no longer have to choose between the care they need and the state they call home. We're honored to have been part of this fight with you, and we'll keep fighting wherever these protections are needed next.

We’ll be back next week with more ways to take action—but the work doesn’t stop here. 

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Yasmine Oubahi
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Impact Docket – 08/26/26