Impact Docket – 09/23/26
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 — her confirmation hearing is TOMORROW → Write to the Senate
📩 Short-Term Engagement — Public Comments & Trainings
Stop the Forest Service from stripping protections on 45 million acres of wild forest → submit a comment by Oct 6
Stop the rollback of banking rules that support investment in low-income communities → Register for the Sept 29 comment training and submit a comment by Oct 13
🛠️ Long-Term Engagement
TUESDAY: 40 Minutes for the Rule of Law — a fast virtual rally to find your role protecting the midterms → Register
Combat election disinformation (national, remote — attorneys and non-attorneys) → Join the Response Network
VIRGINIA (in person, attorneys & law students — DC/MD/VA): Serve as a Frontline Legal Advocate on Election Day → Register for the Oct 9 info session
MICHIGAN (in person, attorneys): Serve as an Election Protection Attorney → Sign up for a shift
TEXAS (in person, attorneys): Serve as a Frontline Legal Monitor where coverage is thinnest → Register for the Sept 28 info session
MONTANA, MISSOURI & COLORADO: Defend the courts and our rights at the ballot box — CI-132, Amendment 3, and Props 134 & 135 → see how to help in your state below
🤝 Partner Actions
Become a nonpartisan election observer with The Carter Center (in person — GA, MI, MT, NV, NM) → Sign up
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: Everyone Has a Role
This week, Black and Latino civil rights leaders sent letters to all 50 governors with a warning: the 2026 election is facing a coordinated set of threats unlike any in recent memory. Federal agents near polling places. A Postal Service pressured into restricting mail ballots. Mid-decade redistricting redrawing the map in state after state. New identification barriers. A rising tide of disinformation. No single one of these is the whole story. Together, they add up to the most sustained pressure on the right to vote in a generation.
Here is the thing about a threat that is broad: it can’t be met by a handful of specialists. It takes all of us. And the good news is that protecting the vote is not just courtroom work. If you can write, you can help counter disinformation and get accurate information to voters. If you can show up, you can serve as a poll monitor, an election observer, or a frontline legal advocate. If you have legal expertise, there’s traditional pro bono work waiting — hotlines, litigation support, same-day affidavits. There is a way to plug in for every skill set, every schedule, and every comfort level.
You don’t have to figure it out alone. On Tuesday, September 29, join us for 40 Minutes for the Rule of Law — a fast virtual rally built for busy attorneys. In under an hour, you’ll hear where the gaps are this cycle and leave with one concrete way to help, whether that’s an hour, a weekend, or an ongoing commitment. You don’t need election law experience. You need 40 minutes and a willingness to show up.
Ten actions in this docket. Pick one. Start there.
⚡ QUICK ACTIONS
⚖️ Tell the Senate: Reject Dr. Heidi Overton for FDA Commissioner — Hearing TOMORROW
Dr. Heidi Overton’s confirmation hearing before the Senate HELP Committee is tomorrow, Thursday, September 24. Overton has pushed to restrict mifepristone, the FDA-approved medication used safely for decades in abortion and miscarriage care, and even the Republican chair of the Senate health committee has voiced concerns about her fitness. The agency that regulates that medication shouldn’t be led by someone determined to limit it. The confirmation math is tight — senators need to hear from lawyers now.
📩 SHORT-TERM ENGAGEMENT- PUBLIC COMMENTS & TRAININGS
🌲 Submit a Comment: Stop the Forest Service from Removing Protections on Millions of Acres of Wild Forest
📍 Follow the steps below | Comment deadline: October 6
The U.S. Forest Service is proposing to repeal the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. For 25 years, this rule has protected more than 45 million acres of national forest across 39 states — safeguarding drinking water, endangered species habitat, outdoor recreation, and wildfire risk reduction. Repealing it would open these areas to road construction and, ultimately, commercial logging, mining, and drilling. Your comment can help protect our forests.
Read resources from The Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club to draft your comment
Submit your comment by October 6, 2026
Let us know you submitted at L4GG.org/TrackComment
🏦 Submit a Comment: Stop the Rollback of Banking Rules That Support Investment in Low-Income Communities
📍 Follow the steps below | Comment deadline: October 13
The Treasury Department is proposing to weaken obligations under the Community Reinvestment Act — the landmark law that, for nearly 50 years, has required banks to lend, invest, and provide services in low- and moderate-income communities that historically faced barriers to credit and capital. Weakening it threatens funding for affordable housing, small businesses, and community development. Your comment can help stop it.
Register for L4GG and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC)’s comment training webinar on September 29 (we’ll share templates during the training)
Submit your comment by October 13, 2026
Let us know you submitted at L4GG.org/TrackComment
🛠️ LONG-TERM ENGAGEMENT
📣 TUESDAY: 40 Minutes for the Rule of Law — A Virtual Rally for Lawyers
📍 L4GG.org/40Minutes | Tuesday, September 29 | 12:00 PM ET
The rule of law doesn’t defend itself. This November, it needs lawyers — in polling places, on hotlines, and behind the scenes making sure every eligible voter can cast a ballot and have it counted. Join the Nation of Laws Coalition for a fast-moving virtual rally built for busy attorneys. In under an hour, you’ll hear from election protection leaders, learn exactly where the gaps are this cycle, and walk away with one concrete way to plug in — whether that’s an hour, a weekend, or an ongoing commitment. You don’t need election law experience. You need 40 minutes and a willingness to show up. Register for the September 29 rally.
