There was some good news for voting rights in North Carolina this week, thanks to the Supreme Court. But the existential crisis still continues.

It’s no coincidence that by election day last fall the Voting Rights Act had been gutted, there were new voting restrictions in fourteen states, and states with histories of voter discrimination had 868 fewer polling places. This is the result of a strategic Republican assault on voting rights…and it’s Trump’s and the Republicans’ long game for winning in 2018, 2020 and beyond. 

Now, Trump - who six months after the election is still taking any chance he gets to bring up that he won the Electoral College - has launched his promised voter fraud commission. In true Trump style, this charade is lead by people formerly accused of voter suppression. The ACLU immediately responded with Freedom of Information Act requests to officials in four states and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

For years now, the right and their Fox News megaphone have been able to sow enough fear and doubt, using false voter fraud - without any evidence to back them up - that Republican voters now see things like voter ID laws as necessary protections to democracy. It’s unclear if we can bring them back to reality. But for those ready to take on the politicians, including Trump, who are propagating these lies and suppressing votes, there is a new organization you should know about.   

Let America Vote was founded by former Missouri Secretary of State, and recent congressional candidate, Jason Kander. The organization aims to answer a simple question: what if politicians were actually held publicly accountable for supporting voter suppression?  

Through online and grassroots organizing, an aggressive earned media strategy, and advertising, Let America Vote wants to play a crucial role among the existing network of organizations fighting for voting rights. They have already launched digital ads during New Hampshire’s special elections and called out Karen Handel, the Republican running in Georgia’s 6th district, for an almost laughable anti-voter rights email sent to her supporters. 

Head over to LetAmericaVote.org to get involved by signing up for updates, volunteering to knock on doors, call or email legislators, write letters to the editor, host a voting rights house party, and more. While you’re there, check out the interactive map of the U.S. that highlights each state’s current and pending voter suppression laws and tactics. You can also follow the organization on Twitter @Let_AmericaVote.

So, if protecting voting rights for all Americans is important to you, be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about Calling Out Voter Suppression with Let America Vote via social media so that others in your network can spread the word too.

And we're making it possible for everyday citizens to stop voter suppression. Want to help? https://t.co/W3Y945oVHs https://t.co/HwfqdrBZWL

— Let America Vote (@Let_AmericaVote) May 9, 2017

TAKE ACTION

Get involved with Let America Vote to fight voter suppression 

EDUCATE YOURSELF 

The GOP’s Attack on Voting Rights Was the Most Under-Covered Story of 2016 (The Nation)

There’s a reason Trump keeps lying about voter fraud (Washington Post, Opinion)

‘The Stakes': Let America Vote Founder Jason Kander on Fighting Voter Suppression (MTV) 

There Are 868 Fewer Places to Vote in 2016 Because the Supreme Court Gutted the Voting Rights Act (The Nation) 

Posted May 19, 2017; Written by Best of the Left Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman

Hear this segment in the context of Best of the Left #1106: If you can't beat them, suppress them 

If you haven’t heard about bill HR-610, which includes the “Choices and Education Act of 2017” and the sick and ironically named “No Hungry Kids Act,” you need to get it on your radar. This bill, introduced by Representative Steve King from Iowa, would not only defund our public education system as we know it, but literally remove any and all nutritional requirements for food provided to poor children, all in the name of “school choice.” 

Luckily, while in committee, the bill stalled. So why are we talking about it? Because this is the first draft. An inside look, if you will, at what the Republicans want to do to public education. King’s bill is Betsy DeVos’ dream, and rest assured that this bill, wrapped in sheep’s clothing and a new name, will be what comes to the House floor for a vote in the near future.

HR-610 basically reduces the role of the Department of Education down to a block grant distributer by repealing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, and establishes an education voucher program. States are only qualified to receive the federal education block grants if they comply with the education voucher program requirements and make it lawful for parents to choose to send their child to any public or private school in the state, or to home-school. This cripples the entity in charge of setting and enforcing national education standards, including anti-discrimination and programs to help children with learning disabilities. It also sends your tax dollars away from public schools and into the coffers of private, religious and charter schools which aren’t held to the same standards as public schools. In short, this is the privatization of education.

