Democracy Happy Hour - July 30, 2025

Fix Democracy First hosts a weekly Democracy Happy Hour on Wednesdays @ 5-6:30pm PT. Grab a drink and join us and learn about the latest democracy efforts, challenges, solutions, as well upcoming events and actions.

This is a recurring event. You only have to register once. Register here.

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DIY-ing America: Civic Engagement & Innovation

With June Kleese, Waging Dialogue

• Speaker View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/AwJ0o-Aap4S1FuRBvXdLvwMB2-41WZbo4fwEFY8_I8oN95n8VQt-3gPBl8H3tZlt9rXQKooCqnizgBQr.HjMgV3O9bQQSxUoT

• Gallery View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/xKfcBKnRJe6lEayONv-Aa36Ou81h90JB5AWC-vV15Qa2KXH_oV2ub4zrL3XxVo_fDQqzI3ByBYZqjJbv.-yUEJRnW72uf0ETy

• Chat file (will download directly to your computer):  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/YCGhn5ycU5LCaV0iZjQTKVtLErHRnsriIXq4qZxD_1b0eUawmk3RpyiMjOUQY7WT-MOC7gdXADbpXg4.HDxM1yB3MmWdGCx7

• Closed Caption file (will download directly to your computer):  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/pUmYrVejcjsYSPBbnnIprDYl0LAPJBIUVaabbClxoupAb9Rdb7ew1hhnOjbcbv7VHYlyBCwSAJqICIA7.4DLWOdUwewmEcMqo

Meeting resources

• Better Together America - https://www.bettertogetheramerica.org/
• Conversation.us - https://www.conversation.us/
• Inter-Movement Impact Project - https://www.mediatorsfoundation.org/current-projects/inter-movement-impact-project
• June Klees - juneklees.com
• More in Common - https://www.moreincommon.com/
• National Civic League's Healthy Democracy Ecosystem Map - https://www.nationalcivicleague.org/2024-healthy-democracy/#ecosystem-map
• The United States Civic Wellness Movement:  An Observational Report, Waging Dialogue, 2023 by Klees, June, PhD. - https://wagingdialogue.org/2023/10/07/the-united-states-civic-wellness-movement-an-observational-report/
• Waging Dialogue - https://wagingdialogue.org

FDF Links

• Fix Democracy First - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/
• Donate to Fix Democracy First here: https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/donate

Fix Democracy First is looking for new board members! If interested, please apply to one or both of our boards. If you have any questions, please respond to this email.

• Fix Democracy First Education Fund (501c3) Board Application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfXiaGJJ0bVqV5eqW2irfLHWrU0n8iwVIsDwDjtrTP36mEj5g/viewform
• Fix Democracy First (501c4) Board Application: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdtDKKTBsOo7X_nk-7POVUTpJ-K1vfP-U_zHQrW1Ke7JNfvug/viewform

Democracy Happy Hour Upcoming Topics/Schedule

• Aug 6 – The Dignity Index: Easing Divisions, Preventing Violence & Solving Problems with Preston Brightwell
• Aug 13 – National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers with Andy Moore, Executive Director
• Aug 20 – Speak Up for Justice: Uniting the Nation to Protect the Judiciary with Founder Paul Kiesel
• Aug 27 – The Path Forward for a Healthy Democracy Ecosystem with Kristina Becvar, Bridge Alliance Ed Fund
• Sept 3 – Canceled - NO Democracy Happy Hour this week

Actions and events

Actions

• 5 Calls - https://5calls.org/
• How You Can Protect Democracy - 29 concrete actions you can take right now to protect democracy - https://protectdemocracy.org/how-to-protect-democracy
• Join a local Indivisible group - https://indivisible.org/groups
• Join Braver Angels - https://braverangels.org/get-involved/#become-member
• Paths to Understanding - The Potluck Project – https://pathstounderstanding.org/get-involved/potluck
• Protect Public Media Funding - https://protectmypublicmedia.org/
• Share Your Democracy Story, Declaration for American Democracy  -  https://dfadcoalition.org/story
• Stop the SAVE Act (emails) -  https://win.newmode.net/declarationforamericandemocracycoalition/stopthesaveact
• Tell your Senators to oppose the SAVE Act - https://www.lwv.org/take-action/tell-your-members-congress-oppose-save-act
• The Freedom Writers Collaborative - https://freedomwriterscollaborative.org/
• The People's Hub for Grassroots Democracy Organizing - https://www.usgrassroots.org

