Democracy Happy Hour - October 09, 2024

Topic: Election Protection Coalition with Danny Navarro

Fix Democracy First hosts a weekly Democracy Happy Hour on Wednesdays @ 5-6:30pm PT. Grab a drink and join us and learn about the latest democracy efforts, challenges, solutions, as well upcoming events and actions.

This is a recurring event. You only have to register once.

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Democracy Happy Hour, October 09, 2024 - Meeting Recordings

• Speaker View: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/1fX4mwy_o8pHxPhiqQwF_Gh4Mkmf1pqmw_mg9HuiA69wJU5nt0yPj0nlGw4tUjF696MkOWI8xXoYK3dU.qfimZrjEODg2qdcb

• Gallery View: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/ZjybPNhK0SiLoFlAV2000-KpogByy6n3BFlMtfMnQ7EZPf4BmqEc47Na-PhMA41O_PfV2q1avoFMrk_L.BsBwaQow4wPE8Bf4

• Chat file (will download directly to your computer): https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/-eQvOY1c2KGgtgea6w4RhcmeN7YZ6qKeekDTKrLc5_MM6gfKsdkvhZxzk2zmafDxrbn62wkOkuyp-GU5.RKDGa1rNIDRdedNq

• Closed Caption file (will download directly to your computer): https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/gTg47QeRhpKrv7D2iwcop4qU5Ip01evAjkgivSErUn7igs5jQlCa_Sca4o5p1Tj-Wh-V-xakzRfsNsAd.euoh9Ki7bRRMBnfw

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

• Oct 16 - Harnessing Our Power to End Political Violence (HOPE-PV) Project
• Oct 23 - SPECIAL EVENT for Media Literacy Week: Media Literacy in the Age of AI with NW Center for Media Literacy - How do we ensure we are getting accurate, reliable information? What should we be aware of when it comes to digital media? How do we maximize the benefits while minimizing risks of AI? Join our panel of educators and media literacy experts for a robust discussion on these topics, and more!
• Oct 30 - Combating Polarization & Extremism with Ryan Nakade, Ruminant Resolutions
• Nov 13 - Center For Wise Democracy with Jim Rough
• Nov 20 - Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality with author Renee DiResta
• Nov 27 - NO Democracy Happy Hour this week - CANCELED for Thanksgiving

Actions and events

• 3 Big Ways Democracy Vouchers Changed Seattle’s Elections - Jennifer A. Heerwig with Alan Durning – in Seattle on October 17^th @ 7:30 pm PT - https://townhallseattle.org/event/jennifer-a-heerwig/
• Join Election Protection - https://protectthevote.net/?source=fixdemocracyfirst
• Majority Rules – Screening & Panel Discussion - Sunday, October 13^th @ 4 pm PT/7 pm ET
  • Panelists: Jason Grenn, Former Executive Director for Alaskans for Better Elections & Alaska State Representative & Lisa Ayrault, FairVote WA Executive Director
  • RSVP here: https://bit.ly/majority-rules-screening
• Multi-Member Districts Education Presentation – LWV of WA Project – November 9^th @ 10 am PT/1 pm ET - https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pd-2ppjwoHdQNtgK-wnxesL0ToEq9RmLp#/registration
• Power the Polls - https://www.powerthepolls.org/fixdemocracyfirst
• SPECIAL: Democracy Happy Hour - Media Literacy in the Age of AI – Wed, October 23, 5-6:30 pm PT/8-9:30 pm ET – Register @ https://bit.ly/DemocracyHappyHour
• 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, deadline extended to October 6^th - https://www.whydoyou.vote/spark-the-vote-challenge

Election Protection Coalition

Danny Navarro, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

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

• Election Protection Resources - https://866ourvote.org/resources/
• Everything You Need to Know About Voting In Your State - https://866ourvote.org/states/
• Join Election Protection – https://protectthevote.net/?source=fixdemocracyfirst
• Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law - https://www.lawyerscommittee.org/

