Democracy Happy Hour – August 2, 2023

Democracy Happy Hour, Aug 2, 2023 - Meeting Recordings:

• Speaker View Recording:  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/yrukK0WG_rnuZuMNDxpxNa8JZwDGwxiPrfzyXivc17YjY8J-CAbNzW9WC4d7LlN4b-7qeKKUEtTMA4Xh.6RwiQAOsC0xajBbH
• Gallery View Recording:  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/qV83iProrM14pF9r2CLIkF_D_k2oAzVwFhpjUQghVVStHj0CnU3kh2spmZvJbp0RArPvCuMOOg3qOdYD.lwaDd4PpwXzIP-8u

FDF Links:

• Fix Democracy First - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/
• Donate @ https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/donate
• Fix Democracy First 20^th Anniversary Celebration & Get Together – September 9, 2023 @ 6-9 pm – Bloedel Hall @ St. Mark’s in Seattle - Tickets & Sponsorships: https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/event-pages/20th-anniversary-celebration

ACTIONS & EVENTS:

• Nobody Is Above the Law: Trump Indictment Rapid Response Events - https://ourfreedomsourvote.com/
• American Democracy Summit 2023 – Sept 27-29 in Los Angeles - https://americandemocracysummit.org
• Citizen Connect - https://citizenconnect.us/

WA State Elections Results for Aug 2023 Primary - https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections

The Future of AI & Its Potential Impact on Democracy Links:

• Public Democracy – Eric Sapp, President - https://www.publicdemocracy.io/
• Why democracy belongs in artificial intelligence - https://press.princeton.edu/ideas/why-democracy-belongs-in-artificial-intelligence
• How generative AI impacts democratic engagement - https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-generative-ai-impacts-democratic-engagement/
• How Artificial Intelligence Can Aid Democracy - https://slate.com/technology/2023/04/ai-public-option.html
• AI could shore up democracy – here’s one way - https://theconversation.com/ai-could-shore-up-democracy-heres-one-way-207278
• The Perils and Promise of AI Regulation - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/perils-and-promise-ai-regulation
• Artificial intelligence is powering politics – but it could also reboot democracy - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/28/artificial-intelligence-powering-politics-reboot-democracy
• The Good, the Bad and the Algorithmic: What impact could artificial intelligence have on political communications and democracy? - https://www.oecd-forum.org/posts/the-good-the-bad-and-the-algorithmic-what-impact-could-artificial-intelligence-have-on-political-communications-and-democracy
• Security expert warns of AI tools’ potential threat to democracy - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/security-expert-warns-of-ai-tools-potential-threat-to-democracy
• Artificial Intelligence: Risks to Privacy and Democracy - https://yjolt.org/artificial-intelligence-risks-privacy-and-democracy
• How Artificial Intelligence Systems Could Threaten Democracy - https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/04/24/how-artificial-intelligence-systems-could-threaten-democracy-pub-78984

Democracy in the News Links

Trump Indictments/Legal Cases:

Trump indicted for efforts to overturn 2020 election and block transfer of power - https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-jan-6-investigation-special-counsel-debb59bb7a4d9f93f7e2dace01feccdc

Here are the four Jan. 6 charges against Trump and what they mean - https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/08/01/trump-charges-2020-election-probe/

Read the full text of the 45-page Trump Jan. 6 indictment document - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/01/indictment-document-trump-jan-6-pdf/

Trump is charged under civil rights law used to prosecute KKK violence - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/08/01/trump-indictment-civil-rights-law/

Special Counsel Federal Criminal Indictment For 2020 Election Overthrow Efforts - https://projectdefenddemocracy.com/special-counsel-criminal-indictments-for-2020-election-overthrow-efforts/

Former president to be arraigned on 2020 election charges - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/02/trump-indictment-jan-6-election-charges/

Trump Jan. 6 Indictment Relies Heavily on House Panel’s Work - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/02/us/politics/trump-jan-6-indictment-house-panel.html

4 things that stand out from the Trump Jan. 6 indictment - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/08/02/takeaways-trump-jan-6-indictment/

Donald Trump’s January 6 indictment: six key takeaways - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/01/trump-indicted-reaction-key-takeaways

Trump Indictment - Jan. 6 Riot Was ‘Fueled by Lies’ From Trump, Special Counsel Says - https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/08/01/us/trump-indictment-jan-6

How Trump allegedly tried to leverage the Capitol riot - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/08/01/how-trump-allegedly-tried-leverage-capitol-riot/

Trump indictment references Pence or vice presidency more than 100 times - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/08/02/donald-trump-indictment-mike-pence/

