For the better part of the 20th century we saw barriers to citizens’ voting rights knocked down, but so far the 21st century has been all about putting them back up. This country is now blatantly suppressing the voting rights of people of color, seniors, students, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, and low-income Americans, and has stripped any remaining power from those who actually can exercise their vote thanks to big money. 

If we want to change the course of this century, then we have to demand action now.  

This April 16th to 18th, join Democracy Awakening 2016 - a nationwide movement that will converge on state capitals and Washington, D.C. for an array of actions, including demonstrations, teach-ins, direct action trainings, music, a Rally for Democracy, and pressing for a Congress of Conscience through non-violent direct action and advocacy.

Watch and share the official Democracy Awakening video:

Democracy Awakening is mobilizing to demand a nation where voting rights are protected and the integrity of the vote is not undermined by big money. Your actions will support reform measures to restore previously struck-down protections against voting discrimination, update the Voting Rights Act of 1965, modernize voter registration, and prevent deceptive practices keeping people from voting, just to name a few. You will also be fighting for “The Democracy for all Amendment”  - a constitutional amendment to overturn Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United and allow elected representatives to set commonsense limits on money in elections. 

Sign up to take part in and/or volunteer for this nationwide mobilization at democracyawakening.org.

Fighting for every voice to be heard and every vote to be counted is as American as apple pie, so don’t get complacent - get angry and get your voice back. Remember, it’s only a democracy if it works for everyone.

TAKE ACTION:

Visit democracyawakening.org to sign up as a volunteer to help organize this event or to participate in April. 

Follow @DemAwakening on Twitter and on Facebook for the latest updates on the campaign. 

Engage with the movement to restore the Voting Rights Act via #RestoretheVRA on social media.

Sources/further reading:

"Voting Rights - and Wrongs: We're in the midst of the biggest rollback of the rights to vote since Jim Crow" (via Sojourners)

"North Carolina Exemplifies National Battles Over Voting Laws" (via The New York Times)

"Six Pieces of a Real Democracy Movement We've Never Had Before" (via HuffPost Politics)

DemocracyAwakening.org

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #998 http://www.bestoftheleft.com/_998_voting_rights

Written by BOTL Communications Director Amanda Hoffman.

Today’s activism: Democracy Spring - a march and sit-in of historic proportions to save our democracy.

If you’re sick and tired of big money holding our democracy hostage, get involved with Democracy Spring. This isn’t an ask to sign a petition or to call your congress-person (though, keep doing those things), this campaign has the potential to be one of the largest civil disobedience actions in a generation. 

This April 2nd, thousands will come together to march from the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, the birthplace of our nation, to the U.S Capitol in Washington DC, where a peaceful massive sit-in will take place April 11th-16th to... 

“...demand a Congress that will take immediate action to end the corruption of big money in politics and ensure free and fair elections in which every American has an equal voice.”

According to Democracy Spring, over 2,000 people have already pledged to risk arrest. A coalition of over 50 organizations are working together to lead this effort and will provide necessary training and legal support to all who join. 

Getting money out of politics is not just a progressive issue - this is perhaps the one issue that brings people together across ideological divides. Working together to fix this problem is how we heal from the fractured, polarized world we currently live in. It’s time to take action! 

Sit in with thousands. Save democracy for millions.#DemocracySpring #DemocracyAwakening #GetMoneyOut pic.twitter.com/INWwgJI7VV

— Democracy Spring (@DemSpring) February 8, 2016

TAKE ACTION:

Visit democracyspring.org to sign up as a volunteer to help organize this event, pledge your participation in April, or donate. 

Follow @DemSpring on Twitter for the latest updates on the campaign. 

Engage with the campaign via #DemocracySpring on social media.

Donate to support the campaign at democracyspring.org/donate. 

Questions? Visit the Democracy Spring FAQ page. 

Sources/further reading:

"Open Letter: Let's Sit-in to Save Democracy from the Billionaire Class" via The Nation 

DemocracySpring.org

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #996 http://www.bestoftheleft.com/_996_heart_of_dark_money_money_in_politics 

Written by BOTL Communications Director Amanda Hoffman.