Events

• 50501 - https://www.fiftyfifty.one – Next National Day of Action
• America 250 - https://america250.org
• Democracy in the Park Picnic in Spokane – Aug 23^rd @ 12 pm – RSVP here: https://fixdemocracyfirst.salsalabs.org/democracy-in-the-park-2025-spokane
• Impeach + Remove Digital Town Hall - Thursday, July 31st @ 4-5 pm PST/7-8 pm EST – RSVP: https://act.womensmarch.com/signup/impeachandremovetownhall_2
  • Sign the Petition: https://www.impeachtrumpagain.org/#action
• Yes on Prop 1 - Seattle Democracy Voucher Program Levy Renewal – Aug 5^th primary
  • Campaign website - https://yesonprop1seattle.org/
  • Endorsement Form - https://forms.gle/tArHMaFedtXcPqPw7
  • Donation page - https://secure.anedot.com/prop1seattle/donate

Democracy in the News

Resources

• 2024-2025 SCOTUS Term - https://www.oyez.org/cases/2024
• All of the Trump Administration’s Major Moves in the First 100 Days - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/us/trump-agenda-2025.html
• The Anti-Corruption Tracker: Mapping the Erosion of Oversight and Accountability - https://www.justsecurity.org/117267/anti-corruption-tracker/
• Democracy 2025 – Democracy 2025 is the strategic hub to protect people and their rights should the Trump-Vance administration seek to unlawfully strip away freedoms and prosperity. -  https://www.democracy2025.org/
• How You Can Protect Democracy - 29 concrete actions you can take right now to protect democracy - https://protectdemocracy.org/how-to-protect-democracy
• North Dakota Legislative Redistricting Challenge (Turtle Mountain Band) –
  https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/north-dakota-legislative-redistricting-challenge
• State of Emergency - Democracy, Civil Rights & Progress Under Attack  - https://stateofblackamerica.org/sites/default/files/2025-07/NUL-SOBA-Executive%20Summary-2025-web%20%281%29%20%281%29.pdf
• The People's Hub For Grassroots Democracy Organizing  - https://www.usgrassroots.org/
• Timeline: Tracking the Trump Justice Department’s Anti-Voting Shift - https://www.democracydocket.com/timeline-tracking-the-trump-justice-departments-anti-voting-shift/
• Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/us/trump-administration-lawsuits.html

July 2025

July 11

• Florida Democratic Party is considering opening its primaries to NPA voters - https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/07/11/florida-democratic-party-is-considering-opening-its-primaries-to-npa-voters/

July 15

• A petition to Pa.’s highest court could determine if independents vote in primaries - https://penncapital-star.com/justice-the-courts/a-petition-to-pa-s-highest-court-could-determine-if-independents-could-vote-in-primaries/
• Lawsuits Have Blocked Trump’s Anti-Voting Executive Order. GOP States Are Implementing It Anyway - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/lawsuits-have-blocked-trumps-anti-voting-executive-order-gop-states-are-implementing-it-anyway

July 16

• Federal judge blocks voter-approved Maine law capping super PAC contributions - https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2025/07/federal-judge-blocks-voter-approved-maine-law-capping-super-pac-contributions
• Trump DOJ’s Broad Requests for Voter Data Is Unprecedented, Critics Warn - https://truthout.org/articles/trump-dojs-broad-requests-for-voter-data-is-unprecedented-critics-warn/
• Trump’s DOJ wants states to turn over voter lists, election info - https://stateline.org/2025/07/16/trumps-doj-wants-states-to-turn-over-voter-lists-election-info/
• Utah Supreme Court case could redefine citizen power in Utah - https://www.deseret.com/utah/2025/07/16/utah-supreme-court-to-hear-case-ballot-initiatives/

