Democracy Happy Hour – July 31, 2024

Democracy Happy Hour, July 31, 2024 - Meeting Recordings

• Speaker View: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/wObCviLrrKsym8xlTZqa-vQPz2k1WSj6ncD1Kyb5NsZowTBTyiWTwkXYZWhaXLKf2j9X_iad8K99uo6r.OWVXiA3fRuTf6OR6

• Gallery View:  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/xgX4E9GAnv3i9Tl7snoDLQk1IVXI9kiMUXQ_hbJj4CHdkegkJbEFlMnPXw1cAYf-Ne2yPFADWL_dePYz.X2BnPi0vsR2Tgfce

• Chat file (will download directly to your computer):  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/w3HoeK_XzRoLVNXieSZK7xv5BcX-De0BzBbDf6X7Nl6xUiXtkyJv-PfTgHpGzmD5FIiAUryfBBGtwnOE.ySxQTjJKDqtjFy5B

• Closed Caption file (will download directly to your computer):  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/UQ1wYPis6951AhF3NC_y6WH61BnE75Dmg1KAIMftTRyWEX1ytBAR0iFKc6ZEZ6Sk0adCeqMrZaHqiKmZ.73nYP9Am-FGIN4Pf

FDF Links

• Fix Democracy First - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/

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

Democracy Happy Hour Upcoming Topics/Schedule

• Aug 7 - Project 2025: The Far Right's Plan for Authoritarian Rule with Peter Montgomery, People for the American Way Right Wing Watch
• Aug 14 - Better Together America: Supporting State & Local Democracy Roundtables & Hubs with Jacob Bornstein
• Aug 21 - The American Schism in 2024 with Seth Radwell
• Aug 28 - Making Democracy Count: How Mathematics Improves Voting, Electoral Maps, and Representation with Ismar Volić

Actions and events

• Democracy in the Park Picnics
  • Seattle, WA: Democracy in the Park Picnic, Magnolia Park in Seattle, Saturday, August 24th @ 12 pm
    https://bit.ly/Democracy-in-the-Park-Seattle
  • Spokane, WA: Democracy in the Park Picnic, Manito Park in Spokane, Saturday, September 28th @ 12 pm https://bit.ly/Democracy-in-the-Park-Spokane
• Events with FairVote WA to support Ranked Choice Voting https://www.mobilize.us/fairvotewa/
• Power the Polls https://www.powerthepolls.org/fixdemocracyfirst
  • August 1^st is Poll Worker Recruitment Day!
• Why Do You Vote?  https://www.whydoyou.vote/
  • • Coffee Chats – Tuesdays at 9 am PT/12 pm ET
      https://www.whydoyou.vote/events
    • SPARK THE VOTE Social Media & Film Challenge, September 14^th - https://www.whydoyou.vote/spark-the-vote-challenge

• Petition – Please Sign: Pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the Freedom to Vote Act, the Native American Voting Rights Act, and DC Statehood. - https://act.newmode.net/action/voting-rights-now/sign-petition-tell-congress

Saving Democracy: A User's Manual for Every American

• Saving Democracy - https://savedemocracy.us/
  • BOOK: Saving Democracy: A User's Manual for Every American - https://www.amazon.com/Saving-Democracy-Users-Manual-American/dp/1662938217
  • BOOK: Laboratories of Autocracy: A Wake-Up Call from Behind the Lines - https://www.amazon.com/Laboratories-Autocracy-Wake-Up-Behind-Lines/dp/1662919573
  • BREAKING: View from Ohio: The Short Strange Trip of JD Vance -https://davidpepper.substack.com/p/breaking-view-from-ohio-the-short

• David Pepper – Substack:
  • https://davidpepper.substack.com/
  • https://substack.com/@davidpeppe

• David Pepper Social Media pages:
  • Facebook page – The Crisis in American Democracy https://www.facebook.com/davidpepperOH/
  • X (Twitter) - https://x.com/DavidPepper

