Democracy Happy Hour – August 28, 2024

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.

Topic: Making Democracy Count: How Mathematics Improves Voting, Electoral Maps, and Representation with Ismar Volić.

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

Democracy Happy Hour, August 28, 2024 - Meeting Recordings

• Speaker View: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/ScZXceHbIlFOFt7C9TxdYG0IGcMlX2uGc1CvS6iqwGa-tMNhj0ntNtvxtBcc1yRiyf5xdz1nq2sO68ep.Id1GrE3m3Rv-0839  
  
  

• Gallery View: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/dQ7UMKPx-t4WzsS9XcbJet62xzklJnpdpoLcJzX7M1gy6zZdcwivbpgXGb0qK-Y8_I2NIWoSso1emx8E.mPTFa0Yp5upkMO2Z
  
  

• Chat file (will download directly to your computer): ttps://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/4Xal529V6sKAeMKi4V-Z33ZpDqFYIkqswY5dtVpxIRcvXJ_ml6v8ETg_US01ShBbiJIgfVgXIQBuaQk.oX0mqwf8JdPDwTA6
  
  

• Closed Caption file (will download directly to your computer): https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/ArubqOSg2VbT5cIXOAiXSIdn8R8oky-7dP-3YplNcrOpNyVECdABjybjunwwn0LIjZtUXAo8cICF3Ds4.Tdd6gYfYxCoKUpt1
  
  

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

• Sept 4 – CANCELED – No Democracy Happy Hour this week
• Sept 11 – OpenSecrets: Tracking Money in Elections with Sarah Bryner, Director of Research and Strategy
• Sept 18 – Living Room Conversations: Connecting People Across Differences with Becca Kearl, Executive Director
• Sept 25 - When We All Vote with Amanda Hollowell, National Managing Director
• Oct 2 – Election Protection Coalition with Danny Navarro

Actions and events

• Civics 101: Branches of Government & Elected Office Positions – October 1^st @ 6 pm PT/9 pm ET - https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZctcO2pqz0pH9SSQByJ7BtuTPLrGMn6Koyh#/registration
• Democracy in the Park Picnics, Spokane WA
  
  • If you are in the Spokane, WA area, please join us in-person for a Democracy in the Park Picnic on Sept 28th! This is a FREE event, though donations are welcome. Open to all!
  • Manito Park in Spokane, Saturday, September 28th @ 12 pm https://bit.ly/Democracy-in-the-Park-Spokane
  • If you would like to be removed from the Democracy Happy Hour mailing list, please let us know and we will remove you from this list and cancel your registration.‍
• Experts’ Guide to Free and Fair Elections - Sep. 19 @ 12 pm PT/ 3 pm ET - Virtual Event - https://brennan.swoogo.com/freeandfairelections
• FairVote WA events to support Ranked Choice Voting: https://www.mobilize.us/fairvotewa/
• Petition – Please Sign: Pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the Freedom to Vote Act, the Native American Voting Rights Act, and DC Statehood. - https://act.newmode.net/action/voting-rights-now/sign-petition-tell-congress
• Power the Polls - https://www.powerthepolls.org/fixdemocracyfirst
• Project 2025 is a Threat to Our Democracy - Write a letter to the editor to educate your community on the dangers of Project 2025 - https://act.newmode.net/action/voting-rights-now/project-2025-threat-our-democracy%C2%A0
• 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, September 14^th - https://www.whydoyou.vote/spark-the-vote-challenge

Making Democracy Count: How Mathematics Improves Voting, Electoral Maps, and Representation

Ismar Volić

• Institute for Mathematics and Democracy - https://mathematics-democracy-institute.org/people/ismar-volic/
• Wellesley College Mathematics Department - https://ivolic.wellesley.edu/

SPECIAL BOOK DISCOUNT! Making Democracy Count: How Mathematics Improves Voting, Electoral Maps, and Representation – 30% discount when ordering through the Princeton University Press website, Use code: VOLIC30@ https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691248806/making-democracy-count

Follow Ismar Volić on social media:

• Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ismar.volic
• LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ismar-voli%C4%87-5459761a7/
• X/Twitter – https://x.com/IsmarVolic

Democracy in the News

Resources

• BISC Ballot Measure Hub - https://ballot.org/ballot-hub/
• United States of America v. Donald J. Trump - https://www.justice.gov/storage/US_v_Trump_23_cr_257.pdf

August

August 15

• Project 2025 Aims to Derail Efforts to Stop Election Disinformation - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/project-2025-aims-derail-efforts-stop-election-disinformation

August 21

• Big Crypto, Big Spending: Crypto Corporations Spend an Unprecedented $119 Million Influencing Elections - https://www.citizen.org/article/big-crypto-big-spending-2024/
• Letitia James Fights to Preserve Trump’s Penalty of Over $450 Million - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/21/nyregion/letitia-james-trump-fraud-penalty.html
• Oil firms and dark money fund push by Republican states to block climate laws - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/21/republican-ag-climate-dark-money
• Trump is heading back to court: $454 million civil fraud appeal to be argued in New York - https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2024/08/21/trump-civil-fraud-appeal-arguments-scheduled/74892961007/
• Utah lawmakers want voters to give them the power to change ballot measures once they’ve passed - https://apnews.com/article/utah-ballot-measures-voting-rights-b01900725e0e4979d111e4455a0f1747
• Why the Myth of Noncitizen Voting Persists - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/why-myth-noncitizen-voting-persists