The second part of this bill has the audacity to repeal nutrition standards for the national school lunch and breakfast programs. Apparently, Republicans feel we can’t be wasting money on making sure poor children eat food that might help them stay healthy, become strong and able to focus better in the classroom.

We can get ahead of bills like this by speaking up now and drawing attention to the damage this kind of legislation will do. That’s why your action today is to call Congress and tell them you oppose voucher programs, depletion of nutrition standards for recipients of free and reduced lunch programs, and any bill remotely similar to HR 610. 

Get involved on the national and local level by joining up with the Network for Public Education, lead by Diane Ravitch. Head over to NetworkforPublicEducation.org to sign up for their newsletter and be sure to follow them on Facebook, and on Twitter @Network4PubEd. You can also use the #SaveOurSchools to join the education conversation online.

So, if saving public education is important to you, be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about Stopping Legislation that Kills Public Education & Hurts Poor Children via social media so that others in your network can spread the word too. 

It may take a village to raise a child, but it’ll take The Resistance to protect their education.  

Betsy DeVos could end the school-integration comeback, writes @patrick_wall https://t.co/hZ3U4HyYG0@

— Network4PublicEd (@Network4pubEd) March 21, 2017

TAKE ACTION

Get involved with Network for Public Education and follow them on Facebook and Twitter

Join the conversations about school vouchers online with #SaveOurSchools

Call Members of Congress: Countable.us Education Bills ; Members of the Education and the Workforce Committee

EDUCATE YOURSELF

Read the Summary of HR 610 (Congress.gov)

Do Private-School Vouchers Promote Segregation? (The Atlantic)

Betsy DeVos Wants to Use America's Schools to Build "God's Kingdom" (Mother Jones)

Jeff Bryan: The Big Lie Behind Trump’s Budget Proposals for Education (DianaRavitch.com)

Tensions rise as vouchers pick up traction across Wisconsin (Journal Sentinel - Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

Subtracting Schools from Communities (Urban.org)

Iowa ACLU Rails Against School Vouchers, Warns of New Legislation (North Iowa Today)

Posted March 29, 2017; Written by Best of the Left Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman.

As Senator Whitehouse pointed out at the Supreme Court confirmation hearings, dark money is spending millions to make sure Neil Gorsuch is elected to the Supreme Court. When Whitehouse asked Gorsuch why that might be, Gorsuch replied innocently, “You’d have to ask them.” Whitehouse responded with “I can’t. I don’t know who they are.”

But you and I, and Senator Whitehouse, know who they are. They are ideologues, the Christian Right and big business of all varieties who love Gorsuch’s previous anti-worker, anti-woman and Citizen United-style decisions. The most famous of those being the now infamous Hobby Lobby case, where he was part of the ruling that gave for-profit corporations a right to religious freedom, allowing them to deny their workers specific healthcare services such as birth control.

Summed up, Neil Gorsuch is the perfect ultra conservative blend: he believes corporations have human rights, workers have practically none and he defends acts of injustice under his vastly broad definition of religious liberty. If confirmed to the highest court in the land, Gorsuch puts Roe v. Wade, labor rights, gay marriage, the fight to overturn Citizens United, and the battle to stop the Trump administration from destroying immigrant families and banning Muslims, at risk. 

So call your members of Congress every day to tell them Neil Gorsuch is an extreme SCOTUS pick who is dangerous for American workers, women, the LGBT community and anyone the Christian Right deems less than….and that’s a lot of people.

The team over at IndivisibleGuide.com has detailed background information on Neil Gorsuch’s horrifying decisions in previous cases and scripts for calling your Congressperson about this issue. Just go to the Resources tab at IndivisibleGuide.com and select “Scripts.” The “Combat Donald Trump’s Arch Conservative SCOTUS Pick” page is currently at the top of the list. You can also spread the word about Gorsuch’s extreme decisions on social media using the #StopGorsuch and/or #SupremelyExtreme. 