📡 Combat Election Disinformation: Join the Response Network
📍 L4GG.org/Disinfo | National, remote | Open to attorneys and non-attorneys
As bad actors flood the information ecosystem ahead of the midterms, voters face growing barriers to reliable information. L4GG’s Election Mis/Disinformation Response Network — built with Voter Protection Corps — trains volunteers to monitor social media for false or misleading election information, flag concerning content, and support rapid response. Every shift is supervised by an election mis/disinformation expert. Shifts run two hours on Tuesdays, 6–8 PM ET through Oct. 27, plus Election Day shifts from 6 AM to 8 PM ET.
Sign up and watch the recorded training.
🏛️ VIRGINIA: Serve as a Frontline Legal Advocate on Election Day
📍 L4GG.org/VAInfo | In person | Open to attorneys & law students (DC, MD, VA) | Info session: Friday, Oct 9, 12:00 PM ET
In partnership with the Virginia Civic Engagement Table, L4GG is recruiting DC, Maryland, and Virginia attorneys and law students to serve as legal advocates in 17 priority locations where need is high — including college towns with large student populations. Advocates monitor voting at their assigned polling places, assist voters, and, if needed, take declarations from affected voters. You do not need to be barred in Virginia. Those who commit attend a required 90-minute training on Oct. 22; shifts are four hours on Election Day, Nov. 3.
Register for the Oct 9 info session.
⭐ TEXAS: Serve as a Frontline Legal Monitor Where the Need Is Greatest
📍 L4GG.org/TexasEP | In person | Open to attorneys | Info session: Sept 28, 3:00 PM CT
In partnership with the Texas Civil Rights Project, L4GG is recruiting attorneys to serve as legal monitors in 22 priority counties where legal coverage is thin — with border and panhandle counties at the top of the list. Monitors answer voter questions, check polling places for ADA compliance, and report problems. Join the info session to learn how it works and see the priority county map. Those who commit attend a required 2-hour training on Oct. 7; 3-hour shifts are available Oct. 19–30 and on Election Day, Nov. 3.
Register for the Sept 28 info session.
🗳️ MICHIGAN: Serve as an Election Protection Attorney
📍 L4GG.org/MichiganEP | In person | Open to attorneys
With the Promote the Vote Fund and the ACLU of Michigan, L4GG is recruiting attorneys to monitor early voting sites and polling places. Attorneys registered to vote in Michigan serve as challengers; others serve as poll monitors. Both engage election workers when problems arise and help collect affidavits, including for emergency same-day litigation led by the ACLU of Michigan. Complete the 90-minute on-demand training (available early October) at least four days before your shift. Four-hour shifts run Oct. 24–Nov. 1, plus Election Day shifts starting 7 AM Nov. 3.
Sign up for a shift at L4GG.org/MichiganEP.
✅ MONTANA, MISSOURI & COLORADO: Defend the Courts and Our Rights at the Ballot Box
Several states are voting on measures that will shape judicial independence and fundamental rights. If you’re in one of these states, your voice carries real weight — and several campaigns have remote ways to help from anywhere.
Montana — Vote YES on CI-132. Montana politicians recently passed a bill allowing political parties to contribute large sums of money to judicial candidates. CI-132 would enshrine nonpartisan judicial elections in the state constitution, keeping politics out of the courts. Get involved with Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts: in Montana, add your name or display a placard; from anywhere, boost the campaign on Facebook, Instagram, or X.
Missouri — Vote NO on Amendment 3. In 2024, Missouri voters ended the state’s abortion ban and enshrined the Right to Reproductive Freedom in the state constitution. Now politicians are pushing to overturn the will of the people and ban abortion in nearly all cases again. Get involved and Stop the Ban: in Missouri, canvass across the state or in St. Louis this weekend; from anywhere, phone bank every other Monday and Wednesday, 6:30–8:00 PM CST.
Colorado — Vote NO on Props 134 & 135. Both measures take decisions out of the hands of experts and families: Prop 134 subjects kids to invasive gender checks, and Prop 135 interferes with kids’ medical care — both with no appeals process. Get involved with Families, Not Politics: in Colorado, canvass in Centennial, West Colfax, East Denver, or Colorado Springs, or share your story; from anywhere, phone bank on Wednesdays, 6:00–8:30 PM MDT.
🤝 PARTNER ACTIONS
🔍 Become a Nonpartisan Election Observer with The Carter Center
📍 Sign up with The Carter Center | In person | GA, MI, MT, NV, NM
When independent, nonpartisan observers are present, voters have greater confidence that elections are fair, transparent, and well-run. Applying decades of international election-observation expertise here at home, The Carter Center is building grassroots observer networks to monitor election processes and audits in five states. If you live in Georgia, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, or New Mexico, you can sign up to help strengthen public trust in the results.
We’ll be back next week with more ways to take action—but the work doesn’t stop here.
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