Democracy Happy Hour – March 20, 2024

Democracy Happy Hour, March 20, 2024 - Meeting Recordings:

• Speaker View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/t7v1rVxHH8x1ewtYpaIyHU5Z7-nVGsi-bbY6d5dz4TJmSYLo2cjCgNki4OjWyI281Q3MWW8OkH3vjAt7.yy4mjPJH95N4hHyR
  

• Gallery View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/skt-R6HsZtE75mPOYQYBpdmP4UpYRtdDdfWPZv0quWev1HxDWatTJXpYjxDh_V7OEoC-c24we6upadNV.TyegjTgqabxwSy8m

• Chat file (will download directly to your computer):  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/BtL1_DS5woKliRes77-mYERz6BORS5Fi4oqBAo2YW5oHlzhm1RgshQfGDGA-b_UW3WQJ0i3QjBDSU7rI.sVgNJMAF0Pnl_Ced

FDF Links:

• Fix Democracy First - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/
• Donate to Fix Democracy First Education Fund to support our civic education and engagement work @ https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/donate/fdfef

Democracy Happy Hour Upcoming Topics/Schedule:

• Mar 27 - Bridge Alliance Projects to Empower Citizens & Strengthen Democracy: Citizen Connect, The Fulcrum & News Ambassadors with Kristina Becvar, Executive Director
• Apr 3 - Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center with Kelly Goss Sechrist & Tiffany Montemayor
• Apr 10 - The Democracy Group: Giving a Voice to the Democracy Community with Brandon Stover
• Apr 17 – Uniting in Support of our Constitutional Democracy with Alyssa Newlon, Team Democracy
• Apr 24 - Building Women's Political Power through Democracy Reform with Alissa Bombardier Shaw, RepresentWomen
• May 1 - Creating Local Democracy Hubs to Strengthen Communities with Vinay Orekondy, Coalition Director at Rank the Vote
• May 8 - The Authoritarian Playbook for 2025 with Elise Wirkus, Protect Democracy

ACTIONS & EVENTS:

• Teachers Advancing Civic Learning (TACL) – https://civxnow.org/our-work/tacl/some text
  • Sign up @ https://www.congressweb.com/signup/?id=AE4C45D3-ADF3-451E-19442D42806D333B

• High School Video Contest 2023-2024 with League of Women Voters of WA - https://lwvwapsacontest.wpcomstaging.com/

• Why Do You Vote? - https://www.whydoyou.vote/

• Citizen Connect - https://citizenconnect.us/

• Respect Voters - https://www.respectvoters.org/

Braver Angels Trustworthy Elections Report Links:

• Braver Angels - https://braverangels.org/
• Trustworthy Elections Campaign - https://braverangels.org/trustworthy-elections/
• Trustworthy Elections – Full Report – https://braverangels.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/BA_2024-Trustworthy-Elections-Report-V12-WEB.pdf
• Braver Angels – Get more involved & sign up for updates: https://braverangels.org/where-do-i-begin/

Democracy in the News Links:

Trump Asks Supreme Court for Absolute Immunity on Election Charges - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/us/trump-supreme-court-immunity.html

Judge rejects bid by Donald Trump to throw out classified documents case on constitutional grounds - https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-maralago-presidential-records-200d4c73d7c7dd75d9c9d878b77d05ce

Trump unable to finance an appeal bond for at least $450 million, lawyers say - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/18/trump-civil-fraud-judgment-bond-450-million

Fani Willis can stay on Trump Georgia case, judge rules, as Wade resigns - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/15/fani-willis-trump-georgia-case

Fani Willis accepts resignation of deputy Nathan Wade in Trump Georgia case - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/15/nathan-wade-resigns-fani-willis-trump-georgia-case

Judge clears way for Trump to appeal ruling keeping Fani Willis on Georgia 2020 election case - https://apnews.com/article/fani-willis-trump-nathan-wade-georgia-election-d6df1ed788efac8bc37c3ce392cdc050

Trump loses bid to block Michael Cohen, Stormy Daniels testimony at hush money trial - https://www.reuters.com/world/us/judge-denies-trump-request-exclude-michael-cohens-testimony-hush-money-trial-2024-03-18/

Judge rules evidence related to ‘Access Hollywood’ tape admissible in Trump hush money trial - https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-rules-access-hollywood-tape-admissible-trump-hush/story?id=108256995

The Trump Trials: In New York, don’t save the date - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/17/trump-trials-tracker-latest-news/

The magnitude of Pence refusing to endorse Trump - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/16/mike-pence-why-no-trump-endorsement

Trump Claims 2024 Will Be Rigged, Putting Republican Turnout at Risk - https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trump-claims-2024-will-be-rigged-putting-republican-turnout-at-risk-830b213d

The Great Resignation hits Congress: Lawmakers are quitting, too - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/16/congress-lawmakers-resignations