So, if fighting to defend the rights we have is important to you, be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about Stopping Arch Conservative SCOTUS Pick Neil Gorsuch via social media so that others in your network can spread the word too.

Whether we like it or not, the Supreme Court has never had so much power - but it also hinges on public trust and can be influenced by public opinion. So brace yourself - because we’re going to be screaming in the streets for a long time to come.

Combat Trump’s #SupremelyExtreme SCOTUS pick, Neil Gorsuch. Fact sheets and sample call dialogue here: https://t.co/npZJdtYxfE? pic.twitter.com/t9cAobdcVY

— Indivisible Guide (@IndivisibleTeam) March 18, 2017

TAKE ACTION

Use Indivisible Guide's fact sheet on Gorsuch and scripts to call Senators

Easily Call Your Senators: 5calls.org (or) Countable.us 

EDUCATE YOURSELF

Hobby Lobby and executive power: Gorsuch's key rulings (CNN)

Call Your Senators and Demand That They Reject Neil Gorsuch (The Nation)

The Democrats Must Filibuster Neil Gorsuch (Slate)

Gorsuch: Roe v. Wade is the 'law of the land' (The Atlantic)

Supreme Court Nominee Neil Gorsuch Has a Troubling History When Ruling on Disability Rights Cases (ACLU Blog)

If We Care About Abortion, Asking Judge Neil Gorsuch His Opinion on Roe v. Wade Is Not Enough (ACLU Blog)

Should Your Boss’s Religious Beliefs Dictate Your Health Insurance Coverage? Supreme Court Nominee Judge Gorsuch Thinks So (ACLU Blog)

Attorney for "Frozen Trucker": Neil Gorsuch May Have Been Most Hostile Judge I've Ever Encountered (Truth Out)

Durbin, Gorsuch spar over Hobby Lobby ruling (The Washington Post)

Posted March 23, 2017; Written by Best of the Left Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman. 

Hear the segment in the context of Best of the Left Edition #1089: A Corporate Judicial Coup (Judge Gorsuch and the Supreme Court)

The sad news is that if Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison is elected as DNC Chair he has pledged to leave the US House of Representatives. The good news is, if he wins, he will be dedicating all of his time to launching a county-focused, grassroots effort to re-build the Democratic Party from the bottom up.

Democracy Spring is just the latest in a string of progressive organizations and media to announce their endorsement of Ellison for DNC Chair. 

In their endorsement announcement, Democracy Spring said, “The Democratic Party will only represent everyday people if we organize and mobilize to make it so. We have to tell the members of the DNC that the party needs to fiercely resist Trump, break its ties with Big Money, and embrace the bold and unapologetically progressive agenda of its voters. Keith Ellison is the candidate to help us make that happen.”

But with the vote happening next week, Democracy Spring’s endorsement was also a call to action. The organization is asking their supporters to volunteer to organize local delegations to hold small actions and/or make calls to put direct pressure on DNC members in their state to elect Ellison. With less than a week to go before the vote, we have to act quickly. Sign up at the Democracy Spring Google Doc sign-up page to start a delegation and/or make calls.  

You can also learn more about and help promote Ellison and his ideas on social media by following @EllisonCampaign on Twitter and by going to KeithforDNC.org.

As usual, we want to ask that you help us in our work to amplify the most effective activism. If you have come across an action or a new organization that is doing great work getting people engaged to resist the Trump agenda, please share it with us by emailing [email protected]. 

So, if making sure Democrats represent the people and not corporations is important to you, be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about electing Keith Ellison as DNC Chair via social media so that others in your network can spread the word too.

.@DemSpring is proud to endorse Keith Ellison for DNC Chair. We need a progressive populist ORGANIZER to lead the Party.#KeithforDNC pic.twitter.com/PIAcClLtBs

— Kai Newkirk (@kai_newkirk) February 16, 2017

TAKE ACTION

Sign up to start a delegation in your area and/or make calls to DNC members in your state. 

Check out the "How You Can Help" page on KeithforDNC.org for social media actions/media and more. 