August 22

• Alaska Supreme Court clears the way for ranked choice repeal measure to appear on November ballot - https://apnews.com/article/alaska-ranked-voting-repeal-lawsuit-bbcd88379ee88edbdea88021c41c3367
• Amid fears of a November crisis, states have legal mechanisms to ensure votes get certified - https://www.votebeat.org/2024/08/22/presidential-election-certification-delays-trump-republicans-disputes-georgia-board-rule/
• Democrats signal voting rights bills will top the agenda if Harris wins - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/22/kamala-harris-voting-rights-legislation-senate/
• Federal court upholds Tennessee’s U.S. House map, rules it’s gerrymandered but not racially - https://tennesseelookout.com/briefs/federal-appeals-court-upholds-tennessees-u-s-house-map-rules-its-gerrymandered-but-not-racially/
• Georgia Election Officials Ask State Board To Stop Making Last-Minute Rule Changes - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/georgia-election-officials-ask-state-board-to-stop-making-last-minute-rule-changes/
• In narrow ruling, Arkansas Supreme Court keeps abortion off the ballot - https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/08/22/arkansas-supreme-court-abortion-rejection/
• In small towns, even GOP clerks are targets of election conspiracies - https://stateline.org/2024/08/22/in-small-towns-even-gop-clerks-are-targets-of-election-conspiracies/
• Leonard Leo’s Plan to Suppress Voters in Swing-States - https://jacobin.com/2024/08/leonard-leo-voter-suppression-swing-states
• Trump again distances himself from Project 2025 - https://www.npr.org/2024/08/22/g-s1-19202/trump-project-2025-border-immigration
• Trump’s Legal Cases—Including His Sentencing: What’s Happening Through Election Day As Fraud Case Gets Appeal - https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/08/22/trumps-legal-cases-including-his-sentencing-whats-happening-through-election-day-as-fraud-case-gets-appeal/
• Wisconsin towns pass poll worker protections after state kills bill - https://captimes.com/news/government/wisconsin-towns-pass-poll-worker-protections-after-state-kills-bill/article_f556e59c-600d-11ef-8ca9-e773725607fb.html
• What Georgia Tells Us About the 2024 Election Subversion Campaign - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/what-georgia-tells-us-about-2024-election-subversion-campaign
• Who Are Kamala Harris’s 1.5 Million New Donors? - https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/08/22/us/elections/kamala-harris-donors.html

August 23

• Anti-immigrant activists draft bill requiring US citizenship proof to vote - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/23/non-citizen-voting-alec-bill
• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Endorses Trump and Suspends His Independent Bid for President - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/23/us/elections/rfk-jr-suspends-campaign-presidential-race.html
• We can save the U.S. from anti-democratic forces - https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/we-can-save-the-u-s-from-anti-democratic-forces/

August 24

• Court permanently blocks environmental civil rights protections for Louisiana’s Black communities - https://lailluminator.com/2024/08/24/environment-civil-rights/

August 25

• Latino Civil Rights Group Demands Inquiry Into Texas Voter Fraud Raids - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/25/us/texas-latinos-democrats-raids-paxton.html
• Trump Vs. Harris Fundraising Race: Harris Raises $540 Million Since Biden Dropped Out, Campaign Says - https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/08/25/trump-vs-harris-fundraising-race-harris-raises-540-million-since-biden-dropped-out-campaign-says/
• With eyes on November, Colorado Republicans keep voting against certifying elections - https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/08/25/colorado-republicans-election-certification-2024/74872375007/

August 26

• Arizona judge sets 2026 trial date for Trump allies accused of trying to subvert the 2020 election - https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/26/politics/trump-allies-arizona-election-subversion/index.html
• Arizona Republicans Sue Governor Over Pro-Voting Executive Orders - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/arizona-republicans-sue-governor-over-pro-voting-executive-orders/
• Democrats sue Georgia officials over election rules that could ‘invite chaos’ - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/26/democrats-sue-georgia-election-board-rules
• Judge in Texas orders pause on Biden program that offers legal status to spouses of US citizens - https://apnews.com/article/immigration-spouses-biden-program-hault-80df0dafd913a22fd7a9074d31eeab65
• Meet the megadonors pumping millions into the 2024 election - https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/interactive/2024/biggest-campaign-donors-election-2024
• Supreme Court leaves LGBTQ+ students without crucial civil rights protections ahead of school year - https://www.salon.com/2024/08/25/leaves-lgbtq-students-without-crucial-civil-rights-protections-ahead-of-school-year/
• The Local Version of Project 2025 Is Already Causing Devastation - https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2024/08/local-project-2025-indiana-texas-abortion-rights.html
• 'Thanks to Citizens United': 50 Megadonors Have Put Over $1.5 Billion Into 2024 Election - https://www.commondreams.org/news/50-megadonors-1-5-billion

August 27

• Pro-Trump Super PAC to Begin $60 Million Ad Campaign Next Week - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/27/us/politics/trump-pac-right-for-america.html
• Scarred by 2020 smears, voting companies and election officials brace for November - https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/08/27/politics/voting-companies-election-officials-brace-for-november
• Special Counsel Revises Trump Election Indictment to Address Immunity Ruling - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/27/us/politics/trump-indictment-election-jan-6.html
• Texas removes 1 million people from voter rolls - https://thehill.com/homenews/4849711-texas-voter-roll-purge-million/amp/
• The Supreme Court has ignited new fears about how it may handle election disputes - https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/08/27/politics/supreme-court-election-purcell-principle
• Trump adds RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard to his transition team as he recruits supporters 'across partisan lines' - https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-adds-rfk-jr-tulsi-gabbard-his-transition-team-he-recruits-supporters-across-partisan-lines

August 28

• How the Federal Cases Against Trump Came Sputtering Back to Life - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/28/us/politics/trump-documents-election-cases.html
• Supreme Court, for Now, Keeps Block on Revamped Biden Student Debt Plan - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/28/us/politics/supreme-court-biden-student-loans.html
• The democracy movement ignores education races at its peril - https://thefulcrum.us/electoral-reforms/reform-of-education-elections

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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