Democracy Happy Hour – April 19, 2023

Democracy Happy Hour, April 19, 2023 - Meeting Recordings & Chat File:

• Speaker View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/-XGAkGZjy1dBo3pIM9KpxgYtoZSjaXO8BBxHbdcBP0sex5rfZuP9BHIXd3sy5XuNp1Tb2qgKwJJiojB5.4K9i5587pAEO9XXf
• Gallery View Recording:  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/Xy2o0VAcN4lHC_jEr8N2Q4QqhbRWQnMx5dHlw2oODPxl5NKFQB1wqg7dadtUvftMcPIglJnXAbkgTtO9.RVtB1I1OkbVTZSOm

Fix Democracy First Links:

• Donate to FDF @ fixdemocracyfirst.org/donate

• Website & past event recordings under event page: https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/events#past-events

• SAVE THE DATE - Spring Online Auction 2023 - April 22-30

Auction Donation Form - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/auction-donation-form

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Democracy Happy Hour Upcoming Topics/Schedule:

• April 26th - Local Intersections: Working Together to Strengthen Democracy with Caleb Christen
• May 3rd - Pinion: How Everyday People Can Help Transform Civic Engagement for Healthier Democracy w/ Scott Pierce & Evan Mastronardi
• May 10^th – Democracy Open Discussion – Bring your ideas & comments
• May 17^th – The Center for Election Innovation & Research (CEIR) with David J. Becker, Executive Director and Founder

ACTIONS & CONNECTIONS:

• National Week of Conversation – April 17-23 - https://conversation.us/
• Sign and send the petition: Demand corporations stop donating to pro-insurrectionist members of Congress! - https://actionnetwork.org/letters/sign-the-petition-demand-corporations-stop-donating-to-pro-insurrectionist-members-of-congress/
• 14Point3 Campaign - https://freespeechforpeople.org/the-14point3-campaign/
• TRUMP IS DISQUALIFIED FROM THE BALLOT - https://freespeechforpeople.org/trump-is-disqualified-from-the-ballot/
• People Powered Elections Washington - https://www.peoplepoweredelections.org/
• People Powered Elections Washington: Email Sign Up - https://secure.everyaction.com/Kvt4e-0DY0yyLf_1C7y-og2
• Citizen Connect - https://citizenconnect.us/

WA Legislative Recap: What passed? What's next? Links:

WA Democracy Bills that passed:

• ESHB 1048 - WA Voting Rights Act Enhancements
• ESSB 5082 – Abolishing advisory votes
• E2SSB 5112 – Updates processes related to automatic voter registration
• SSB 5208 – Updates online voter registration to allowing the last four digits of social security number for authentication
• HB 1317 – Concerning grassroots lobbying disclosure
• *ESSB 5284 – Expands campaign finance disclosure - *Passed both chambers, but currently in the process of reconciliation. The Senate refuses to concur in House amendments. Asks House to recede from amendments. The House insists on its position and asks the Senate to concur.

WA Democracy Bills that did NOT pass (will carry over to next session and start process again):

• HB 1755 – Public Financing of Elections for Legislative Races – Establishes a democracy voucher program for contributions to state legislative candidates
• HB 1592 – Ranked choice voting in the presidential primary – Allows the use of
• ·      Ranked Choice Voting for presidential primaries
• HB 1174 – Improve access and removing barriers to jail-based voting – Establishes standards for staff in jails and county elections administrators to improve education and ballot access for people incarcerated in local county jails
• ESSB 5207 – Campaign contributions by controlled entities – Species that political campaign contributions made by an entity are aggregated with the contributions made by each individual who owns or holds a majority interest in the entity
• SJM 8002 - Calls for Constitutional Amendment to Address Money in Elections – Similar language to Initiative 735 that passed in 2016
• SSB 5626 - Expand & enhance media literacy & digital citizenship in K12 education
• SSB 5102 - Requires school library information and technology programs

Democracy in the News Links

Fox News, Dominion settle defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million - https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/04/18/fox-news-dominion-settlement/

Fox News still faces $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit from Smartmatic - https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/04/18/fox-news-smartmatic-defamation-lawsuit/

The $787 million check that Fox must cut won’t restore damage to US democracy - https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/19/politics/election-lies-fox-settlement/index.html

Special counsel focuses on Trump fundraising off false election claims - https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/04/12/trump-fundraising-fraud-special-counsel/

Trump asks appeals court to immediately block Pence from testifying in Jan. 6 probe - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-asks-appeals-court-immediately-block-pence-testimony-rcna79716

Special counsel prosecutors press witnesses for details about how Trump has paid for their lawyers - https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/14/politics/special-counsel-witnesses-maralago-trump-paid-lawyers/index.html

Georgia prosecutor probing Trump reveals new details of active investigation - https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/18/trump-investigation-georgia-false-electors-00092670

Fulton County DA says fake Trump electors are incriminating one another and wants lawyer disqualified - https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/18/politics/fulton-county-trump-fake-electors/index.html

Trump team prepares to fight efforts to block him from ballots over Jan. 6 - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/18/trump-ballots-january-6/

Trump appeared for deposition in high-stakes civil lawsuit threatening the fate of his business empire - https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/13/politics/trump-deposition-civil-lawsuit-new-york-trump-organization/index.html

The status of key investigations involving Donald Trump - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/29/trump-investigations-litigation/

Hobbs vetoes bills to bar ranked-choice voting, criminalize immigrant aid groups - https://www.azmirror.com/2023/04/12/hobbs-vetoes-bills-to-bar-ranked-choice-voting-criminalize-immigrant-aid-groups/