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Stamp Money Out Of Politics with Ben and Jerrys.

Ben & Jerry have created a fantastically simple tool for building popular support to fight money in politics: they’re putting the message right on their money.

In an op-ed for CNN, they explained why they Stamp Stampede as only a pair of ice-cream connoisseur could:

"Democracy is the triple-deluxe droolworthy idea that the people can govern and be governed in turn, that We the People are the author and the subject of the law. In America, it's the idea that we can elect representatives who will rise above self-interest and work on behalf of the common good. We need a stampede to rout the special interests who have corralled Congress. And that's what we're doing.”

At StampStampede.org you can buy your stamps with phrases like "Not to be used for bribing politicians" and "Stamp money out of politics.” Then, you just start labeling your money — a practice which is completely legal and outlined on the website for those concerned about defacing federal property. A quick scan of the guidelines before deploying your stamp will also make sure you’re marking a part of the bill that won’t get it flagged by the Federal Reserve's and put out of circulation.

You can even get stamps with messages that support some of Stamp Stampede's partner organizations like WolfPAC and People For The American Way or tailor your message to address your specific concerns.

Stamp Stampede has a tumblr of people — some of them famous and even some legislators — posing with their newly labeled money and with already labeled dollars that they’ve received from the bank or as change. You can post yours to social media or send it to Stamp Stampede using the hashtag #GetMoneyOut.

This may sound like a very small act, but it’s a powerful one. The CNN op-ed laid out some pretty impressive numbers:

"The average dollar exchanges hands 875 times. That means if a thousand people stamp one dollar a day for a year, the message would be seen more than 300 million times. If 10,000 people do it, the message would be seen more than 3 billion times.”

Stamp Stampede can already boast having over 60,000 participants. If just a fraction of Best of the Left listeners joined in, we could put the effort to overturn Citizens United in people’s hands billions of times in 2016.

TAKE ACTION:

Get your stamps/get involved with: Stamp Stampede

Share your marked money with: StampStampede’s social media feeds

Follow the #GetMoneyOutthread

Sources/further reading:

"Here's How Ben & Jerry's Co-Founder Wants To Stamp Money Out Of Politics” via Huffington Post

"Stamp stampede on your dollar -- for democracy” by Ben & Jerry

"Stamp Money Out of Politics – STAMP STAMPEDE” via Democracy Matters

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #977 "Legal corruption and how to fix it (Money in Politics)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Automatic Voter Registration.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, 21 states have enacted new voting restrictions in the last five years. In 15 of those states, the new laws including voter registration rollbacks to early voting cuts to voter ID requirements will be in effect for the 2016 election.

As these voter disenfranchisements have spread, however, a handful of states are attempting to expand access to the ballot. Oregon passed automatic voter registration in March and California followed suit last week. New Jersey’s legislature sent their bill to the governor’s desk where it awaits his signature.

After Governor Jerry Brown signed the law, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla tweeted an obvious, but apparently necessary declaration: “Democracy is stronger when more citizens can vote!”

As voting rights guru Ari Berman reported at The Nation this week:

"You’d think that would be a truism in a democracy, but unfortunately far too many states under Republican control have enacted new laws making it harder to vote in recent years. From 2011 to 2015, 468 new voting restrictions have been introduced in 49 states...It’s a shame that on the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, a quarter of Americans–51 million citizens–are not registered to vote. Let’s hope more states follow the model of California.”

There is a push — lead by the Brennan Center — for national automatic voter registration. Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island introduced The Automatic Voter Registration Act this summer and 45 cosponsors have signed on in support. There are also a number of bills circulating through state legislatures that would eliminate the barrier of having to affirmatively register to vote.

Voter expansion has leaked into the presidential race with candidate Hillary Clinton calling for widespread reform and criticizing republican candidates for supporting restrictions. Right now is THE time to raise awareness and push the issue on a national level.