Follow @EllisonCampaign on Twitter and Keith for DNC on Facebook.

EDUCATE YOURSELF

Keith Ellison for DNC Video on Approach to Voter Turnout (@EllisonCampaign)

Keith Ellison Is Everything Republicans Thought Obama Was. Maybe He's Just What Democrats Need. (Mother Jones)

Why We Support Keith Ellison for DNC Chair (The Nation)

Keith Ellison: How the Democrats Can Win (The Nation)

The Democratic Party Needs Keith Ellison (The Huffington Post Blog)

College Democrats of America President and Vice-President Endorse Keith Ellison for DNC Chair (Press Release)  

Onetime Rival Endorses Ellison for DNC Chair (Common Dreams)

Posted on February 21, 2017; Written by Best of the left Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman.

Hear the segment in the context of Best of the Left Edition #1081: Where the Democrats went wrong and how to bring them back

As Trump continues his assault on the press, some have suggested that there might be a silver lining: maybe the mainstream corporate media will work harder, do real reporting and as a result become a better resource for citizens. Maybe...

It’s still too early to tell and the corporate overlord influence may be too strong for real change to happen, but no matter how things turn out, we must always be active news consumers. That means calling out inaccuracies and bias when you see it and communicating directly with journalists to demand more responsible reporting. In the age of Trump, this has never been more important.  

So we’d like to bring your attention to the non-profit organization FAIR, which stands for Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. FAIR is the progressive organization behind the show CounterSpin, which you’ve probably heard clips from here on Best of the Left. This national media watch group has been offering well-documented criticism of the media for more than 30 years. FAIR’s mission includes fighting for greater diversity in the press, pushing for minority and dissenting viewpoints, scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, exposing neglected news stories, and defending working journalists when they are muzzled. They also believe that structural reform is ultimately needed to break up the dominant media conglomerates, establish independent public broadcasting and promote strong non-profit sources of information. Basically, they are total bad-asses.

Now, here is where you come in. FAIR encourages the public to contact media with their concerns to become what they call “media activists,” rather than passive consumers, and provides the resources to do just that. Go to FAIR.org and check out the “Take Action” page, where the organization has a continuously updated lists of Action Alerts about issues in the media and the direct contact information you need to share your concerns with the outlet or journalists involved. You can also sign up to receive these action alerts via email so that you are always in the know. 

FAIR also provides a Media Activism Kit that provides “how-to” guides for identifying, documenting and challenging unfair or inaccurate news coverage, along with information about something that is certainly close to my heart - how to promote independent media. There is a link to the kit on the Take Action page of the site. 

Again, we want to ask that you help us in our work to amplify the most effective activism. If you have come across an action or a new organization that is doing great work getting people engaged to resist the Trump agenda, please share it with us by emailing [email protected].  

So, if having an accurate, fair and free press is important to you, be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about becoming a “media activist” via social media so that others in your network can spread the word too. 

The press is critical to our democracy, but we must hold them to extraordinarily high expectations. Otherwise, as Orwell once said, it’s all just public relations.  

No major media coverage of Gorsuch ruling against cancer survivor who wanted to work from home during flu epidemic. https://t.co/KPu7FlQhry

— FAIR (@FAIRmediawatch) February 17, 2017

TAKE ACTION

Go to FAIR.org to get Action Alerts and become a “media activist”

Check out FAIR’s Media Activism Kit 

Subscribe to FAIR’s CounterSpin podcast

Member of the media? Check out FAIR’s Media Advisories

EDUCATE YOURSELF

NYT’s False Choice for Democrats: Move to the Right or Divide by Race (FAIR)

Jessica Gonzalez on FCC Chair Ajit Pai (FAIR's CounterSpin)

Scrutiny for Supreme Court Pick Fails to Focus on Rights of Disabled (FAIR)

ACTION ALERT: WaPo’s Post Live Series Is a Love Letter to Corporate Conflicts of Interest (FAIR)

Trump’s Inauguration and the Legitimacy Fetish (FAIR)

Daily Kos Founder Gleefully Celebrates Coal Miners Losing Health Insurance (FAIR)

Posted Feb. 17, 2017; Written by Best of the Left Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman. 