Pence fought an order to testify but now is a central figure in his former boss’s indictment - https://apnews.com/article/pence-jan-6-trump-indictment-ab36fd360a0850562a07d1b404f15d69

Here are the Trump co-conspirators described in the DOJ indictment - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/01/doj-trump-indictment-trump-coconspirators/

Timeline: Special counsel's probe into Trump's efforts to overturn 2020 election - https://abcnews.go.com/US/timeline-special-counsels-probe-trumps-efforts-overturn-2020/story?id=101537003

Judge Tanya Chutkan is a tough Trump critic, toughest Jan. 6 sentencer - https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/08/01/judge-chutkan-trump-jan-6-special-counsel/

Trump has been indicted before. Historians say this time is different. - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/08/02/trump-indictment-historians-democracy/

Trump faces more charges in classified documents case as second aide named - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/27/trump-mar-a-lago-classified-documents-case-carlos-de-oliveira

Read Trump’s new charges in the classified documents case - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/read-trumps-new-charges-in-the-classified-documents-case

New Trump Charges Highlight Long-Running Questions About Obstruction - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/28/us/politics/trump-charges-obstruction.html

Judge rejects Trump’s effort to short-circuit Georgia election case - https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/judge-rejects-trumps-effort-to-short-circuit-georgia-election-case

Fulton County DA says 'we're ready to go' on Trump election probe charging decisions - https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/fulton-county-da-says-ready-go-trump-election-probe-charging-decisions-rcna97239

Atlanta braces for possible indictments in 2020 election investigation - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/31/georgia-2020-election-investigation-trump

Donald Trump to appear in court over attempt to overturn 2020 US election - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/02/donald-trump-to-appear-in-court-over-attempt-to-overturn-2020-us-election

Understanding the Trump Criminal Cases - https://statesuniteddemocracy.org/resources/trump-cases/

Judge rules Trump false election claims while in office covered by presidential immunity - https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4130582-judge-rules-trump-false-election-claims-while-in-office-covered-by-presidential-immunity/

Indict, Rally, Repeat: Reactions to Latest Trump Charges Follow Familiar Script: Core Republican voters and key lawmakers again stick by former president, while the 2024 GOP field is divided - https://www.wsj.com/articles/indict-rally-repeat-reactions-to-latest-trump-charges-follow-familiar-script-ba3ffe1

Why Trump's poll lead went up after criminal indictments - https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66274979

$60 Million Refund Request Shows Financial Pressure on Trump From Legal Fees - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/29/us/trump-pac-legal-fees.html

One Trump committee nearly broke, and other key takeaways from campaign filings - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/08/01/takeaways-gop-campaign-finance-filings/

Other Democracy News:

'Local elections are at risk': Warnock reintroduces legislation to stop election interference - https://www.gpb.org/news/2023/07/27/local-elections-are-at-risk-warnock-reintroduces-legislation-stop-election

‘Ripe for political violence’: US election officials are quitting at an alarming rate - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/30/us-election-officials-leaving-2024-elections-north-carolina

Election disinformation campaigns targeted voters of color in 2020. Experts expect 2024 to be worse - https://apnews.com/article/elections-voting-misinformation-race-immigration-712a5c5a9b72c1668b8c9b1eb6e0038a

Need extra money? Poll workers are in demand and getting a pay raise before the 2024 election. - https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/07/26/poll-workers-getting-pay-raise/70419898007/

Nonpartisan Election Administration Is the Norm in Other Democracies. Why Not Here? - https://www.governing.com/politics/nonpartisan-election-administration-is-the-norm-in-other-democracies-why-not-here

Litigation That Could Impact Congressional Maps Before 2024 - https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/litigation-that-could-impact-congressional-maps-before-2024/

Plaintiffs in high-profile redistricting case urge judges to toss out Alabama’s controversial congressional map - https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/29/politics/alabama-redistricting-case-congressional-map/index.html

Judge blocks Arkansas law allowing librarians to be criminally charged over ‘harmful’ materials - https://apnews.com/article/libraries-books-bans-arkansas-758f28c04c573d03b869ad2738e2b06d

Federal Judge Dismisses Fringe Challenge to California Mail-in Voting Rules - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/federal-judge-dismisses-fringe-challenge-to-california-mail-in-voting-rules/

San Francisco Renews Push for Noncitizen Voting - https://sfstandard.com/2023/07/27/after-courts-halted-noncitizen-voting-san-francisco-renews-push/

Ron DeSantis sued over bid to restrict voting rights for people with past convictions - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/28/ron-desantis-sued-voting-rights-group

