Democracy Happy Hour — December 7, 2022

Democracy Happy Hour, December 7, 2022 - Meeting Recordings & Chat File:

• Speaker View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/ItnPpXOCNtZvjhv4M21RAL29Wooh7CC-U-R4V4fJSY8-WmFgKg64foqudFSGQ7sWHNBuPhCfuE3l7fPA.zH67JUANTXC6CKy6

• Gallery View Recording: https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/PQlFezHcFEZyG0p09iQhn0OZs-tIY6IC6h5LiPfOs6adBW8LDSiW6tximZ75yIiALSSlrVvXcdsMuBas.h_jcg_KxdgPVji9J

• Chat (Link will download a text file to your computer):  https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/sdownload/OJyUmW9rAir1NApE9iV2ClF77v422JO42dZw7H1jMSsRB9E1cE8NqmKJSJC1TqUi2bu_0e-pRfgidi7S.cV_nphAPVz3871eM

Fix Democracy First 2022 End-of-Year Fundraiser – Gifts available at various donation levels - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/donate

Democracy Happy Hour Upcoming Topics/Schedule:

Dec 14 – Is the US a Republic, Democracy or Both?

Dec 21 – NO Democracy Happy Hour this week - Holiday Break

Dec 28 – NO Democracy Happy Hour this week - Holiday Break

Jan 4 – January 6th: Two Years Later

Jan 11 – Democracy Legislation in 2023: What Can We Expect?

Jan 18 – The Influence of Fossil Fuel Lobbyists w/ James Browning from Global Energy Monitor  

ACTIONS & EVENTS:

Local Actions/Links:

• LWV of WA – Action Workshop – Dec 10^th @ 9:30-3 pm – https://secure.everyaction.com/v13Mdgp09UixE2OjAPqUMg2

• WA State - Save the Date! Democracy Lobby Week 2023 - https://lwvwa.org/page-18629/12967035

National Actions/Links:

• ACTION ALERT: Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA) Senate Bill S.4573 –

• Call your Senators & Senator Schumer - FACT SHEET - https://bit.ly/3XNznAi
• Congress Must Pass Electoral Count Reform Act - https://publiccitizen.salsalabs.org/congress-must-pass-electoral-count-reform-act/index.html

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

• Walking to Fix Our Democracy - https://www.fixourdemocracy.us/

Moore v Harper Opening Arguments Links:

• Moore v. Harper Oral Argument - https://www.c-span.org/video/?524454-1/supreme-court-hears-north-carolina-redistricting-case
• Supreme Court Seems Split Over Case That Could Transform Federal Elections - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/07/us/supreme-court-federal-elections.html
• What Happened During the U.S. Supreme Court Argument in Moore v. Harper - https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/live-updates-u-s-supreme-court-hears-moore-v-harper/
• Headed Toward a Middle Ground? Today’s Argument in Moore v. Harper - https://www.democracydocket.com/opinion/headed-toward-a-middle-ground-todays-argument-in-moore-v-harper/
• Supreme Court Oral Arguments in Moore v. Harper Discredit Election Theory That Could Undermine Democracy - https://www.americanprogress.org/article/supreme-court-oral-arguments-in-moore-v-harper-discredit-election-theory-that-could-undermine-democracy/
• Friends of the Court Weigh In on the ‘Independent State Legislature Theory’ - https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/friends-court-weigh-independent-state-legislature-theory
• Friend or Foe: Analyzing Amicus Briefs in Moore v. Harper - https://www.democracydocket.com/analysis/friend-or-foe-analyzing-amicus-briefs-in-moore-v-harper/
• League of Women Voters Files Amicus Brief in Moore v. Harper - https://www.lwv.org/newsroom/press-releases/league-women-voters-files-amicus-brief-moore-v-harper
• What’s Really at Stake in a Politically Charged Supreme Court Case on Elections - https://www.propublica.org/article/moore-v-harper-explained-scotus-elections
• STATES OF CHAOS A 50-STATE SURVEY OF THE LONG-TERM IMPLICATIONS OF MOORE V. HARPER AND THE INDEPENDENT STATE LEGISLATURE THEORY - https://represent.us/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/moore-v-harper-full-report.pdf
• The deranged Supreme Court case that threatens US democracy, explained - https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/12/4/23481063/supreme-court-moore-harper-independent-state-legislature-doctrine-elections
• How Right-Wing Groups Set the Stage for the Supreme Court to Rig Future Elections - https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/12/supreme-court-moore-v-harper-federalist-society-leonard-leo/
• Shadowy Right-Wing Groups Gave Nearly $90 Million to Organizations Behind Moore V. Harper - https://accountable.us/shadowy-right-wing-groups-gave-nearly-90-million-to-organizations-behind-moore-v-harper/
• Leonard Leo-Tied Group Pushing Radical Election Theory Got $66 Million Recently From ‘Dark Money’ Hub - https://readsludge.com/2022/12/06/leonard-leo-tied-group-pushing-radical-election-theory-got-66-million-recently-from-dark-money-hub/

Democracy in the News Links:

Warnock Beats Walker, Giving Democrats 51st Senate Seat - https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/12/06/us/warnock-walker-georgia-senate-runoff

House Jan. 6 Committee to Issue Criminal Referrals, Chairman Says - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/06/us/politics/jan-6-committee-doj-criminal-referrals.html