You can find the full list of bills in the Brennan Center’s "Automatic Voter Registration” post which is part of their “Voting Rights and Elections” section of the “Issues” tab at BrennanCenter.org, or by clicking the link in the segment notes. Use ContactingTheCongress.org to drop your national representatives a note asking them to support The Automatic Voter Registration Act and find your state reps at OpenStates.Org to support voter expansion where you live.

TAKE ACTION:

Find the Brennan Center for Justice list of Automatic Voter Registration laws

Let your federal legislators know you support the Automatic Voter Registration Act through ContactingTheCongress.org and your state reps know you support voter expansion through automatic registration via OpenStates.Org

Additional Activism/Resources:

Find out if you’re registered to vote at: CanIVote.org

Sources/further reading:

"The Case for Voter Registration Modernization in 2015” via the Brennan Center for Justice

What Alabama Can Learn From California on Voting Rights via Ari Berman at The Nation

"Gov. Brown approves automatic voter registration for Californians” via LA Times

"Dem unveils automatic voter registration bill” via The Hill

"Make It Easy: The Case for Automatic Registration” via Democracy Journal

"Under new Oregon law, all eligible voters are registered unless they opt out” via LA Times

"Hillary's Game-Changing Voting Reform” via the Brennan Center for Justice

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #961 "Working our way toward anti-democracy (Voter Suppression)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Let Lessig Debate.

If you haven’t heard — and with the media blackout you likely haven’t, Lawrence Lessig is running for president. He’s running on a single issue: campaign reform. He’s said that he wants to hold office for a very brief period of time, telling U.S. News & World Report: "My vice president, I want to be president as soon as possible.”

Lessig’s plan would be to enact election reform within the first year and then turn the office over to his running mate, but he’s resisting the term “protest candidate.” He wants to run and win, calling Congress “the fundamental weakness in our democracy,” largely because of political corruption.

Lessig would make voter registration automatic, get rid of photo I.D. requirements and change Election Day to a weekend for better accessibility. He would also restructure congressional elections by creating multi-member districts and restricting government officials’ ability to become lobbyists.

He’s certainly not the only person who thinks that no other issue is solvable until there’s a radical fix to the system that doesn’t just allow candidates to be purchased, but demands they spend at least as much time fundraising as governing just to stay in office. However, despite a fast start to his campaign, Lessig is not likely to be allowed in the Democratic debates.

You can sign his campaign's “Let Lessig Debate" petition at Lessig2016.us to let the Democratic National Committee and corporate media know you want the democratic debates to be, well, democratic. Lessig spoke at the New Hampshire Party Convention along with the other candidates and he’s raised over $1 million in under a month from close to 10,000 people — surely there is room for his voice in the debates.

It’s unlikely that without Lessig’s presence, the foundational issue of election reform will be addressed at all. So, whether you would support him as the nominee or not, take the time to sign the petition at Lessig2016.us to ensure that the other candidates and the media cannot ignore our broken system.

TAKE ACTION:

SIGN the petition: Let Lessig Debate! from the Lessig2016 campaign

Sources/further reading:

"Democrat Debate Controversy: Will Lawrence Lessig Be Included?” via Forbes

"Larry Lessig Seeks A Single Issue, Single Year Presidency” via U.S.News and World Report

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #957 "Citizens demanding equal power (Money in politics)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached today’s activism segment. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s a glimmer of hope to remind you that not absolutely everything is completely terrible all the time. Today’s update: MayDay PAC's #Leaders4Reform.

Last year, in order to change how our elections are funded, Lawrence Lessig launched “the SuperPAC to end all SuperPACs” — MayDay.US. He was shrugged off by mainstream press and his grand idea seemed impossible even to those who hoped he would succeed.

Then something incredible happened.

"We raised the initial $1 million in 13 days, rather than 30," Lessig wrote at Medium. "That was matched two weeks later, and then we launched the second campaign. Thirty days after that, we crossed the $5 million mark...By the end of our campaign, we had raised $11 million of the $12 million that we had planned, with more than 50,000 donors from almost every state in the union.”