Democracy in the News

Resources

• How Gigantic Sums of Money Shape This US Election Season - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-10-02/campaign-finance-the-massive-role-money-plays-in-us-politics
• Put ranked-choice voting at the top of your list - https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/10/03/ranked-choice-instant-runoff-ballot-initiatives-dc
• Top 10 Election Litigation Cases in 2024 Implicating the Rule of Law - https://www.justsecurity.org/103478/2024-election-litigation-top-10/

October

October 1

• Idaho House GOP opposes Prop 1 ballot initiative, may repeal or amend it if voters pass it - https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/10/01/idaho-house-gop-opposes-prop-1-ballot-initiative-may-repeal-or-amend-it-if-voters-pass-it/

October 2

• 5 takeaways from the big new filing on Trump’s 2020 election plot - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/10/02/jack-smith-trump-2020-election-filing-takeaways/
• How a Judge Will Weigh Immunity in Trump’s Jan. 6 Case - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/10/02/us/politics/trump-trial-immunity-election-interference.html
• Special counsel Jack Smith provides fullest picture yet of his 2020 election case against Trump in new filing - https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/02/politics/jack-smith-donald-trump-filing/index.html
• Voters bring federal complaint against Wausau mayor’s removal of absentee drop box - https://wisconsinexaminer.com/briefs/voters-bring-federal-complaint-against-wausau-mayors-removal-of-absentee-drop-box/
• Why companies spend all that campaign donation money - https://www.marketplace.org/2024/10/02/why-companies-spend-all-that-campaign-donation-money/

October 3

• As election threats rise, Justice Dept. says its options are limited - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/10/03/justice-election-threats-prosecutions/
• Domestic extremists with ‘election-related grievances’ could turn to violence in final weeks of election, FBI and DHS warn - https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/03/politics/domestic-extremists-election-threat-dhs-fbi-bulletin/index.html
• Extreme Weather Events Are Affecting Whether and How People Vote - https://www.teenvogue.com/story/extreme-weather-events-vote
• National party committees ramp up fundraising and spending as the 2024 election cycle enters home stretch - https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/10/dnc-rnc-national-party-committees-ramp-up-fundraising-and-spending-2024-election-cycle/
• Out-Of-State Billionaires Pour Millions Into Texas Politics: Who’s Funding the State’s Agenda? - https://www.reformaustin.org/campaign-finance/out-of-state-billionaires-pour-millions-into-texas-politics-whos-funding-the-states-agenda/
• Public Campaign Financing and the Indictment of NYC Mayor Eric Adams - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/public-campaign-financing-and-indictment-nyc-mayor-eric-adams
• Republicans’ non-citizen voting myth sets stage to claim stolen election - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/03/trump-republicans-non-citizen-voters-myth-stolen-election
• What’s next after prosecutors reveal new evidence in Trump’s 2020 election interference case - https://apnews.com/article/trump-capitol-riot-jack-smith-jan-6-e687b91aa27df9f985580c122c5ef34c
• Why Americans are worried about voter fraud but have faith in their own elections - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/why-americans-are-worried-about-voter-fraud-but-have-faith-in-their-own-elections

October 4

• Civil rights groups ask to extend voter registration deadlines in hurricane-ravaged states - https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-helene-elections-voter-registration-ef76b0fb5be902acb216f63b27d70393
• Conservative Activists Are Monitoring, and Filming, Voter Registration Sites - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/04/us/arizona-nonprofit-voter-registration-recordings.html
• Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme - https://apnews.com/article/tina-peters-colorado-clerk-election-vote-fraud-b456ce4f80dc97f4b967eb6297311a51
• Georgia judge rejects lawsuit from GOP officials raising concerns about voting machines - https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/04/politics/georgia-judge-rejects-lawsuit-gop-officials-dominion/index.html
• South Carolina extends voter registration due to Hurricane Helene impact - https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4917103-south-carolina-extends-voter-registration-helene/
• Two men have re-engineered the US electoral system in favor of Republicans - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/oct/04/electoral-college-map-gerrymandering