Jan. 6 report details emerge as panel enters final phase. What we know about next steps. - https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2022/12/03/january-6-report-details-what-we-know/10794233002/

DOJ wants ‘all’ transcripts and evidence in House January 6 probe, Garland says - https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/30/politics/merrick-garland-news-conference/index.html

Top Trump adviser Stephen Miller testifies to January 6 federal grand jury - https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/29/politics/stephen-miller-testifies-january-6-federal-grand-jury-trump/index.html

Justice Dept. subpoenas Ariz., Mich., Wis. officials for Trump communications - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/06/jack-smith-trump-communications-subpoenas/

Appeals Court Scraps Special Master Review in Trump Documents Case - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/01/us/politics/trump-special-master.html

Trump faces peril in docs probe after decades of scrutiny - https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/trump-faces-peril-in-docs-probe-after-decades-of-scrutiny/

Trump Organization Found Guilty in Tax Fraud Scheme - https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/12/06/nyregion/trump-organization-trial-verdict

Trump’s Call for ‘Termination’ of Constitution Draws Rebukes - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/04/us/politics/trump-constitution-republicans.html

Trump embraces extremism as he seeks to reclaim office - https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation-politics/trump-embraces-extremism-as-he-seeks-to-reclaim-office/

Ariz. county ordered to certify election as GOP lawyers are sanctioned - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/01/arizona-cochise-county-kari-lake-sanctions/

Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County certifies election after being sued - https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/3756770-pennsylvanias-luzerne-county-certifies-election-after-being-sued/

Pennsylvania Republicans reconsider their war on mail voting - https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/02/pennsylvania-republican-mail-voting-00071713

Fetterman Taps Person Who Literally Wrote the Book on Killing Senate Filibuster as Chief of Staff - https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/12/02/fetterman-taps-person-who-literally-wrote-book-killing-senate-filibuster-chief-staff

Manchin and Klobuchar: Omnibus likely place for electoral count overhaul - https://rollcall.com/2022/11/30/manchin-and-klobuchar-omnibus-likely-place-for-electoral-count-overhaul/

The big stakes in the Supreme Court’s new LGBTQ rights case - https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2022/12/3/23472175/supreme-court-303-creative-elenis-first-amendment-lgbtq-religion-website

Supreme Court seems to side with web designer opposed to same-sex marriage - https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/05/colorado-creative-supreme-court-lgbtq/

The Supreme Court will hear Biden's student-loan forgiveness case in February. Here's what that means for millions of borrowers waiting for relief. - https://www.businessinsider.com/how-will-supreme-court-rule-on-student-loan-debt-forgiveness-2022-12

Supreme Court won’t hear case brought by a group of voters against Dominion Voting Systems and Facebook - https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/05/politics/dominion-voting-systems-facebook-supreme-court/index.html

WA Supreme Court clears way for state to collect capital-gains tax - https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/wa-supreme-court-clears-way-for-state-to-collect-capital-gains-tax/

Walker-Warnock U.S. Senate race in Georgia most expensive in 2022 cycle as runoff intensifies - https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2022/11/walker-warnock-u-s-senate-race-in-georgia-most-expensive-in-2022-cycle-as-runoff-intensifies

FOSSIL FUEL-FUNDED SUPER PAC EYES $11.5 MILLION SPENDING OPERATION FOR HERSCHEL WALKER IN FINAL DAYS - https://theintercept.com/2022/12/01/georgia-herschel-walker-fossil-fuel/

How Artificial Intelligence Swayed The Midterm Elections - And Will Become A Permanent Feature Of Democracy - https://www.forbes.com/sites/craigsmith/2022/12/02/how-artificial-intelligence-swayed-the-midterm-electionsand-will-become-a-permanent-feature-of-democracy/?sh=2ae84f217b31

Stakeholder activism can have a big influence on corporate political donations - https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2022/12/02/stakeholder-activism-can-have-a-big-influence-on-corporate-political-donations/

Vows to reject corporate PAC money on the rise for incoming Congress - https://rollcall.com/2022/12/05/vows-to-reject-corporate-pac-money-on-the-rise-for-incoming-congress/

The effort to ban members of Congress from trading stocks is mostly dead — at least for now - https://www.businessinsider.com/lawmakers-unlikely-banned-trading-stocks-for-now-2022-12

Federal Election Commission passes new digital ad disclosure rule - https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2022/12/federal-election-commission-passes-new-digital-ad-disclosure-rule/

WA appeals court largely upholds Eyman campaign finance violations - https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/wa-appeals-court-largely-upholds-eyman-campaign-finance-violations/

WA Secretary of State announces election security funding - https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/wa-secretary-of-state-announces-election-security-funding/article_c2ee6ca6-713f-11ed-9445-2f42cc6492b7.html

What you need to know about New York’s new statewide public campaign finance program - https://www.cityandstateny.com/policy/2022/12/what-you-need-know-about-new-yorks-new-statewide-public-campaign-finance-program/380387/

Which states will be the next to consider open primaries? - https://thefulcrum.us/open-primary-2658812326

Final five voting may be having its moment - https://www.rstreet.org/2022/11/17/final-five-voting-may-be-having-its-moment/

Georgia Runoffs Could Be Replaced by an Instant Runoff - https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2022/12/03/georgia_runoffs_could_be_replaced_by_an_instant_runoff_148557.html