Hear the segment in the context of Best of the Left Edition #1080: ​Corporate media’s fight for legitimacy in the age of Trump

Edition #1074, "The corruption of Donald Trump," focuses on executive and federal level corruption -  and the lawyers are already hard at work filing lawsuits as we speak. But as you’ve probably been hearing: more than ever, our activism efforts need to shift to the state level in order to make progress. 

Represent.US is doing just that. This organization is bringing together conservatives, progressives, and everyone in between, to pass powerful anti-corruption laws that stop political bribery, end secret money, and fix our broken elections. To accomplish this goal, they are going around Congress to put powerful reforms on the ballot, where the people can vote for them directly.

And they have been making progress. 

In November 2014, a bipartisan coalition of Represent.Us members in Tallahassee, Florida, put America’s first municipal Anti-Corruption Act on the ballot – and they won. Since then, voters have passed initiatives for sweeping anti-corruption reforms in more than a dozen cities and states across America. In 2016, for the first time ever, comprehensive statewide anti-corruption legislation passed in South Dakota. Unfortunately, politicians in South Dakota are now declaring a fake state of emergency in an effort to ram through a Koch brothers-backed bill that would gut America’s first Anti-Corruption Act. 

Anyone can help fight this battle in South Dakota by spreading the word about the ulterior motives of South Dakota politicians, but you can also fight corruption locally by joining a Represent.US chapter near you or starting one yourself. Go to Represent.US today to get involved and bolster their efforts. 

So, if fighting corruption at every level of government is important to you, be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about Joining or Starting a Represent.US chapter near you via social media so that others in your network can spread the word too. 

As the American writer John Steinbeck once said...

“Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts…perhaps the fear of a loss of power.”

Let’s make sure their fears are warranted. 

OUTRAGEOUS: Politicians in SD are using "emergency powers" to ram through a Koch-backed plot to gut America's first Anti-Corruption Act. pic.twitter.com/wGkD40NykE

— Represent.Us (@RepresentDotUs) January 23, 2017

TAKE ACTION

Promote the Represent.US campaign to stop South Dakota from gutting the state's Anti-Corruption Act

Join or start a Represent.US chapter near you to fight corruption locally

EDUCATE YOURSELF

South Dakota Declares State of Emergency (via All In with Chris Hayes)

Your Day-One Guide to Donald Trump's Conflicts of Interest (via Mother Jones)

The Wall Street Washington Complex Invades Trump's Cabinet (via Mother Jones)

The many scandals of Donald Trump (via The Atlantic)

Trump Could be the Most Corruptible President Ever (via Politico Magazine)

Donald Trump's Business Dealings Test a Constitutional Limit (via The New York Times)

A Close Look at Donald Trump's Cabinet (via Marie Claire)

Posted January 24, 2017; Written by Best of the Left Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman.

Hear the clip in the context of Best of the Left Edition #1074: The corruption of Donald Trump

We are not here to give you false hope. It is, by all accounts, very unlikely that enough electoral college electors will change their vote and keep Trump from becoming our next president. However, just because something is unlikely or unprecedented doesn’t mean it can’t happen….Just look at the results of our election.

Regardless of the outcome, what we do between now and inauguration day matters. We need to show Trump, his cronies, the Republicans backing him, the mainstream media and the rest of the dumbfounded world that the majority of this country rejects Trump and everything he stands for. We need to show them that he does not have a mandate. How do we do that? We get in the streets and let our voices be heard.  

So in the early morning of Monday, December 19th - the day the electoral college will cast their votes and truly end this election - make sure you’re at your state capitol building to join Democracy Spring and millions of your fellow Americans. Democracy Spring, of get-money-out-of-politics fame, is organizing rallies at the state capitol buildings in all 50 states on the 19th to call on the electors to vote their conscience and protect our democracy. Tell everyone you know and bring everyone you know. The size of these crowds matters. Head over to savedemocracy.org to get the details on the Democracy Spring December 19th action at a state capitol building near you and RSVP today.