Democracy in the News

May

• Federal judge tosses Democrats’ lawsuit challenging Wisconsin absentee voting requirements - https://apnews.com/article/wisconsin-absentee-voting-federal-court-dc990ad070245a434e81e7de0dfd3923

July

• Bill for Constitutional Amendment Reversing Supreme Court’s Immunity Decision  - https://democrats-cha.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-cha.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/Constititional_Amendment_Signed.pdf
• Ranking Member Joe Morelle to Introduce Constitutional Amendment Reversing Supreme Court’s Immunity Decision - https://democrats-cha.house.gov/media/press-releases/ranking-member-joe-morelle-introduce-constitutional-amendment-reversing
• RepresentWomen – 2024 Gender Parity Index - https://representwomen.app.box.com/s/ic8q0nfazt33hpppot5j7ch8efmv3ohc

July 18-24th

• Idaho AG Labrador sues to block Idahoans for Open Primaries initiative - https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/07/24/idaho-ag-labrador-sues-to-block-idahoans-for-open-primaries-initiative/
• In Georgia, the ‘Biggest Election Breach’ in History Has Gone Uninvestigated - https://www.notus.org/georgia/biggest-election-breach-coffee-county-trump-2020-uninvestigated
• In Texas, violating campaign ethics laws rarely yields repercussions. The attorney general’s office is to blame. - https://www.texastribune.org/2024/07/23/texas-ethics-campaign-finance-attorney-general/
• Federal judge tosses Ohio voting restrictions on voters with disabilities - https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/state/federal-judge-tosses-ohio-voting-restrictions-on-voters-with-disabilities
• Montana Supreme Court allows signatures of inactive voters to count on ballot petitions - https://apnews.com/article/montana-ballot-petition-signature-rules-bd415bd67353ad080efa7bb3ab7f5a92
• Nevada officials warn 150,000 voters their registrations may soon become inactive - https://www.rgj.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/24/nevada-voters-registrations-inactive/74528969007/
• New Georgia law makes voter intimidation easier, critics say; affects Black voters most - https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/23/mass-voter-challenges-how-a-new-georgia-law-is-changing-voter-access/73807395007/
• New York tells Supreme Court to toss Missouri’s longshot bid to block Trump’s sentence - https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4791625-ny-supreme-court-block-trump-sentence/

July 25th

• Bill Barr complicit in misleading voter fraud statement’s release – watchdog - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/25/bill-barr-voter-fraud-investigation-doj
• Court sets Aug. 27 deadline for brief appealing Trump classified docs dismissal - https://abcnews.go.com/US/court-sets-aug-27-deadline-brief-appealing-trump/story?id=112270892
• Kamala Harris drives record fundraising after Biden exit - https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/07/kamala-harris-drives-record-fundraising-after-biden-exit
• Nebraska GOP, other state parties file FEC complaint against Harris campaign - https://www.klkntv.com/nebraska-gop-other-state-parties-file-fec-complaint-against-harris-campaign/
• New York prosecutor files opposition to reversing Trump’s conviction - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/25/bragg-trump-new-york-trial-immunity/
• Ohio’s voter purge “disproportionately targets voters of color”, civil rights organizations say - https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2024/07/25/ohios-voter-purge-disproportionately-targets-voters-of-color-civil-rights-organizations-say/

July 26th

• How Some States Are Making It Harder to Register Voters - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/26/us/voter-registration-drive-restrictions.html
• LinkedIn billionaire is going all-in on Kamala Harris. But he wants her to make a big change - https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/26/business/reid-hoffman-kamala-harris-ftc-khan/index.html
• New Michigan Senate Map Eliminates Racial Gerrymandering - https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/new-michigan-senate-map-approved-to-fix-racial-gerrymandering