When that monetary success didn’t translate into wins in the voting booth in November, Lessig decided to relaunch with the goal of winning over current members of the House and Senate in order to pass legislation now. With a bill introduced in the Senate and 151 of the 218 House members needed to guarantee a reform majority, that goal looks increasingly within reach.

At MayDay.US you can contribute to the momentum of identifying leaders for reform and support the Fair Elections Now Act, Senator Dick Durbin’s bill which has added twenty co-sponsors less than a month after being introduced.

From the MayDay.US home page you can record a voice message in support of reform legislation which MayDay will deliver to key members of Congress, call your representatives directly using their handy script, view the full list of Leaders for Fundamental Reform, and encourage those not yet signed on to join the fight via social media using the hashtag #Leaders4Reform.

MayDay still plans to target and support pro-reform candidates for Congress next year; they simply aren’t sitting on their hands in the meantime. Lessig’s ability to adapt and continue with their mission is just one more reason to support the work MayDay is doing.

Update!

S.1538 - Fair Elections Now Act

Follow-up/new Action: #Leaders4Reform w/@MAYDAYUS

Leave a message for Congress: Citizen Recording Studio

Build a bigger #Leaders4Reform coalition: Call your representatives

Sources/additional glimmers of hope:

"The 'Super PAC to End Super PACs' Makes a Strategic Retreat” at Bloomberg Politics

"We tried. We learned. We’re trying something new: Mayday.US, v2” by Lawrence Lessig

"Frodo Baggins for President” by Lawrence Lessig

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #937 "Making progress on our biggest problem (Money in Politics)"

Revisit the original action/segment:

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You’ve reached the activism portion of today’s show. Now that you’re informed and angry, here’s what you can do about it. Today’s activism: Real Representative Democracy — FairVote.org.

Our country's election process is broken. No one listening to this podcast needed election 2014’s mixed results or record low voter turn out to persuade them that our democracy’s fundamental tenet could use a tune-up. World War II was raging last time we had turn out this low and certainly a lack of trust in the system is contributing to the apathy epidemic.

But what if we could give American democracy an upgrade? That’s the optimistic — yet entirely feasible — goal of the organization Fair Vote.

According to FairVote.org, their mission "advances systemic electoral reform to achieve a fully participatory and truly representative democracy that respects every vote and every voice in every election...We promote ranked choice voting (“instant runoff”), a constitutionally protected right to vote, a national popular vote for president, and, most fundamentally, fair representation voting forms of proportional representation.”

They’ve already succeeded in getting enough jurisdictions to pass legislation supporting a popular vote for the president to equal almost two-thirds of the electoral votes needed to win the White House — an accomplishment that makes Fair Vote’s next set of concrete goals seem within reach.

“Representation 2020” seeks gender parity in elected representation. Women only make up 18% of Congress and hold under a quarter of state legislative seats — a stat that puts the U.S. well behind Ethiopia, Iraq, Afghanistan, China and Vietnam. We rank 80th in female elected officials — which should be a source of national embarrassment.

And the “Reform 2020” campaign seeks to end gerrymandering, make voting an explicit Constitutional right, bring about a national popular vote for the presidency and uphold voter choice and majority rule through ranked choice voting.

Run off voting is already implemented in San Francisco and Oakland, California; Portland, Maine; and Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. None of these city legislatures fell apart when ballot accommodations were made to make room for third party and independent candidates with built-in back-up selections for cautious voters. Even as a push for reforms nationally moves slowly but steadily, this is particular democracy enhancement is one you can demand of your local city councils and state houses.

Get involved by supporting the Fair Vote’s goals for 2020, following FairVote on social media and spreading the word about election reform, tracking pending legislation, and signing their periodic petitions.

Don’t let your anger at the broken system keep you home on election day. Instead, use it as motivation to make our democracy stronger and fight to reduce apathy by getting us closer to having every vote count and be counted.