But wait, there’s more…

There’s not much time left, but before December 19th you can actually write directly to the electors themselves. Directelection.org is a website put together by a guy from New York who, like millions of others, is terrified of a Trump presidency. The website gives you all of the tools you need to send polite, persuasive, actual mail to 273 Trump-pledged electors - or as many as you can afford the postage for.

This well organized site has everything you need to make this a simple process. It has ready-to-print, customizable mail-merge documents in Microsoft Word and a set of ready-to-print Avery Standard fifty-one sixty labels for envelopes. All you have to do is download, add your name and address, and customize the letters further if you want. Then just print, sign, put them in envelopes, address the envelopes, apply stamps, and mail.

The standard letter is respectful, but clearly points out the duty of the Electoral College - yes, it quotes Hamilton - and why Trump is unfit for office and will likely be impeached. Materials and cost of postage are on you - and you will probably need to pay extra for rush service to make sure the letters get there in time - but everything else is at your fingertips for free. 

So if doing everything you can to protect democracy and reject a Trump presidency is important to you, then be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about telling the Electoral College to #StopTrump and vote with the people via social media so that others in your network can take action too.

Stand up. Fight back. There is absolutely no time to lose.

We can still #StopTrump

December 19.

Your state capitol.

We must #DefendDemocracy

Sign up: december19.us pic.twitter.com/pe4EPiVkm5

— Democracy Spring (@DemSpring) December 12, 2016

TAKE ACTION

RSVP for the Democracy Spring December 19th rally at a state capitol building near you at savedemocracy.org

ASAP ONLY! Download everything you need to print and mail letters to the 273 Electoral College members pledged to vote for Trump at directelection.org

EDUCATE YOURSELF 

To be clear, this election IS rigged - but only because eligible voters are being denied their right to vote.

Millions are already voting and it’s not going well. They are being taken off the rolls in North Carolina because their address changed. Across the country they are being barred from voting because their presented gender doesn’t match their ID card. In Wisconsin, they have limited access to polling places because Republican officials have determined that having more voting locations helps Democrats. In Ohio, their ballots are being thrown out if a voter makes a single clerical error. Voter registration drives are being raided by police in Indiana….and this is also the first election in 50 years without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act.

So, that’s the lay of the land - and it’s not even election day yet. 

Voter suppression is how democracy ends. If you have been denied your right to vote, report it immediately and get help by calling Election Protection at 866-OUR-VOTE. If you have questions about the voter ID laws in your state, call the VoteRider’s national voter ID hotline at 844-338-8743.

The best way to counter voter suppression this close to the election is to volunteer to help get out the vote. NextGen Climate is currently running a $25 million get out the vote campaign with a heavy focus on turning out young Americans concerned about climate change, reproductive rights, criminal justice reform and other major issues that will impact their future. They are driving college students to the polls, enlisting volunteers to call voters in swing states from the comfort of their own homes, providing Get Out the Vote strategy calls for all volunteers and producing videos with celebrities to appeal to undecideds and those thinking about staying home. Full disclosure, this organization does favor Hillary Clinton - but their primary goal is getting voters to the polls, period.  

Sign up to be a volunteer to help get out the vote at nextgenclimate.org/volunteer.

Today and after November 8th, we encourage you to make fighting voter suppression and restoring the Voting Rights Act part of your theory of change by getting involved in the long term with organizations like The Brennan Center for Justice, Democracy Awakening, Democracy Spring, Voto Latino, Advancement Project, NAACP and other organizations fighting to make democracy work for everyone.

So if having a real democracy that works is important to you, then be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about the Getting Out the Vote & Reporting Voter Suppression via social media so that others in your network can take action too. 

Spread these #'s far and wide to #ProtectTheVote during the 1st #PresidentialElection in 50 yrs w/o the #VotingRightsAct's full protections. pic.twitter.com/cfpDt7avMi

— Democracy Awakening (@DemAwakening) October 26, 2016

TAKE ACTION

Volunteer to help get out the vote with NextGen Climate

Report voter suppression by calling Election Protection at 866-OUR-VOTE

Ask questions about voter ID laws by calling VoteRider’s national voter ID hotline at 844-338-8743.

