RFS feel-good update (10/11): Should our Democracy Defenders wear capes??
Asking for a friend...
Hi all -
Hope you had a restful long weekend and are ready for the final push to Election Day! Over here, it was another week, another reminder that nothing less than democracy is at stake in this election — and the best way to save it is by working and investing in local races.
The AP dug in on how local election officials are dealing with harassment and the power they play to run fair and equitable elections.
A majority of GOP nominees for House, Senate, and key statewide offices — 299 in all - question the validity of the 2020 election. Remember that very few are tracking these stats on the local level but it’s safe to assume the trend line continues locally, too.
It’s telling that the Guardian’s series on the looming death of democracy begins with a scene from a local county commission meeting in Nevada:
Item number 28 on the agenda for the March meeting of the county commission in rural southern Nevada seemed benign enough. But by the end of the hour-and-45-minute presentation Sandra Merlino, the longtime local clerk, felt sickened.
One by one, a band of activists took to the podium to argue that Nye county should switch from electronic ballots to paper ones in forthcoming elections. …Merlino was alarmed. She knew that what they were saying was bogus – the county’s election systems aren’t connected to the internet and there’s no evidence they were not secure. Counting ballots by hand was costly, not reliable, and would take a long time after the election to complete. “It’s so prone to error,” she said. “It just is a nightmare as far as I’m concerned.”
… The episode in Nye county is just one example of a new poison that has seeped deep into the bloodstream of American politics since the 2020 election. While there have long been fights in America over who gets to vote, this new toxin is focused on how the vote is counted and on undermining confidence in results. Its prevalence has raised an alarming possibility that once seemed unfathomable in one of the world’s leading democracies – that the result of a valid election could be overturned.
This is why Run for Something is running Clerk Work, and especially helping our Democracy Defenders like Amanda Gonzalez out in Colorado.
As Dan Pfeiffer elegantly puts it: Supporting Run for Something is part of “stopping the 2024 insurrection in 2022.”
Meanwhile, folks are waking up to the thing we’ve been saying for nearly 6 years now: The way to win national elections is to win local elections.
In the Atlantic: The 2024 presidential election is being decided by state legislative races in 2022.
In the NYT: “Why Little-Noticed State Legislative Races Could Be Hugely Consequential.”
We’ve endorsed nearly 400 state legislative candidates this year because we know exactly how critical this work is. You’ve made that possible. Thanks.
Today is the last day to vote in the RFS Alumni Awards! Make your voice heard — voting is a habit, after all.
In RFS community updates:
We worked with Them.us for a story on how LGBTQ+ leaders can enter local politics and change things for the better, including spotlighting Indiana Sen. JD Ford and Hawaii Rep. Adrian Tam — read on and get inspired!
FL Senate candidate Janelle Perez — a cancer survivor, activist, small business owner, and mom — is dealing with some absolute bullshit from her opponent. Have her back.
We’ve put together an incredible list of parents running for local office if you’re looking for great people to help GOTV in the next few weeks.
Also a fun list: Marie Claire has an excellent rundown of some all-star RFS women running for office, including folks like Laura Terech and Analise Ortiz in AZ, Sarah Henry and Eunic Ortiz in Florida, Ruwa Romman and Nabilah Islam in GA, and so many others.
You might have seen this searing interview Jon Stewart did with the Arkansas AG about her horrific anti-trans kids policies. An important thing to know: This woman is now the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor; her opponent is RFS alum Kelly Krout. Chip in to Kelly’s campaign now.
Two great ads you can watch and help amplify for RFS candidates: Austin Marsman’s ad for his race for county commissioner in Allegan County and Shoshanna Kelly’s new ad in her race for New Hampshire Executive Council.
One of the weirder rumors RFS alum have had to debunk: St. Paul School Board member Halla Henderson explained that no, their schools do not have litter boxes for kids to use, contrary to what the GOP nominee for governor insists.
IL state house candidate Nabeela Syed explains the surprising reaction of older white voters she’s meeting at the doors: The most common response to my age is excitement, people saying, “We need young blood in office. We need new leadership. We need young people who are excited to take bold action. That was surprising because so many people tell you that age is an obstacle. But the reception of people at their doors and at the polls has been really welcoming. Then there are some people who need to be convinced, but I understand that because voters need to be as informed as possible.
The Council of State Governments named their 20 under-40 leadership award recipients , including RFS alum Rep. Iman Jodeh (CO), Rep. Alex Lee (CA), Sen. Zellnor Myrie (NY), and Sen. Marie Pinkney (DE).
Why building a diverse pipeline of talent matters: RFS alum Kyra Bolden could be the first Black woman to serve on the Michigan State Supreme Court.
After a teenager from his high school was killed by gun violence, Malcolm Kenyatta took to the Philadelphia Inquirer to implore politicians to take more action urgently.
IA Sen. Zach Wahls partnered with Congressman Ro Khanna to explain in the Economist how Democrats can win back rural communities and farm towns.
Time magazine profiled MI Sen. Mallory McMorrow as she works to flip the state senate and build sustainable power. We love to see it.
It’s worth watching this quick clip from Maggie Goldman, candidate for Fulton county commissioner in GA, and the reaction she gets when she stands up for democracy.
In related reading & listening:
The NYT’s new politics podcast, The Run-Up, dug in on how the GOP has used local races like school board campaigns to build sustainable power, and how they’ll use that power to keep Texas red. Listen now, especially to the first half.
Relatedly: California Republicans are going big and investing in school board races to try and make in-roads.
I talked with Chegg Life about how the young people will save us if we make the space to let them.
This is so fun: Insider made a Dungeons & Dragons-type game showing how the political system favors the gerontocracy.
Later this week, we’ll announce our final endorsements of 2022 (which includes a few races for 2023!) — get excited! You’re the reason we’ve gotten this far. Just 28 days to go.
- Amanda