July 17

• Florida Supreme Court upholds congressional district maps - https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/07/17/florida-supreme-court-upholds-congressional-district-maps/
• National Urban League declares ‘state of emergency’ for civil rights in the U.S. under Trump - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/national-urban-league-declares-state-of-emergency-for-civil-rights-in-the-u-s-under-trump
• North Carolina election officials: No voters will be removed over missing information - https://ncnewsline.com/2025/07/17/north-carolina-election-board-no-voters-removed-missing-information-griffin-lawsuit/
• Ranked choice voting signature collection phase begins in Michigan, campaign says - https://michiganadvance.com/briefs/ranked-choice-voting-signature-collection-phase-beings-campaign-says/
• Trump administration hands over Medicaid recipients’ personal data, including addresses, to ICE - https://apnews.com/article/immigration-medicaid-trump-ice-ab9c2267ce596089410387bfcb40eeb7
• Trump administration tells embassies to rein in criticism of foreign elections - https://apnews.com/article/foreign-elections-state-department-rubio-trump-9257a253aedb8a1dbfd85d91b34f31c5
• Voting age to be lowered to 16 across UK by next general election - https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/17/voting-age-to-be-lowered-to-16-in-england-and-northern-ireland

July 18

• All the States Where DOJ is Demanding Voting Data - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/all-the-states-where-doj-is-demanding-voting-data/
• Congress rolls back $9 billion in public media funding and foreign aid - https://www.npr.org/2025/07/18/nx-s1-5469912/npr-congress-rescission-funding-trump
• For Sale: Trump is leveraging power of his office to reap profits for family businesses - https://apnews.com/article/trump-businesses-trump-organization-white-house-conflicts-of-interest-b970b5681b27f86dcd461ff473be23fa
• GOP sues New Jersey for voter registration records - https://newjerseymonitor.com/2025/07/18/gop-sues-new-jersey-for-voter-registration-records/
• In American life, a growing and forbidding visual rises: The law-enforcement officer in a mask - https://apnews.com/article/ice-masks-immigration-enforcement-policing-aacbb45b9eca804c2295f52a33a2a0fd
• Trump’s birthright citizenship order remains blocked as lawsuits march on after Supreme Court ruling - https://apnews.com/article/birthright-citizenship-trump-immigration-new-hampshire-9d54d8b4a75e350b6a2fe41cb79c1c65

July 19

• Don’t Say Vote: NC GOPers Want to Bar Election Officials From Encouraging Turnout - https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/dont-say-vote-nc-gopers-want-to-bar-election-officials-from-encouraging-turnout/

July 20

• Democrats Eye Their Own Redistricting Push to Counter Trump’s Texas Power Play - https://www.notus.org/democrats/democrats-redistricting-trump-texas-california-new-york

July 21

• Lawsuit over Virginia’s felon voting ban gains steam with new legal filings - https://virginiamercury.com/2025/07/21/lawsuit-over-virginias-felon-voting-ban-gains-steam-with-new-legal-filings/
• Trump officials accused of defying 1 in 3 judges who ruled against him - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/07/21/trump-court-orders-defy-noncompliance-marshals-judges/

July 22

• Federal court tosses lawsuit challenging Wyoming’s new voter registration law - https://wyofile.com/federal-court-tosses-lawsuit-challenging-wyomings-new-voter-registration-law/
• North Dakota seeks to use former legislative map while voting rights case proceeds - https://northdakotamonitor.com/2025/07/22/north-dakota-seeks-to-use-former-legislative-map-while-voting-rights-case-proceeds/
• Trump’s Labor Department proposes more than 60 rule changes in a push to deregulate workplaces - https://apnews.com/article/labor-department-deregulation-worker-safety-wages-223309692fecb3721ef377154e7689ed
• Trump’s WSJ Lawsuit Raises a New Constitutional Question - https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/07/22/trump-lawsuit-wall-street-journal-supreme-court-ankush-khardori-column-00465728

