Democracy Happy Hour – September 13, 2023

Democracy Happy Hour, Sept 13, 2023 - Meeting Recordings:

• Speaker View Recording:  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/P0Xs3n7pRVymqunv8EZ5cFX3QcrRwQQJ9s0mwpOwlKYajqo2wR2WHfiFC0DwhJMRWURouvZ0-dQD8mjR.czJboNWg98SIbhnB

• Gallery View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/d-jF7utkRxEAG0Yc9F0sgy3DADlrnUGyxE_OR2Foxgy_c8NePN_xEXkase9Bz4_X2b4sIDXYTa1gtkwO.j4P8-x4MMs7YExO4

• Chat file (will download to directly to your computer):  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/NSep8boFJE89RcALDJYBn3Z7tjQXxkOrFKaRIr8keihOZOdCOwMY7-JLT5E2mzNT34xQWIlkTZzOsqgD.W9u3PcTh6NQr7uc0

Fix Democracy First Links:

• Fix Democracy First - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/
• Donate @ https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/donate
• Fix Democracy First 20^th Anniversary Celebration & Get Together – September 9, 2023 @ 6-9 pm – Bloedel Hall @ St. Mark’s in Seattle - Tickets & Sponsorships: https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/event-pages/20th-anniversary-celebration

Democracy Happy Hour Upcoming Topics/Schedule:

• Sept 20 - Braver Angels: Finding Common Ground with Elizabeth Doll, Director of Braver Politics
• Sept 27 - CANCELED - No Democracy Happy Hour this week (Cindy will be at the American Democracy Summit in Los Angeles.)
• Oct 4 - Oregon's Effort for Campaign Finance Reform with Dan Meek

ACTIONS & EVENTS:

Federal Election Commission – Submit your comments on amending regulation to include deliberately deceptive Artificial Intelligence in campaign ads - https://www.fec.gov/updates/comments-sought-on-amending-regulation-to-include-deliberately-deceptive-artificial-intelligence-in-campaign-ads/

·      Pending rulemaking matters for comment - https://www.fec.gov/legal-resources/regulations/pending-rulemaking-matters-comment/

Common Power & Goodwill Voter Registration Drives - https://linktr.ee/2023voterregcampaign

American Democracy Summit 2023 – Sept 27-29 in Los Angeles - https://americandemocracysummit.org/

Citizen Connect - https://citizenconnect.us/

Washington State Public Disclosure Commission Links:

WA Public Disclosure Commission - https://www.pdc.wa.gov/

PDC – For Voters & the Public - https://www.pdc.wa.gov/voters-public

Washington ranked No. 1 for regulating campaign cash - https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2022/07/06/washington-ranked-1-regulating-campaign-cash

WASHINGTON STATE’S PUBLIC DISCLOSURE COMMISSION - Example of a Public Disclosure System - http://www.blueprintsfordemocracy.org/example-state-disclosure-system-washington

Campaign finance requirements in Washington - https://ballotpedia.org/Campaign_finance_requirements_in_Washington

Meta faces $24.7M fine for campaign finance violations in Washington - https://www.axios.com/2022/10/27/meta-fine-campaign-finance-violations-washington

Facebook intentionally violated WA campaign finance law 822 times - https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/judge-facebook-intentionally-violated-wa-campaign-finance-law-822-times/

Good Government Groups Defend Washington State Disclosure Law, Facing Opposition from Meta - https://www.lwv.org/newsroom/press-releases/good-government-groups-defend-washington-state-disclosure-law-facing

Democracy in the News Links

Trump tells judge he may try to move Georgia election interference case to federal court - https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/07/politics/trump-federal-court-georgia/index.html

Trump demands recusal by Judge Chutkan in D.C. Jan. 6 trial - https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/09/11/trump-chutkan-recusal-jan-6-judge/

Judge denies Meadows’ bid to move Fulton case to fed court - https://www.ajc.com/politics/breaking-judge-denies-meadows-bid-to-move-fulton-case-to-fed-court/WIOLN4Y7HJAK5A574GISGJJKRI/

Georgia prosecutors in Trump election case estimate four-month trial - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/09/06/trump-georgia-trial-four-months/

Georgia special grand jury recommended charges against 39 people, including Sen. Lindsey Graham - https://apnews.com/article/georgia-grand-jury-full-report-trump-indictment-08b2cccaed514c2d8e1baae49e2f05eb

Trump’s posts ‘threaten to prejudice jury pool’ in federal 2020 case, complaint says - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/06/trump-jury-threat-jan-6-truth-social

Do unbiased jurors exist to serve at Trump’s 2020 election trials in the age of social media? - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/do-unbiased-jurors-exist-to-serve-at-trumps-2020-election-trials-in-the-age-of-social-media

Trump’s Next Legal Drama—a Reconstruction-Era Amendment Barring Insurrectionists From Office - https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trumps-2024-eligibility-ignites-debateand-litigation-29749d30

‘Uncharted territory’: elections officials weigh Trump’s presidency eligibility - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/11/us-elections-officials-trump-presidency-eligibility

Trump Classified Documents: Lawyers Reportedly Said Ex-President Would Go ‘Ballistic’ If Forced To Comply With Subpoena—And Warned Him About FBI Raid - https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/09/06/trump-classified-documents-lawyers-reportedly-said-ex-president-would-go-ballistic-if-forced-to-comply-with-subpoena-and-warned-him-about-fbi-raid/?sh=3d3a10f92089

