Democracy Happy Hour – October 18, 2023

Democracy Happy Hour, Oct 18, 2023 - Meeting Recordings:

• Speaker View Recording:  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/GrjKatstiazSiBgXoeIF6VUhNIsDcw3d6t2m5M0GZMxqEI3D1u53fqgmm3MRbfuxY2b_B_B8-ku9D_my.PeYu36kiRSYVwinC

• Gallery View Recording:  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/MKVw2rQK8tSbkFDrIezESBPvCDV67e_Vif0c_7bef_5VW82No1QhpFPHU30G-tFt2Sl19R4u5YEUJu1D.RnkW_hijR0pqFDW6

• Chat file (will download to directly to your computer):  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/qSnT8zMdVJH1LEByasTlnz1x_9rj9gmhHe3KMJ7MXeDoY-zM7oa20z68UmeZCG_iWVi1U3nb9kcuvNrx.P5zN_tJCkYnD2X06

FDF Links:

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

Democracy Happy Hour Upcoming Topics/Schedule:

• Oct 25 - Can Moving to Even Year Elections Boost Turnout & Participation? with Andrew Villeneuve, Northwest Progressive Institute
• Nov 1 - Redrawing Washington's 15th Legislative District with Andrew Hong, Redistricting Justice for WA
• Nov 8 - How to Get Involved with Local Actions, Daniel Weise, Take Action Network
• Nov 15 - Avoiding Election Misinformation with DeMario Phipps-Smith, News Literacy Project
• Nov 22 - CANCELED - No Democracy Happy Hour this week - Happy Thanksgiving!

ACTIONS & EVENTS:

The Legislative Path to Supreme Court Reform – October 25^th @ 3 pm PT/6 pm ET - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-legislative-path-to-supreme-court-reform-tickets-732330659717?aff=PDF

Digital Citizens Unite: A Panel on Navigating the Age of NEW Media, October 25, 6-7 pm PST -Renton Highlands Library, 2801 NE 10th St, Renton, WA 98056 - Online attendance available. Register at: https://form.jotform.com/232786178725166

No Time to Fail Premier – Oct 26^th @ 4 pm PT/7 pm ET – Trailer: https://www.notimetofailfilm.com/

Register @ https://www.mobilize.us/publiccitizeninitiative/event/584263/

CivXNow Educator Advocacy Program Sign Up – Looking for current & retired educators - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOWc_xCfCfCMumfhnIVeDAcgdLahSTFV5fg-4btfUgd9O91A/viewform

$50,000 SUPERPAC VIDEO COMPETITION - VIDEO THAT BEST EXPLAINS HOW SUPERPACS CAN BE REGULATED WINS $50,000 - https://cancelsuperpacs.com

Citizen Connect - https://citizenconnect.us/

Protecting Elections & Election Workers  Links:

Thurston County Auditor - https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/departments/auditor

Thurston County Elections - https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/departments/auditor/elections

National Organization Recognizes Thurston County Auditor’s Cybersecurity Initiative - https://www.yelmonline.com/stories/national-organization-recognizes-thurston-county-auditors-cybersecurity-initiative,90043

Washington State Legislation re: Election Workers Harassment - HB 1241 - https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1241&Year=2023

Election skeptics try new strategy targeting voter registrations in Washington - https://www.king5.com/article/news/investigations/eyeteam-investigations/voter-registration-challenges-thurston-county/281-381c96c0-570a-4a09-a845-d71434a46a63

Heading into the 2024 election cycle, officials are bracing for heightened accusations of fraud—and the threats that often accompany them - https://www.rockdalenewtoncitizen.com/multimedia/slideshows/heading-into-the-2024-election-cycle-officials-are-bracing-for-heightened-accusations-of-fraud-and/image_3525a3a9-55be-58cd-8674-0d9c01d183f5.html

Securing Your Vote – WA State - https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/voters/securing-your-vote

Election Protection - https://866ourvote.org/

Defend Our Elections - https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/defend-our-elections

2024 Election Workers Need Better Protection from Harassment - https://blog.ucsusa.org/derrick-jackson/2024-election-workers-need-better-protection-from-harassment/

Deterring Threats to Election Workers - https://bipartisanpolicy.org/download/?file=/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/BPC_Deterring-Threats-to-Election-Workerks_R04.pdf

King Cosponsors Legislation to Protect Election Workers From Threats - https://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/king-cosponsors-legislation-to-protect-election-workers-from-threats

Democracy in the News Links

Trump has narrow gag order imposed on him by federal judge overseeing 2020 election subversion case - https://apnews.com/article/trump-capitol-riot-gag-order-judge-chutkan-b5f59c6688504c952df5f70029228f9e

Trump’s Claim That He Can’t Be Prosecuted Collides With Precedents - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/12/us/politics/trump-immunity-supreme-court.html

Prosecutors Ask if Trump Will Blame His Lawyers as Defense in Election Case - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/10/us/politics/prosecutors-trump-blame-lawyers.html

