Democracy Happy Hour – Jan. 27, 2021

Democracy Happy Hour – January 27, 2021 - Democracy in the U.S. Compared to Other Countries

Meeting Recording & Chat:

• Facebook Video: https://business.facebook.com/fixdemocracyfirst.org/videos/1826877597459388/

Actions, Events & Links:

Upcoming Democracy Happy Hour Topics:

• 02/03/21 - The Filibuster
• 02/10/21 - Democracy & Capitalism
• 02/17/21 - Civic Education & Impact on Democracy
• 02/24/21 - Redistricting & Gerrymandering

For the People Act - TAKE ACTION Page - https://declarationforamericandemocracy.org/takeaction/

For the People Act CALL IN DAY – February 2nd - 1-888-246-5947

For the People Act Phonebanking w/ Common Cause - Saturdays at 3 pm PT -

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZArcOqrqTMrE9V_8nnkIJ1FK7tyi1LVHkod

Sign and send the petition: Demand the House and Senate pass HR 1 and rebuild our democracy - https://actionnetwork.org/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-demand-the-senate-pass-hr-1-and-rebuild-our-democracy

“Eastpointe” Film Screening & Panel Discussion – Jan 28th @ 6 pm PT: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PxBZJVGxSxuYg5AQz7KGLw

Becoming a Democracy ROUND 2 w/ Kristin Eberhard – February 18th @ 6 pm PT - https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_H2Mp6r62S8qdzhRvY3adqg

Democracy Lobby Week – Feb 22-26: https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/events/democracy-lobby-week-2021

“Dark Money” Film Discussion with Meaningful Movies at First Church – Feb 28th @ 12 pm PT: https://firstchurchseattle.breezechms.com/form/6e4389289596

Speak Up School series with Delta Gamma Kappa & LWV:

• Redistricting 101 – March 2nd @ 6-8 pm PT -https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qcWptJGKQqa6UcoPyhnp9g
• Orientation & Testifying Training – March 6th @ 9 am – 12:30 pm PT – https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUkcu2sqj8vGNRL11B5LHKr-pXfYXwmFSdy
• Data Lenses – March 11th @ 6-7:30 pm PT – https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gAv2IfMXQPi-29H1iuX4_w

FDF Donation Page - http://fixdemocracyfirst.org/donate

FDF Events Page - Past Events- https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/events#past-events

In the News & Election Links:

Holocaust Remembrance Day – in pictures - https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2021/jan/27/holocaust-remembrance-day-in-pictures

Nearly all GOP senators vote against impeachment trial for Trump, signaling likely acquittal - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gop-senators-to-question-basis-for-trump-impeachment-signaling-likely-acquittal/2021/01/26/cd7397dc-6002-11eb-9061-07abcc1f9229_story.html

How Nonviolent Activists Helped Oppose the Coup - https://www.yesmagazine.org/democracy/2021/01/20/trump-coup-nonviolent-activists/

STATE LEGISLATURES MAKE “UNPRECEDENTED” PUSH ON ANTI-PROTEST BILLS - https://theintercept.com/2021/01/21/anti-protest-riot-state-laws/

Historic audit of N.J. mail-in election is complete. The results are promising, officials say. - https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2021/01/historic-audit-of-nj-mail-in-election-is-complete-the-results-are-promising-officials-say.html

Despite GOP Claim, Few Valid Voter Fraud Claims in Wisconsin - https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/wisconsin/articles/2021-01-24/despite-gop-claim-few-valid-voter-fraud-claims-in-wisconsin

Poll finds 1 in 3 believe false claims voter fraud led to Biden win - https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/535720-1-in-3-erroneously-believe-voter-fraud-led-to-biden-win-poll?rl=1

Watchdog to Examine Whether Justice Dept. Helped Trump Effort to Overturn Election - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/us/politics/justice-department-inspector-general-trump-voter-fraud.html?searchResultPosition=1

How Michigan’s first absentee ballot controversy helped solidify judicial independence - https://www.michiganradio.org/post/how-michigan-s-first-absentee-ballot-controversy-helped-solidify-judicial-independence

Repeated election lies feed into bad voter laws, say experts - https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2021/01/26/repeated-election-lies-feed-into-bad-voter-laws-say-experts/

Republican senator’s bill would require copies of voters' IDs to be submitted with absentee ballots - https://www.wmur.com/article/republican-senators-bill-would-require-copies-of-ids-to-be-submitted-with-absentee-ballots/35314073#