EDUCATE YOURSELF

This Election Is Being Rigged—but Not by Democrats (The Nation) 

North Carolina Republicans Tried to Disenfranchise a 100-Year-Old African-American Woman (The Nation)

Possible Election Day problems worry civil rights advocates (PBS Newshour)

‘The most chaotic election for people of color in 50 years,’ activist predicts (Star Telegram) 

What we often forget when we talk about voting restrictions: the actual voters (Vox)

Indiana officials are trying to block almost 45,000 black citizens from voting (ThinkProgress)

Election 2016: Tracking Reports of Voting Problems Across the United States (NBC News)

This Is What Actual Voter Suppression Looks Like, And It’s Appalling (Huffington Post)

Trans Voters May Face Problems Voting in U.S. Election, Activists Say (NBC News)

Nevada elections chief refuses to accommodate Native Americans who have to drive 200 miles to vote (ThinkProgress)

Posted October 28, 2016. Written by Best of the Left Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman. 

Hear the segment in the context of Best of the Left Edition #1053: "The real way elections get rigged"

It’s hard to believe the election is only month away. It seems like only five or six years ago that we started talking about it when, in fact, it’s been much longer than that. But this election is unprecedented in more ways than the rise of the GOP’s pure id running as their candidate.

This year, 17 states have either cut back on early voting, cut day-of registration, passed voter ID laws and/or found other ways to suppress the votes of the disenfranchised, students, the elderly, immigrants and more. Like in Wisconsin, where the state is violating multiple court orders by not providing eligible citizens with free IDs or certificates for voting, and in Indiana where it is now lawful for party-nominated officers to demand further proof of identification from voters. 

So it’s going to be a jungle out there no matter what, but what you can do is be prepared and make sure everyone you know is prepared to vote. Head over to the very famous and now venerable RocktheVote.com. There you can register to vote or confirm that you are registered - this is especially important if you’ve recently moved - and spend some time getting to know the current voter ID laws in your state. Rock the Vote has actually partnered VoteRiders, the organization we just heard about, to provide accurate and detailed information about each state’s current voter ID laws. Or, you can go directly to VoteRiders.org.

And remember, if you run into any problems while registering or voting in your state, call Election Protection at 866-OUR-VOTE - that’s 866-687-8683 - or go to 866ourvote.org to report the incident.

When it comes to voter suppression, we cannot afford to be complacent in the off-season. So make voting accessibility and restoring our democracy part of your theory of change by getting involved in the long term with organizations like VoteRiders, Democracy Awakening, the ACLU, the Brennan Center for Justice, Project Vote, the Legal Defense Fund and other organizations fighting to restore the Voting Rights Act and make sure everyone has a voice at the ballot. 

So if making sure everyone can cast their ballot this November is important to you, then be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about registering and preparing to vote in your state via social media so that others in your network can take action too.

No matter what; your voice matters. Use it to make change. Via @HBO Register now. https://t.co/zxpwt0X4hi https://t.co/ZA8wBpNlBw

— Rock the Vote (@RockTheVote) October 3, 2016

TAKE ACTION

Register to vote at https://www.rockthevote.com

Check your registration status with Rock the Vote's "Am I Registered?" tool 

Check on changes to voter ID requirements in your state at Rock the Vote's "Voter ID Requirements by State" or at VoteRiders.org. 

EDUCATE YOURSELF

Electionary - A Guide to Election Laws 

“Rigged” - The Documentary (via Fusion TV)

Wisconsin is Systemically Failing to Provide the Photo IDs Required to Vote in November (via The Nation)

Judge Blocks Election Day Registration at Illinois Polling Places (via The Chicago Tribune)

This November, Know Your Voting Rights (via ACLU)

Voter Suppression Laws: What’s New Since the 2012 Presidential Election (Interactive Map) (via ACLU)

Posted October 4, 2016, written by Best of the Left Communication Director, Amanda Hoffman.