TAKE ACTION:

Get involved with Fair Vote

Follow FairVote on Twitter and on Facebook

Additional Activism/Resources:

Reform 2020

Representation 2020

Sources/further reading:

"Voter turnout in 2014 was the lowest since WWII” via The Washington Post

"The Gender Gap: Percentage of Women in Government Worldwide. We're Number One, Right? Not So Much…” via Daily Kos

”Jim Crow Returns: millions of minority voters threatened by electoral purge by Greg Palast at Al Jazeera America

Watch: Brad Friedman (@TheBradBlog) on Thom Hartmann’s The Big Picture discussing #Election2014 result reliability.

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #877 "Hair of the dog (Election)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

As this episode posts, election 2014 results are rolling in. Across the country people are voting for candidates to determine the make-up of state houses, school boards and our Congress as well as potentially approving ballot measures that could expand, ensure or decimate Constitutional rights to privacy, healthcare and voting itself.

Who could have thought a decade ago that voting rights would need to appear on a ballot? I mean, isn’t democracy based on the romanticized notion of “one man, one vote?” Setting aside the intentional gender disparity and land ownership requirements that disenfranchised the poor and people of color in that original phrase, the foundation of our country has always been that of representative government.

Over the decades, access to the ballot box has EXPANDED, not contracted. People have risked imprisonment and even death to bring the right to vote to more and more of our citizenry. So why would anyone who claims to love this country do anything to roll back progress through voter suppression??

It turns out, the GOP — despite their LOOOOVE for democracy and America — has known for some time that they don’t do well when everyone votes. In a speech made somewhat famous through the Thom Hartmann Program, the founder of ALEC and co-founder of the far-right “think tank” The Heritage Foundation Paul Weyrich put it this way more than 30 years ago:

http://youtu.be/pN7IB-d7Hfw

And so, state houses controlled by the GOP wasted no time following the Supreme Court decision gutting the Voting Rights Act two summers ago. Every imaginable type of voter suppression law has passed somewhere. Voter ID requirements, the systematic elimination of early and expanded hour voting days, threatening voter registration drive organizers with imprisonment and more. (If you really want to grasp the full horrific landscape of voter suppression laws, just read everything from Ari Berman at The Nation.

As in so many areas, it’s time we stopped only saying no to bad legislation and started pushing proactive measures. Enter “VRA for Today” — a project of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, backed by the Brennan Center. They’re demanding that this Congress — and certainly the next — pass the Voting Rights Amendment Act to "enact modern, nationwide protections against discrimination at the ballot box.”

Visit their website — VRAForToday.org and follow them on Twitter via #VRA4Today and @CivilRightsOrg. You can still sign their petition beyond today’s election and access resources like videos, news updates and reports of VRA violations.

You may be disillusioned with national politics. Here at Best of the Left, that’s certainly a sentiment that’s understood. But your ability to vote for ballot initiatives, school board members and state reps is affected by voter suppression efforts just as much as your ability to vote for the presidency and Congress. All our work, all our progress is invalidated if we lose the fundamental ability to have a say the first Tuesday of the moth of November. Visit VRAForToday.org and get involved before the next election cycle — or you may find yourself standing on the sidelines.

TAKE ACTION:

Join with the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights: VRA 4 Today

Sources/further reading:

"Fasting for Democracy: Why I've Given Up Food to Fight Corruption” by Kai NewKirk at Truthout

”The GOP Is Winning The War On Voting: Voters in fourteen states—many with tight races—will face new restrictions at the polling booth for the first time in November” by Ari Berman at The Nation

"New Voting Restrictions Could Swing the 2014 Election” by Ari Berman at The Nation

"KPFK 'BradCast': SCOTUS Voter Suppression and the Touch-Screen Vote-Flipping Time Warp” via The Brad Blog

"Déjà Vu All Over Again. Again. - Touch-Screen Votes Flipping and My Appearance on Thom Hartmann TV This Week [VIDEO]” via The Brad Blog

”SCOTUS Overturns Appeals Court, Allows NC To End Same-Day Registration, Couting ‘Out-Of-Precint’ Ballots This November: 'Nation's worst voter suppression law' disenfranchised hundreds in state primary; Will have full trial on merits next summer…” via The Brad Blog

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #873 "The other new Jim Crow (Voting rights)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

According to Fair Vote at The Center for Voting and Democracy, turnout in midterm elections hovers historically at around 40 percent. When only 4 out of 10 eligible voters casts a ballot, we get a Tea Party Congress propped up by billionaires and fringy fundamentalists.

