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"There is clearly much left to be done, and whatever else we are going to do, we had better get on with it."
-- Former First Lady Rosalyn Carter
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Hi all!
We are winding down a busy year, exhaling as we digest the results of the most recent elections and preparing for the holiday season. It's abundantly clear that there is no such thing as a "off-season" for elections...every election in every single state has enormous repercussions for all of us. Thank you all, for your postcards, phone calls, donations, and efforts to keep the blue wave rolling in Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and beyond. Your work makes a difference.
If you have the energy to keep writing postcards there are still opportunities to write at home (see below under To Do); otherwise take a break, take a breath, and rejoin us in the New Year. First, though, please take a few minutes to complete a survey about your interests for our focus and work in 2024.
We will be resuming Action Hour and in-person monthly meetings next year. Save Tuesday, January 16th for our first 2024 meeting, at which we will discuss upcoming priorities and strategies for the critical year ahead. Details to follow.
Below in the To Consider section you'll find some great material to share on how effective President Biden's agenda has been (despite consistent and jaw-dropping levels of Republican obstructionism and negative press). Please read and share widely as you visit with friends and family over the holidays. We need to help reclaim the narrative of his administration, and that work can often get done over pecan pie and hot chocolate!
But first! Celebrate with us on Monday, December 11, 5:30-7:00 at Loretta's on Pleasant Street in Newburyport. We will have appetizers and a cash bar. RSVP is required this time due to space restrictions.
Enjoy the holiday season, take time to regroup and recommit to the work ahead in the new year, and hopefully we will see you on Dec 11th and again on Jan 16th!
Onward.
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TO DO
Write Postcards From Home:
- We’re writing to register voters in swing states, currently focused on AZ and NV. We’re also on the lookout for opportunities to write to elect a Democrat in NY 3 to replace the expelled George Santos. Watch for an announcement.
- We’ll resume Action Hour on Wednesdays at 5:30-6:30 after New Years. Details to follow.
Celebrate with Us 12/11/23 at 5:30-7:00 at Loretta on Pleasant St, Newburyport!
Help Guide Indivisible-RISE'S Course for 2024!
Complete this survey so that we can focus on your interests and priorities in 2024
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TO CONSIDER
President Biden has managed some incredible wins despite an increasingly impossible political climate. Let's make sure people know the real story!
"There's been this unprecedented gap between what the data shows us is going on in the economy and what people think is going on in the economy."
Heidi Shierholz, president of the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute
- Key highlights:
- Unemployment dropped to the lowest point in 50 years
- Wages are finally exceeding inflation
- Historic infrastructure and green energy investments will have massive impacts on climate change and the growth of green jobs
- Passed the first federal gun control law in decades
- Restored America's voice in global affairs
- and so much more
- For a comprehensive numbered list of all Biden has accomplished, check out this recap
- This thoughtful opinion piece highlights just how bizarrely the media has been in covering Biden's presidency, stating, "Until recently, the gulf between President Biden’s performance in office and the coverage of his presidency was as vast as it has been in any modern presidency."
Donate for 2024!
While most political giving is not tax deductible, two of Force Multiplier's funds are fully registered nonprofits, offering tax benefits for donations. If you are planning your end-of-year giving consider The Heartland Fund, which supports seven organizations doing nonpartisan progressive work in rural areas, OR the Democracy in Action Fund, which supports six organizations doing nonpartisan voter registration and engagement work. You can learn more about the great work of these funds (and more Force Multiplier initiatives) here.
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TO CELEBRATE
As always our focus here is on good news related to elections and voter rights. Also as always, we rely heavily on two sources for this information: Jessica Craven's Chop Wood Carry Water newsletter and Democracy Docket.
Elections!
We previously reported on important statewide election wins on Nov 7th that I-RISE volunteers had a hand in helping. There also were other noteworthy statewide and local elections around the country:
- State and federal level elections:
- NJ - Democrats not only retained a comfortable majority in both the state House and Senate, but voters also flipped a deep red district that had not elected a Democratic legislator in 3 decades.
- NH - Democrat Paige Beauchemin won a seat in the State Legislature, with Dems now just one seat shy of erasing the Republican majority in the state house.
- RI - Democrat Gabe Amo, a former aide to Pres. Biden, won a special Congressional election. The son of immigrants, Amo will be the first Black person to represent RI in Congress.
- School Board elections were full of positive news in many districts (including here in Newburyport), with far right candidates backed by Moms for Liberty or campaigning for "parental rights" defeated in districts in at least IA, KS, NJ, OH, PA, VA. Click here for more details and links to related articles.
- Good news for women, youth, LGBTQ and minority voters and candidates:
- All of these election results and those we reported on in the previous newsletter are good signs for what is to come, but there are two examples that send particularly strong signals:
- NC - In Mecklenburg County Democrats had a total sweep of all seven offices. This includes winning the mayoral election in suburban Huntersville, a town of 62,000 that had never even had a full Democratic slate compete before. With NC a critical state in the upcoming Presidential election, this county's results are key!
- PA - Bucks County is an electoral bellwether for this state, so it is big news that Democrats won every seat in the Central Bucks School Board election.
Positive Voter Protection Updates
AZ - Gov. Hobbs announced executive orders intended to improve voting by increasing poll worker recruitment and training, allowing the use of state facilities as voting locations and drop-off sites, and facilitating voter registration.
NM - The state supreme court unanimously upheld the state's congressional map, rejecting a Republican lawsuit arguing that the map unfairly benefits Democrats.
ND - A federal court struck down the state's legislative maps and upheld new districts created to give Native American voters equal voting opportunities.
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