Election bill would expand voting in tribal nations, put financial disclosures online in Colorado - https://coloradonewsline.com/briefs/election-bill-expand-voting-in-tribal-nations-financial-disclosures-colorado/

How Ron DeSantis waged a targeted assault on Black voters: ‘I fear for what’s to come’ - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/12/ron-desantis-voting-rights-black-voters-florida-gerrymander

These state officials praised ERIC for years before suddenly pulling out of the program - https://www.votebeat.org/2023/4/11/23679463/eric-electronic-registration-information-center-gateway-pundit-voter-fraud

Bill adding new voter ID requirements to mail-in ballot applications poised to become law - https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/bill-adding-new-voter-id-requirements-to-mail-in-ballot-applications-poised-to-become-law

Minnesota House of Representatives passes the Democracy for the People Act - https://www.kaaltv.com/news/top-news/minnesota-house-of-representatives-passes-the-democracy-for-the-people-act/

Nevada Secretary of State proposes new bill protecting election workers from 'harassment, intimidation' - https://www.ktnv.com/news/nevada-secretary-of-state-proposes-new-bill-protecting-election-workers-from-harassment-intimidation

Most South Dakota county auditors disagree with election drop box ban - https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/south-dakota/most-south-dakota-county-auditors-disagree-with-election-drop-box-ban

Texas legislators pursue fix to costly law that requires nonexistent election equipment - https://texas.votebeat.org/2023/4/13/23681012/voting-machine-election-data-storage-worm-bill

U.S. elections official takes part in secretive GOP conference, sparking backlash - https://kansasreflector.com/2023/04/14/u-s-elections-official-takes-part-in-secretive-gop-conference-sparking-backlash/

White House report highlights voting barriers for Native American voters - https://michiganadvance.com/2022/04/13/white-house-report-highlights-voting-barriers-for-native-american-voters/

Federal agencies lag in registering voters despite Biden executive order, advocates say - https://lailluminator.com/2023/04/11/federal-agencies-lag-in-registering-voters-despite-biden-executive-order-advocates-say/

State-by-State Youth Voter Turnout Data and the Impact of Election Laws in 2022 - https://circle.tufts.edu/latest-research/state-state-youth-voter-turnout-data-and-impact-election-laws-2022

SNAPSHOT: DEMOCRACY RATINGS BY STATE - https://www.mapresearch.org/democracy-maps/ratings_by_state

How a Campaign Against Transgender Rights Mobilized Conservatives - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/16/us/politics/transgender-conservative-campaign.html

Historic surge in bills targeting transgender rights pass at record speed - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/17/gop-state-legislatures-lgbtq-rights/

The Red States Experimenting With Authoritarianism - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/04/america-democracy-autocracy-laboratories/673751/

Supreme Court Extends Pause on Ruling Limiting Access to Abortion Pill - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/19/us/politics/abortion-pill-supreme-court.html

The Court Is Likely to Reject the Independent State Legislature Theory - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/04/independent-state-legislature-theory-moore-harper/673690/

Billionaire Harlan Crow Bought Property From Clarence Thomas. The Justice Didn’t Disclose the Deal. - https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-real-estate-scotus

Clarence Thomas has for years claimed income from a defunct real estate firm - https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/04/16/clarence-thomas-ginger-financial-disclosure

Clarence Thomas to amend financial disclosure forms to reflect sale to GOP megadonor - https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/17/politics/clarence-thomas-amend-disclosure-gop-megadonor/index.html

Senate Democrats call on Chief Justice Roberts to investigate Thomas' undisclosed trips - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-call-john-roberts-probe-thomas-undisclosed-travel-rcna79048

Clarence Thomas’s Gifts and the Supreme Court’s Credibility - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/18/briefing/clarence-thomas-gifts.html

Justice Clarence Thomas Should Be Held Accountable Under Federal Ethics Law - https://campaignlegal.org/update/justice-clarence-thomas-should-be-held-accountable-under-federal-ethics-law

The Supreme Court Needs an Ethics Code - https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/05/supreme-court-roe-leak-ethics-code/629884/

Harlan and Kathy Crow ramped up political contributions over the decades since meeting U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas - https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/04/harlan-and-kathy-crow-ramped-up-political-contributions-over-the-decades-since-meeting-u-s-supreme-court-justice-clarence-thomas/

Six takeaways from campaign fundraising filings by Trump, Haley, Santos and more - https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/16/politics/fec-campaign-finance-filing-takeaways/index.html'

Koch Spending to Influence Policy and Politics Eclipses Charitable Giving - https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/04/12/koch-spending-to-influence-policy-and-politics-eclipses-charitable-giving/

“Corporations Are Not People”: Jayapal Files Bill to Reverse “Citizens United” - https://truthout.org/articles/corporations-are-not-people-jayapal-files-bill-to-reverse-citizens-united/

H.J.Res.54 - Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing that the rights protected and extended by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons only. - https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-joint-resolution/54

The Hottest Political Reform of the Moment Gains Ground - https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/16/ranked-choice-voting-minnesota-00089505

2022 Redistricting Report - Single-Winner Districts and the Failures of Redistricting - https://www.fixourhouse.org/resources/fix-our-house-redistricting-report

Lack of Access to Infrastructure Hurts Voter Participation in Rural America - https://www.governing.com/community/lack-of-access-to-infrastructure-hurts-voter-participation-in-rural-america

Gallup Poll - Party Affiliation - https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx

Misinformation Defense Worked in 2020, Up to a Point, Study Finds - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/13/business/media/misinformation-2020-election-study.html