A coalition of organizations including the League of Women Voters, Rock the Vote, Vote Latino, Fair Elections Legal Network and others have come together to make September 23, 2014 National Voter Registration Day.

On September 23, volunteers, celebrities, and organizations from all over the country will "hit the streets” — both out in the field and via media and technology. The goal is to sign up tens of thousands who wouldn’t otherwise be able to vote — an effort unheard of in an “off” election year.

You can help spread the word via social media, get registered yourself, help people in your network register and sign up to volunteer on the 23rd at NationalVoterRegistrationDay.org. Then, visit CanIVote.org — even if you think you’re registered, even if you haven’t moved, even if you have your voter registration card. You can even get info on early and absentee voting and get connected directly to the election officer that oversees your district.

If voting matters to you, be sure to hit the share buttons to spread the word about National Voter Registration Day via social media so that others in your network can get involved too.

TAKE ACTION:

Volunteer and/or spread the word about National Voter Registration Day

MAKE SURE: Can I Vote?

Additional Activism/Resources:

Follow NVRD on Twitter and "like" NVRD on Facebook

Visit: Rock the Vote

Sources/further reading:

Read all the things from Ari Berman’s blog on voting at The Nation

"This May Be The Strongest Voting Rights Decision Since The Justices Hobbled The Voting Rights Act” by Ian Millhiser at Think Progress

"Democrats' Senate strategist: don't let Republicans restrict voting rights” by Paul Lewis at The Guardian

"The State of Voting in 2014” via The Brennan Center For Justice

"Georgia GOPer Complains About Early Voting, Excessive Black Voting” by Daniel Strauss at Talking Points Memo

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #862 "Male dominance as a social disease (Feminism)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich

You should make sure you're sitting down....Ready?

The Senate did a thing. If that isn’t shocking enough on its own, the thing the Senate did was vote 79 to 18 in favor of advancing a Constitutional amendment that would overturn Citizens United. Technically, this vote just brings the debate on campaign finance reform and restoring the notion of representative democracy to the floor. But the democrats, lead by Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico, are pushing for action right now specifically to make it a campaign issue for the midterm elections that are right around the corner.

Frankly, if the Congress isn’t going to pass any laws in the two weeks left until the end of the term, then I’m all for as much public debate on overturning Citizens United as we can get leading up to November 4th.

So, let’s do what we can to keep the momentum building. Use the link in the show notes to find out how your senators voted, then call, email, write, and tweet to let them know that overturning Citizens United and reigning in campaign spending is an issue you’ll be voting on in just a few weeks. If they voted in favor of the measure, say thank you; you’ll be watching for their leadership on this going forward. If they voted against, encourage them to reconsider as their job depends on a change of heart.

Then give your representatives in the House a call. Every single one of them is up for reelection. Tell them you expect them to match the action in the Senate and introduce, co-sponsor or support companion legislation.

Update!

"Constitutional Amendment to Overturn Citizens United Clears First Vote in U.S. Senate!” via Americans Against The Tea Party

The bill to overturn Citizens United introduced by Senator Tom Udall, D-NM

Follow-up/new Action!

Use ContactingTheCongress.org to let your representatives know that overturning Citizens United is an issue you are voting on this November.

Roll Call for the 79-18 vote

Sources/additional glimmers of hope:

"Senate Advances Constitutional Fix To Overturn Citizens United” by Sahil Kapur at Talking Points Memo

"Senate moves forward with amendment to the Constitution on elections” by Ramsey Cox at The Hill

"Overturn Citizens United” — a Statement in Support of a Constitutional Amendment from Senator Bernie Sanders

Graphic via USA Action

Hear the segment in context:

Episode #859: "Momentum on our biggest problem (Money in politics)"

Written by BOTL social media/activism director Katie Klabusich