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Press Conference Statement on Utah Fair Districting
Today, Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG), League of Women Voters of Utah (LWVUT), and individual voters filed a lawsuit to block Utah from implementing a congressional redistricting map that constitutes an extreme partisan gerrymander and to reinstate the citizen-led initiative that established an independent redistricting commission and binding anti-gerrymandering requirements. The following statement was read by MWEG Utah chapter communications specialist, Laura Lewis, at a joint press conference: MWEG is an organization dedicated to peacemaking. Peacemaking can sometimes be counterintuitive, because peace isnât just an absence of conflict â it can be messy, requiring hard and complicated work to create resilient and cooperative societies where citizens solve problems without resorting to coercion.…
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Updating the Electoral Count Act of 1887
For a downloadable two-page info sheet on the Electoral Count Act, click here or scroll to the bottom of this post. The Electoral Count Act (ECA) of 1887 sets out the process of casting and counting electoral votes after a presidential election. It is intended to encourage states to resolve controversial electoral outcomes prior to sending results to Congress in order to avoid the conflicts of interest and pursuit of partisan power that would likely occur if Congress were charged with resolving every election dispute. Unfortunately, the text of the ECA is confusing and antiquated, which means the counting of electoral votes remains vulnerable to abuse by partisan actors. The…
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Call to Action: Respond to the House Vote to Hold Stephen Bannon in Contempt of Congress
The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday, October 21, to hold Stephen Bannon, a podcast host who served briefly as chief strategist to former President Donald Trump, in contempt of Congress. Bannon refused to comply with subpoenas from the January 6 select committee for documents and testimony in regards to the January 6 attack on our government and the Capitol building. The House voted 229 to 202, with nine Republicans joining Democrats to recommend charges against Bannon. Attorney General Merrick Garland will make the final decision on whether to prosecute and has yet to indicate how the department will respond. To do Contact your members of the House to let…
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Everyone Deserves the Freedom to Vote
Our country is facing a difficult moment, where it is important to reaffirm our commitment to the core principles of democracy, including representation, equality, and freedom. Legislation upholding our voting freedoms is necessary, but S1, the For the People Act, failed to pass earlier this year. This occurred despite the wide bipartisan support among voters for federal protection of voter rights. Republican senators refused to engage with S1, citing concerns that its scope was too broad. In response, Senate Democrats developed the Freedom to Vote Act (FTVA), initiated by Senator Manchin. The FTVA legislation contains three main divisions: voter access, election integrity, and civic participation and empowerment (which includes redistricting…
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Call to Action: Ask Your Senators to Engage in Discussion of the Freedom to Vote Act
Equality, freedom, and representation are central to the practice of democracy. To remain a democratic republic, the U.S. must protect the voting freedom of every eligible American, ensuring our ability to participate in free and fair elections. Among American voters, there is wide bipartisan support for federal protection of voter rights. Recognizing this, historically both the Republican and the Democratic parties have overwhelmingly supported the Voting Rights Act and its renewals. Unfortunately, since the November 2020 election many state legislatures have passed legislation to restrict access to the ballot. In all cases these have been strictly partisan initiatives. The Freedom to Vote Act (FTVA) is intended to provide much-needed reforms…
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HR1/S1 â the For the People Act: Campaign Finance Reforms
HR1/S1, the For the People Act, is a democracy reform bill that was reintroduced in the House of Representatives in early January 2021. It passed in early March and now awaits a vote in the Senate. These documents examine some of the important measures in this bill related to campaign finance reforms. To download the one-page highlights document, click here or on the image below under âHighlights.â To download the in-depth four-page document, click here or on one of the images below under âIn Depth.â Highlights In Depth