He Was Just the I.T. Guy. Then He Got Caught in the Trump Documents Case. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/09/us/politics/yuscil-taveras-trump-documents-case.html

Pretrial-palooza underway for Trump - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/09/10/pretrial-palooza-is-underway-donald-trump

Trump White House official Navarro convicted of contempt after defying House Jan. 6 subpoena - https://apnews.com/article/trump-white-house-navarro-contempt-congress-jan-6-a4ad58e1f590e5884fd347c86c121a8a

Kevin McCarthy directs House committees to open Biden impeachment inquiry - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/12/mccarthy-biden-impeachment

Voting rights activists sound alarms over private tool that could lead to canceling voter registrations - https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/11/politics/voting-rights-new-tool-canceling-registrations/index.html

Redrawing of GOP Gerrymandered Districts Could Tip House in Dems’ Favor in 2024 - https://truthout.org/articles/redrawing-gop-gerrymandered-districts-could-tip-house-in-dems-favor-in-2024/

How States Can Prevent Election Subversion in 2024 and Beyond - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/how-states-can-prevent-election-subversion-2024-and-beyond

13 presidential libraries from Hoover to Obama warn of fragile state of U.S. democracy - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/13-presidential-libraries-from-hoover-to-obama-warn-of-fragile-state-of-u-s-democracy

Alabama Asks Supreme Court to Revisit Dispute Over Congressional Map - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/11/us/politics/supreme-court-alabama-gerrymandering.html

Two more Alaska ballot measures pass legal muster, but another is disqualified - https://alaskabeacon.com/2023/09/06/two-more-alaska-ballot-measures-pass-legal-muster-but-another-is-disqualified/

DeSantis eyes revoking constitutional safeguard for Florida’s Black voters - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/07/ron-desantis-florida-black-voters

Challenge to political maps to proceed with state’s claim Black voting power isn’t diluted - https://georgiarecorder.com/2023/09/11/challenge-to-political-maps-to-proceed-with-states-claim-black-voting-power-isnt-diluted/

Georgia removed nearly 190K voters from rolls, 305K remain inactive - https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/georgia-removed-nearly-voters-from-rolls-inactive-status

Voting rights groups ask to dismiss lawsuit challenging gerrymandered Ohio congressional map - https://apnews.com/article/redistricting-ohio-lawsuit-republicans-gerrymandering-873e5e997ea5cde25b9aebddb1c25482

Group resubmits amendment to create independent redistricting commission in Ohio - https://www.nbc4i.com/news/your-local-election-hq/group-re-proposes-amendment-to-create-independent-redistricting-commission/

Supreme Court won’t intervene in Pennsylvania dispute over access to voting equipment after 2020 election - https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/12/politics/supreme-court-pennsylvania-voting-equipment/index.html

What’s at stake in the long-awaited trial over Texas’s sweeping 2021 elections law - https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/11/texas-voting-laws-trial/

WA court to hear case that seeks to stop ballot signature rejections - https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/wa-court-to-hear-case-that-seeks-to-stop-ballot-signature-rejections

Who will redraw Central WA’s Latino-majority voting district? - https://crosscut.com/politics/2023/09/who-will-redraw-central-was-latino-majority-voting-district

‘Uncharted territory’ – Could the Wisconsin GOP protect their gerrymandered maps by impeaching Protasiewicz? - https://kaukaunacommunitynews.com/2023/09/08/uncharted-territory-could-the-wisconsin-gop-protect-their-gerrymandered-maps-by-impeaching-protasiewicz/

Wisconsin’s skewed legislative maps could cost taxpayers millions in legal fees - https://americanindependent.com/wisconsins-gerrymandering-taxpayers-legal-fees/

Evers rejects Republican GOP's surprise redistricting plan - https://fox11online.com/news/election/wisconsin-republican-lawmakers-propose-nonpartisan-redistricting-district-maps-legislature-supreme-court-gerrymandering-fair

Welcome to State Court Report - https://statecourtreport.org/

Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh predicts ‘concrete steps soon’ to address ethics concerns - https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-justice-kavanaugh-ethics-thomas-76c1e5474093d17127707535ccdea852

The Supreme Court’s Growing Ethics Splits - https://newrepublic.com/article/175501/supreme-courts-growing-ethics-splits

What Ginni Thomas and Leonard Leo wrought: How a justice’s wife and a key activist started a movement - https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/10/ginni-thomas-leonard-leo-citizens-united-00108082

Biden campaign to focus more on Trump to boost lackluster fundraising - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/biden-trump-campaign-fundraising-rcna104131

How Fossil Fuel Lobbyists and Their Allies Use ‘Zombie’ Bills and Exploit Loopholes to Avoid Climate Action - https://capitalandmain.com/how-fossil-fuel-lobbyists-and-their-allies-use-zombie-bills-and-exploit-loopholes-to-avoid-climate-action

A TRUMP APPOINTEE IS TRYING TO GUT THE FEC’S ABILITY TO INVESTIGATE CAMPAIGN FINANCE CRIMES - https://theintercept.com/2023/09/12/fec-campaign-finance-investigation/

Google to require disclosure of AI use in political ads - https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/06/google-ai-political-ads-00114266

For a Better Democracy: Proportional Representation - https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/70/for-a-better-democracy-proportional-representation/

Democracy Decoded - https://campaignlegal.org/democracy-decoded