Time to make sure voting remains easy again in 2022 - https://thefulcrum.us/voting/voting-reform

In wake of 2020 election, state GOP lawmakers aim to change election laws - https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2020-election-republicans-state-election-laws/

Voting Laws Roundup 2021 - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-2021

How Gerrymandering Will Protect Republicans Who Challenged the Election - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/us/politics/republicans-gerrymander-trump-election.html

GOP lawmakers want to extend the corruption of gerrymandering to Pa. courts - https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/opinion/2021/01/gop-lawmakers-want-to-extend-the-corruption-of-gerrymandering-to-pa-courts-letter.html

Partisan gerrymandering's first win of the year goes to N.Y. Democrats - https://thefulcrum.us/new-york-redistricting

CEO’s Newfound Concern for democracy is bunk - https://www.nationofchange.org/2021/01/26/ceos-newfound-concern-for-democracy-is-bunk/

Microsoft's ugly truth - https://popular.info/p/microsofts-ugly-truth

Halting Corporate Political Contributions is Not Enough to Protect Democracy - https://news.utexas.edu/2021/01/26/halting-corporate-political-contributions-is-not-enough-to-protect-democracy/

Eleven Years Later, Democrats Will Try Again to Address Citizens United’s Dark Money Problem - https://readsludge.com/2021/01/21/eleven-years-later-democrats-will-try-again-to-address-citizens-uniteds-dark-money-problem/

Corporations and Fixing Campaign Finance - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/corporations-and-fixing-campaign-finance

Democrats Have a Plan to Start Rebuilding American Democracy. Can They Get It Done? - https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/hr1-whats-inside-the-for-the-people-act-1116668/

The two bills Biden needs to sign as soon as possible to make the next election fair - https://thefulcrum.us/voting/voting-rights-legislation

67 PERCENT OF AMERICANS SUPPORT H.R.1 FOR THE PEOPLE ACT - https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2021/1/22/majority-support-hr1-democracy-reforms

As RCV debuts in NYC, momentum builds across the country - https://thefulcrum.us/voting/ranked-choice-voting-2650155906

Our democracy demands an investment in civic education - https://thefulcrum.us/civic-ed/how-to-improve-civics-education

How to follow and participate in the Washington state Legislature - https://crosscut.com/politics/2021/01/how-follow-and-participate-washington-state-legislature

Fix Democracy First Legislation page - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/legislation

Democracy in the U.S. Compared to Other Countries Links:

Cheat Sheet: 10 Common Forms of Government - https://thebestschools.org/magazine/common-forms-of-government-study-starters/

Different Types of Government Around the World - https://examples.yourdictionary.com/different-types-of-government-around-the-world.html

Democracy Index 2019 - https://cpb-us-e2.wpmucdn.com/sites.uci.edu/dist/c/442/files/2020/02/5D1CC465-FE92-4FDE-849F-2F47D697C826.png

Low scores for U.S. government in two global scorecards - https://thefulcrum.us/big-picture/american-democracy-corruption

CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX - https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2019/index/nzl#

Democracy Index 2019 - https://www.eiu.com/topic/democracy-index

Visualizing the State of Democracy, by Country - https://www.visualcapitalist.com/state-of-democracy-by-country/

A Leaderless Struggle for Democracy - https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2020/leaderless-struggle-democracy

Policy Recommendations: Strengthening Democracy - https://freedomhouse.org/policy-recommendations/strengthening-democracy-abroad

How countries around the world view democracy, military rule and other political systems - https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/10/30/global-views-political-systems/

Younger Americans more likely than older adults to say there are other countries that are better than the U.S. - https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/01/08/younger-americans-more-likely-than-older-adults-to-say-there-are-other-countries-that-are-better-than-the-u-s/

Comparing Democratic Distress in the United States and Europe - https://carnegieendowment.org/2018/06/21/comparing-democratic-distress-in-united-states-and-europe-pub-76646

U.S. Election Integrity Compares Poorly to Other Democracies - https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2020-10-07/us-elections-compare-poorly-to-other-democracies-research-shows

In past elections, U.S. trailed most developed countries in voter turnout - https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/11/03/in-past-elections-u-s-trailed-most-developed-countries-in-voter-turnout/

Democracy is in decline around the world — and Trump is part of the problem - https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/03/05/democracy-is-decline-around-world-trump-is-part-problem/