Experts war-gamed what might happen if deepfakes disrupt the 2024 election. Things went sideways fast. - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/war-game-deepfakes-disrupt-2024-election-rcna143038

Election misinformation is a problem in any language. But some gets more attention than others - https://apnews.com/article/elections-artificial-intelligence-language-platforms-ed829171343812cbe55fab99615c77e5

How much will gerrymandering actually affect the 2024 election? - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/gerrymandering-2024-republicans-democrats-trump-biden-b2511597.html

Racial Gaps in Voter Turnout Are Growing — and Undermining Democracy - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/racial-gaps-voter-turnout-are-growing-and-undermining-democracy

Obscure legal theory could weaken voters’ protections from racist laws - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/15/arkansas-voting-rights-act-racial-bias

Why America Needs the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act - https://campaignlegal.org/update/why-america-needs-john-lewis-voting-rights-advancement-act?mc_cid=e4d30689e3&mc_eid=f6735c0a8e

The Expansion of Voting Before Election Day, 2000–2024 - https://electioninnovation.org/research/expansion-voting-before-election-day/

Free ID’s for voting are now more accessible to Idahoans - https://www.kmvt.com/2024/03/18/free-ids-voting-are-now-more-accessible-idahoans/

Proposed constitutional amendment to block ranked choice voting fails in Idaho House - https://idahocapitalsun.com/2024/03/11/proposed-constitutional-amendment-to-block-ranked-choice-voting-fails-in-idaho-house/

New Louisiana Supreme Court maps with two majority-Black districts advance - https://www.wwno.org/2024-03-13/new-louisiana-supreme-court-maps-with-two-majority-black-districts-advance

New York State Finalizes Congressional District Map - https://oracle.newpaltz.edu/new-york-state-redistricting/

Federal judge will not toss voter ID lawsuit, trial scheduled for May 6 - https://www.carolinajournal.com/federal-judge-will-not-toss-voter-id-lawsuit-trial-scheduled-for-may-6/

Experts don’t want ballots hand counted in South Dakota - https://moodycountyenterprise.com/stories/experts-dont-want-ballots-hand-counted,74466

In Vermont, ‘Town Meeting’ is democracy embodied. What can the rest of the country learn from it? - https://apnews.com/article/democracy-town-meeting-vermont-elections-civility-elmore-11d7d1b63037d054506e77e261aff87c

U.S. judge picks new WA legislative map, moving Latino district - https://crosscut.com/politics/2024/03/us-judge-picks-new-wa-legislative-map-moving-latino-district

Two Voting Rights Victories Issued in Washington State - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/two-voting-rights-victories-issued-in-washington-state-on-friday/

Supreme Court skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies - https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/03/supreme-court-seems-skeptical-of-restricting-government-communications-with-social-media-companies/

Supreme Court rules public officials can sometimes be sued for blocking critics on social media - https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-social-media-public-officials-973f1d18e74faccaa4bfce3bd65cc1af

Supreme Court lets ‘insurrectionist’ ban against New Mexico official stand - https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/18/supreme-court-new-mexico-griffin-00147547

Judges, GOP lawmakers slam new policy that limits ‘judge shopping’ - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/14/judges-gop/

How Trump Is Scrambling to Raise Cash - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/16/us/politics/trump-finances-money-fundraising.html

Behind Trump’s campaign cash crunch: Small-dollar donor fatigue, major donor hesitation - https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/18/trump-campaign-cash-crunch-small-dollar-donor-fatigue-major-donor-nerves.html

Outside Groups Pledge Over $1 Billion to Aid Biden’s Re-election Effort - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/19/us/politics/biden-election-donation.html

S.E.I.U. Plans $200 Million Effort to Aid Biden and Democrats - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/13/us/politics/seiu-biden-democrats.html

Biden allies form new group to coordinate attacks on third-party candidates - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/14/biden-third-party-super-pac/

Unprecedented surge in ‘dark money’ floods 2024 elections - https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2024/03/unprecedented-surge-in-dark-money-floods-2024-elections

What Can Improve Democracy? Ideas from people in 24 countries, in their own words - https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2024/03/13/what-can-improve-democracy/

A milestone in the bridge-building movement - https://thefulcrum.us/bridging-common-ground/building-civic-bridges-act

The Building Civic Bridges Act - Addressing Polarization and Division in the United States - https://resolutionaries.org/advocacy-bcba/#/2/

Building Civic Bridges Act - https://kilmer.house.gov/imo/media/doc/building_civic_bridges_act.pdf

GOOD NEWS Websites:

Politics & Government Good News - https://www.goodgoodgood.co/impact/democracy

Good News Network - https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/

Sunny Skyz - https://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news

ABC Good News - https://abcnews.go.com/alerts/good-news

Daily Good - https://www.dailygood.org/

The Happy News - https://thehappynewspaper.com/