• Who’s who in Jack Smith’s massive Trump election interference filing - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/10/04/who-named-trump-election-interference-case-jack-smith

October 5

• AZ Supreme Court upholds decision to count votes for Prop 140 - https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2024/10/05/az-supreme-court-upholds-decision-to-count-votes-for-prop-140/
• At the center of national politics, Pennsylvania shatters records at nearly $1 billion in election spending - https://www.post-gazette.com/news/election-2024/2024/10/05/harris-trump-casey-mccormick-pennsylvania-ad-spending/stories/202410060108
• Nov. 5 election too close to decide mail-in ballot issues, Pennsylvania Supreme Court says - https://penncapital-star.com/campaigns-elections/nov-5-election-too-close-to-decide-mail-in-ballot-issues-pennsylvania-supreme-court-says/

October 7

• Eight U.S. States Will Vote to Ban Noncitizen Voting in November Despite Existing Laws - https://www.latintimes.com/eight-us-states-will-vote-ban-noncitizen-voting-november-despite-existing-laws-561158
• Helene’s devastation has disrupted voting in battlegrounds - https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/07/hurricane-helene-election-nc-ga-voting-00182602
• North Carolina residents impacted by Helene likely to see some voting changes - https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-helene-north-carolina-voting-election-2024-53cce0ee62fc257ff54fbd0ae59fa105
• Republicans lose bid to block Pennsylvania voters from 'curing' mail-in ballots - https://www.reuters.com/world/us/republicans-lose-bid-block-pennsylvania-voters-curing-mail-in-ballots-2024-10-07/
• Supreme Court boots Elon Musk’s fight with Jack Smith over Trump’s Twitter records - https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/07/politics/elon-musk-trump-twitter-records/index.html
• Supreme Court declines to intervene in Texas emergency abortion case - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/10/07/supreme-court-emergency-abortion-texas-case
• Supreme Court declines to take up ‘dark money’ case - https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4919230-supreme-court-dark-money-disclosure/
• Supreme Court takes the bench with ghost guns, a capital case and transgender rights on the docket - https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-death-sentence-ghost-guns-transgender-rights-926e78c1100f3201fbd99b3d1ef2b747

October 8

• Courts could see a wave of election lawsuits, but experts say the bar to change the outcome is high - https://apnews.com/article/election-supreme-court-lawsuits-trump-harris-1507df4e695ca13c5da00c22ef8e14e5
• Elon Musk's Super PAC is Pouring Millions Into Key Republican Campaigns in Hopes to Maintain GOP House Majority - https://www.latintimes.com/elon-musks-super-pac-pouring-millions-key-republican-campaigns-hopes-maintain-gop-house-561595
• Majority of Supreme Court Appears Receptive to Biden Administration Limits on ‘Ghost Guns’- https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/08/us/ghost-guns-supreme-court.html
• Millions of people in the U.S. don’t vote. Could anything change their minds? - https://apnews.com/projects/election-2024-our-very-complicated-democracy/election-2024-why-americans-dont-vote-episode-6.html
• Republicans are challenging all aspects of mail-in voting in battleground states - https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/08/politics/mail-in-ballot-republican-lawsuits-battleground-states/index.html
• Scoop: Massive Harris ad buy launches wild spending month - https://www.axios.com/2024/10/08/kamala-harris-trump-election-campaign-spending
• Spending in presidential and congressional races projected to hit nearly $16 billion and smash records, new analysis shows - https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/10/08/politics/2024-election-most-expensive
• Total 2024 election spending projected to exceed previous record - https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/10/total-2024-election-spending-projected-to-exceed-previous-record
• Trump-allied Georgia election board wants 2020 election deniers to monitor Atlanta-area voting - https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/08/politics/georgia-election-board-atlanta-fulton-county/index.html

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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