July 23

• Federal appeals court rules Trump’s birthright citizenship ban unconstitutional - https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/07/23/court-trump-birthright-citizenship-unconstitutional
• How to end the gerrymandering wars: FairVote celebrates reintroduction of the Fair Representation Act - https://fairvote.org/press/fair-representation-act-2025/
• Supreme Court Hands Donald Trump 16th Win in a Row - https://www.newsweek.com/supreme-court-news-donald-trump-decision-2103173
• Supreme Court Lets Trump Fire Consumer Product Safety Regulators - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/us/politics/supreme-court-consumer-product-commission.html

July 24

• A State Agenda for Election Security and Resiliency - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/policy-solutions/state-agenda-election-security-and-resiliency
• DeSantis floats mid-decade redistricting for Florida congressional seats - https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/24/desantis-floats-mid-decade-redistricting-for-florida-congressional-seats-00474675
• ICE moves to shackle some 180,000 immigrants with GPS ankle monitors - https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/07/24/ice-check-in-ankle-monitor-immigrants
• Supreme Court blocks North Dakota redistricting ruling that would gut key part of Voting Rights Act - https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-north-dakota-redistricting-289e84539fcb2b309c8d00fb6a077097
• The White House wants more states to redraw House maps to help GOP. Democrats are readying a fight - https://apnews.com/article/redistricting-republicans-democrats-map-fight-trump-midterms-10cc6f0b2f4d98b22693a681f299200c
• Trump Administration Sues Adams and New York City Over Sanctuary Laws - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/nyregion/trump-new-york-sanctuary-suit.html
• Trump order pushes forcible hospitalization of homeless people - https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/07/24/trump-homeless-forced-hospitalization-executive-order
• Voting Rights Groups Seek to Stop Arkansas Laws Targeting Ballot Initiatives - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/voting-rights-groups-seek-to-stop-arkansas-laws-targeting-ballot-initiatives/

July 25

• At Trump’s insistence, GOP launches a new January 6 committee - https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/25/politics/house-gop-january-6-investigation

July 28

• Black Georgians Overrepresented in Mass Voter Registration Purge, Fair Fight Says - https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/black-georgians-overrepresented-mass-voter-203500455.html
• Democrats Plan $20 Million Fund to Target Texas Republicans for Redistricting - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/us/politics/democrats-texas-redistricting.html
• Lawmakers to propose redistricting change to New York's constitution - https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2025/07/lawmaker-to-propose-redistricting-change-to-new-yorks-constitution-00480686
• New Hampshire Defies DOJ Push for Voter Data - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/new-hampshire-defies-doj-push-for-voter-data/
• Trump administration urges federal employees to talk religion at work - https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/07/28/federal-workers-religious-expression

July 29

• Court restricts who can bring voting rights challenges in a case involving voters with disabilities - https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-section-2-lawsuits-federal-court-f80f2f8232ec3eed4b2e20570874d21f
• E.P.A. Plans to Revoke the Legal Basis for Tackling Climate Change - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/climate/epa-endangerment-finding-repeal-proposal.html
• Trump administration requested voter data. Secretary Bellows says, ‘Go jump in the Gulf of Maine’ - https://mainemorningstar.com/2025/07/29/trump-administration-requested-voter-data-secretary-bellows-says-go-jump-in-the-gulf-of-maine/

July 30

• Despite grand claims, a new report shows noncitizen voting hasn't materialized - https://www.npr.org/2025/07/30/nx-s1-5462836/noncitizen-voting-trump-ceir-review
• Texas Republicans Unveil Gerrymandered House Map, Trying to Please Trump - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/us/politics/texas-republican-redistricting.html
• The Billionaire War on Democracy - https://thefulcrum.us/ethics-leadership/billionaire-oligarchy

Good News Websites

• ABC Good News - https://abcnews.go.com/alerts/good-news
• Daily Good - https://www.dailygood.org/
• Democracy's Good News - https://www.democracygroup.org/topics/democracys-good-news
• Good News Network - https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/
• Politics & Government Good News - https://www.goodgoodgood.co/impact/democracy
• Sunny Skyz - https://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news
• The Happy News - https://thehappynewspaper.com/

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