Hear this segment in the context of Best of the Left Edition #1047: How the parties have broken our democracy

Last weekend, on August 6, 2016, we marked the 51st anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. It came, almost poetically, after six federal appeals courts struck down voter suppression laws in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Kansas, Texas, Michigan and North Dakota. These were huge victories, but the fight is far from over. Just look at Missouri, where Republicans are actually trying to amend the state constitution to solidify voter suppression laws. 

As we heard in Edition #1034, the 2016 presidential primary elections were a mess. We need to restore the Voting Rights Act, and perhaps even modernize it with the Voting Rights Advancement Act. But Congress has been silent.

That is why this week, NAACP National President and CEO Cornell William Brooks, and Stephen Green, national director for the NAACP Youth and College Division, lead a six hour, non-violent, sit-in with 20 activists at Congressman Bob Goodlatte’s office in Virginia which ended in arrests for trespassing. Brooks was calling on Goodlatte - who is the chair of the House Judiciary Committee - to hold hearings on voting rights legislation to combat what he called the new “multiracial, Jim Crow 2.0 voter suppression that affects young people." Goodlatte had said that he would support strengthening the VRA if current discrimination could be shown. Apparently six federal courts pointing it out in six states wasn’t enough.

In a NAACP release, Brooks said:

“With the fate of our national moral character at stake, we must hold our elected leaders responsible to act to uphold the constitutional rights guaranteed for all citizens to vote and participate in our democracy.”

You can stand with the NAACP and Cornell Brooks and demand the Voting Rights Act hearings take place by calling Congressman Goodlatte and telling him yourself. The number to reach Goodlatte’s Roanoke office is (540) 857-2672 or you can call the DC office at (202) 225-5431. One more time - Goodlatte’s Roanoke office number is (540) 857-2672 and the DC office number is (202) 225-5431. You can also tweet at Goodlatte on Twitter @RepGoodlatte with the hashtag #RestoretheVRA. 

If making sure every American can take part in our democracy is important to you, then be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about Demanding Representative Goodlatte Hold VRA Hearings via social media so that others in your network can get involved too.

We’d like to remind everyone that we’re about to have the first presidential election in 50 years without the full Voting Rights Act - and we’ve already seen a preview of what’s to come. So make fighting voter disenfranchisement part of your theory of change. Start getting involved by downloading the NAACP’s Civic Engagement toolkits at NAACP.org and help them register 300,000 voters this summer. Or get involved with other organizations fighting for voting rights like Democracy Awakening, the Brennan Center for Justice, the ACLU, Rock the Vote and FairVote.org. No matter who wins in November, as progressives we always need to be prepared to fight. Start training for the battle now and become a warrior for democracy.

Thinking abt multiracial, multiethnic, multigenerational voter suppression, means we can't do business as usual. pic.twitter.com/SnTk2gOfaT

— (((Cornell Brooks))) (@CornellWBrooks) August 9, 2016

TAKE ACTION

Call Rep Goodlatte - Roanoke, VA office: (540) 857-2672; DC office: (202) 225-5431

Tweet at Rep Goodlatte - @RepGoodlatte 

Email Rep Goodlatte at [email protected]

EDUCATE YOURSELF

NAACP President Arrested After Staging Voting Rights Sit-in at Lawmakers Office (The Guardian)  

'Do Something, or Arrest Us:" NAACP Demands Restoration of Voting Rights (NBC)

NAACP National President Cornell William Brooks Arrested After Sit In (NAACP) 

The Recent Court Rulings Against Voting Restrictions Explained (Vox) 

What is the Voting Rights Act? Here's Why This Legislations Still Matters, 51 Years Later  (Policy.mic)

Here's What's Happening in the Battle for Voting Rights (Mother Jones) 

Voting Rights and Elections (The Brennan Center for Justice) 

Republicans Used to Unanimously Back the Voting Rights Act. Not Anymore. (Washington Post)

Written by BOTL Communications Director, Amanda Hoffman.

Hear this segment in the context of Best of the Left Edition #1034: "Fighting for your right"