Trump push for incremental delays risks upending federal trials - https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4255276-trump-incremental-delays-federal-trials/

Special counsel Jack Smith pulls subpoena over pro-Trump fundraising - https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/10/17/special-counsel-withdraws-trump-subpoena

GOP’s Jim Jordan fails again to win vote to become House speaker and colleagues seek other options - https://apnews.com/article/jim-jordan-house-speaker-mccarthy-trump-994067b90a874ed46dd6a1766d89a163

Sen. Bob Menendez charged with conspiring to act as foreign agent - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/10/12/senator-menendez-fara-new-indictment-egypt

Expanding the Vote: State Felony Disenfranchisement Reform, 1997-2023 - https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/expanding-the-vote-state-felony-disenfranchisement-reform-1997-2023

Athletes’ advocacy for voting rights garners broad support, poll finds - https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/10/11/americans-support-athletes-advocating-voting-rights/

A Shift in Gerrymandering - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/briefing/republicans-gerrymandering.html

Using big data to make elections fairer - https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/using-big-data-to-make-elections-fairer/

Community Redistricting Report Card - https://www.commoncause.org/resource/charge-report-community-redistricting-report-card/

Two groups battle to bring their changes to primary elections to the voters - https://www.wmicentral.com/news/two-groups-battle-to-bring-their-changes-to-primary-elections-to-the-voters/article_c29ff787-4a2b-5e36-a23b-28de67117fa4.html

Federal lawsuit over voter ID law will proceed - https://www.idahoednews.org/kevins-blog/federal-lawsuit-over-voter-id-law-will-proceed/

Michigan Republicans Resurrect Right-Wing Legal Theory Rejected by Supreme Court Last Summer - https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/michigan-republicans-resurrect-right-wing-legal-theory-rejected-by-supreme-court-last-summer

Overriding Gov. Cooper’s vetoes, the NC legislature makes it harder to vote, easier to pollute. - https://ncnewsline.com/2023/10/11/overriding-gov-coopers-vetoes-the-nc-legislature-makes-it-harder-to-vote-easier-to-pollute/

Ohio Ballot Board approves anti-gerrymandering amendment. Proposal to go forward - https://www.lovelandmagazine.com/ohio-ballot-board-approves-anti-gerrymandering-amendment-proposal-to-go-forward/

Federal Judge Strikes Down Galveston County, Texas Commissioners Court Districts for Violating Voting Rights Act - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/federal-judge-strikes-down-galveston-county-texas-commissioners-court-districts-for-violating-voting-rights-act/

How Texas Law Lets the State Get Around Injunctions - https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-texas-law-lets-state-get-around-injunctions

Virginia Attorney General Warns Right-Wing Group To Stop Sending False Info to Voters - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/va-attorney-general-warns-right-wing-group-to-stop-sending-false-info-to-voters/

Election skeptics try new strategy targeting voter registrations in Washington - https://www.king5.com/article/news/investigations/eyeteam-investigations/voter-registration-challenges-thurston-county/281-381c96c0-570a-4a09-a845-d71434a46a63

Wisconsin Supreme Court To Take Up Gerrymandering Case as GOP Seeks To Oust New Liberal Justice - https://www.nysun.com/article/wisconsin-supreme-court-to-take-up-gerrymandering-case-as-gop-seeks-to-oust-new-liberal-justice

Justices Poised to Restore Voting Map Ruled a Racial Gerrymander - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/11/us/politics/supreme-court-south-carolina-voting-map.html

US Supreme Court may make it harder to prove racial gerrymandering - https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-may-make-it-harder-prove-racial-gerrymandering-2023-10-13/

A Supreme Court dispute over a $15,000 IRS bill may be aimed at a never-enacted tax on billionaires - https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/a-supreme-court-dispute-over-a-15000-irs-bill-may-be-aimed-at-a-never-enacted-tax-on-billionaires

Supreme Court to Hear Another Broad Challenge to Agency Power - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/13/us/supreme-court-agency-power-jackson.html

We Don’t Talk About Leonard: The Man Behind the Right’s Supreme Court Supermajority - https://www.propublica.org/article/we-dont-talk-about-leonard-leo-supreme-court-supermajority

On the Media PODCAST: We Don't Talk About Leonard: Episode 3 - https://www.npr.org/podcasts/452538775/on-the-media

US judicial panel to examine 'judge shopping' reforms - https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-judicial-panel-examine-judge-shopping-reforms-2023-10-17/

Who’s up, who’s down, and who’s tanking: 5 takeaways from the latest campaign finance reports - https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/16/fec-filings-2024-takeaways-00121692

Biden Campaign Raises $71.3 Million, Far Outpacing Trump and Republican Field - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/15/us/politics/biden-campaign-q3-fundraising.html

Lawyers, Trump and money: Ex-president spends millions in donor cash on attorneys as legal woes grow - https://apnews.com/article/trump-lawyers-millions-payments-2024-campaign-2e06de2a8a90b3752e7758dfea56a509