July 27th

• Trump faces backlash for ‘in four years, you don’t have to vote again’ remark - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/27/trump-faces-backlash-four-years-you-dont-have-vote-again-remark
• Trump tells Christian voters they 'won't have to vote anymore' if he's elected - https://www.npr.org/2024/07/27/nx-s1-5054272/trump-christian-wont-vote-anymore-speech

July 28th

• Harris raised $200 million in first week of White House campaign and signed up 170,000 volunteers - https://apnews.com/article/harris-campaign-fundraising-200-million-5db5d7c5001c87377e4ba11250fff597
• Mark Meadows asks Supreme Court to move Georgia election case to federal court - https://thehill.com/homenews/4797274-mark-meadows-asks-supreme-court-to-move-georgia-election-case-to-federal-court/
• New ballot-box obstacles: Mapping the states with recent laws that make it harder to vote - https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2024/07/28/mail-in-absentee-ballot-voter-id-purges-drop-box-maps/74527270007/

July 29th

• A half-million records and one app: The group behind a massive effort to ‘clean’ voter rolls - https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/29/politics/voter-rolls-ballot-challenges-true-the-vote-elections/index.html
• ACLU files lawsuit challenging Nebraska secretary of state's refusal to implement law allowing felons right to vote - https://www.ketv.com/article/nebraska-aclu-lawsuit-secretary-of-states-felon-voting-rights/61728741
• Biden, at LBJ Library, blasts Supreme Court and proposes major changes - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/29/biden-supreme-court-reform-ethics-code-term-limits
• Can Harris Use Biden’s Campaign Money? - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/can-harris-use-bidens-campaign-money
• How Trump Reshaped Federal Courts and What to Know About the Federal Judiciary - https://www.teenvogue.com/story/how-trump-reshaped-federal-courts-judiciary
• Judge rejects GOP challenge of Mississippi timeline for counting absentee ballots - https://apnews.com/article/election-mississippi-absentee-ballot-deadline-640c935b0dc3ca11c8a41c77d5a143a0
• Nearly Three-Year Legal Battle Over South Carolina’s Congressional Map Comes to an End, Unfair Districts Remain in Place - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/nearly-three-year-legal-battle-over-south-carolinas-congressional-map-comes-to-an-end-unfair-districts-remain-in-place/
• Opinion - Joe Biden: My plan to reform the Supreme Court and ensure no president is above the law - https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/07/29/joe-biden-reform-supreme-court-presidential-immunity-plan-announcement/
• Russia is relying on unwitting Americans to spread election disinformation, US officials say - https://apnews.com/article/russia-trump-biden-harris-china-election-disinformation-54d7e44de370f016e87ab7df33fd11c8
• Wanted: Poll workers. Must love democracy. - https://stateline.org/2024/07/29/wanted-poll-workers-must-love-democracy/

July 30th

• 12 states have new voter ID laws. Ohio's strict rules blocked 8,000 from voting - https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/30/ohio-voter-id-law-disenfranchised/74169004007/
• A Senate Bill Would Radically Improve Voting Machine Security - https://www.wired.com/story/a-senate-bill-would-radically-improve-voting-machine-security/
• Project 2025 Director Steps Down Amid Trump Criticism - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/30/us/politics/project-2025-director-steps-down.html
• Project 2025 to end policy work after Democratic attacks angered Trump - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/30/project-2025-director-paul-dans-leaves-heritage-foundation/
• How democracy survives - https://www.ifyoucankeepit.org/p/how-democracy-survives
• JD Vance writes glowing foreword to Project 2025 leader’s upcoming book - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/30/jd-vance-project-2025-book-foreword
• Trump Declines to Back Away From ‘You Don’t Have to Vote Again’ Line - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/30/us/politics/trump-christians-vote-ingraham.html

July 31st

• Amid new ballot drop boxes limits, Florida's shorter hours cause voting rights worry - https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/31/florida-absentee-ballots-drop-boxes/73624783007/

Good News Websites

• ABC Good News - https://abcnews.go.com/alerts/good-news
• Daily Good - https://www.dailygood.org/
• 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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