DeSantis is defending new slavery teachings. Civil rights leaders see a pattern of ‘policy violence’ - https://apnews.com/article/desantis-slavery-election-2024-1fb51d663e6051051aa23b71421b9479

Federal judge sides with voting groups in drawing new Miami election map - https://www.wlrn.org/government-politics/2023-07-30/federal-judge-sides-with-voting-groups-in-drawing-new-miami-election-map

Georgia - Republican promoters of election fraud falsehoods approve ballot hand-counts - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/28/georgia-republican-election-hand-count-ballot

Michigan Republicans charged in connection with 2020 voting machine tampering - https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/01/michigan-indictment-2020-election-voting-machine-tampering

Federal judge blocks Mississippi law restricting help for absentee voters - https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4123740-federal-judge-blocks-mississippi-law-restricting-help-for-absentee-voters/

Campaign filings show nearly $20 million contributed to official Issue 1 campaigns; 84% from outside Ohio - https://www.daytondailynews.com/local/campaign-filings-show-how-millions-have-been-spent-for-against-ohio-issue-1/KKI3XBRZFNFLVOZNXI6EW2LFKY/

Ohio amendment to curb ‘out-of-state special interests’ gets nearly all its funding from them - https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/2023/07/31/ohio-amendment-to-curb-out-of-state-special-interests-gets-nearly-all-its-funding-from-them/

A test case challenging election results in Texas’ biggest county follows a post-Trump playbook - https://apnews.com/article/election-lawsuit-texas-harris-county-trial-0c9aef3291b0c0e5f07d9f6889e4f881

How a Wisconsin official became ‘a scapegoat’ for voter fraud falsehoods - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/31/wisconsin-meagan-wolfe-elections-official

Wisconsin Republicans Face Purge as Democrats Look to Redraw Election Maps - https://www.newsweek.com/wisconsin-republicans-redraw-election-maps-janet-protasiewicz-1815970

States’ rights make a comeback as Republicans rush to defy Washington - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/29/states-republicans-defy-washington-supreme-court

Alito says Congress has no authority to police Supreme Court ethics - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/07/28/alito-ethics-supreme-court-congress/

Democratic senator calls Samuel Alito ‘stunningly wrong’ on Supreme Court ethics controversy - https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/30/politics/chris-murphy-samuel-alito-supreme-court-ethics-cnntv/index.html

Biden, Trump outraising party rivals - https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/07/biden-trump-outraising-party-rivals/

Robert F Kennedy Jr’s campaign bankrolled by Republican mega-donor - https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/02/robert-f-kennedy-jr-republican-donor-super-pac

No Labels Funnels Finance Money to Congress - https://readsludge.com/2023/07/28/no-labels-funnels-finance-money-to-congress/

ALEC Ditches Free Market and Limited Government Principles at its 50th Annual Meeting - https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2023/07/26/alec-ditches-free-market-and-limited-government-principles-at-its-50th-annual-meeting/

Corporate campaign cash floods back into election objectors’ coffers - https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-influence/2023/07/28/corporate-campaign-cash-floods-back-into-election-objectors-coffers-00108813

Seattle City Council hopefuls raise $1.8M, largely in Democracy Vouchers - https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-city-council-hopefuls-garner-1-8-million-largely-in-democracy-vouchers/

Oakland’s Democracy Dollars delayed, but not dead - https://oaklandside.org/2023/07/26/oakland-democracy-dollars-delayed-until-2026-election-campaign-finance/

‘Project 2025’: plan to dismantle US climate policy for next Republican president - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/27/project-2025-dismantle-us-climate-policy-next-republican-president

Warren, Graham partner in proposing new agency to regulate tech giants - https://thehill.com/policy/technology/4122643-warren-graham-partner-in-proposing-new-agency-to-regulate-tech-giants/

A pro-democracy group says regulators should say "no dice" to election betting - https://www.wsiu.org/politics-elections/2023-07-31/a-pro-democracy-group-says-regulators-should-say-no-dice-to-election-betting

The Biden Appointee Spearheading AI Accountability Has Close Ties To Google - https://news.yahoo.com/biden-appointee-spearheading-ai-accountability-184446611.html

Meta's Threads needs a policy for election disinformation, voting groups say - https://www.npr.org/2023/07/27/1190328070/metas-threads-needs-a-policy-for-election-disinformation-voting-groups-say

IDAHO, MONTANA, AND WASHINGTON COULD SAVE $30 MILLION BY MOVING LOCAL ELECTIONS TO NATIONAL ELECTION DAY - https://www.sightline.org/2023/07/05/idaho-montana-and-washington-could-save-30-million-by-moving-local-elections-to-national-election-day/