Check out Whit’s reel on Maria’s altar at our No Kings 3 protest
Hi Everyone,
Over the last two weeks, the courts have devastated voting rights by weakening the Voting Rights Act and striking down Virginia’s voter-approved redistricting map. It’s unfair. It’s depressing. It’s enraging. And it’s a real threat to our democracy.
The resulting ruthless, racist gerrymandering means that we’ll win the House by fewer seats. But there is still a clear path to winning it, especially since voters are pissed. For example, data journalist G. Elliott Morris reported that Democrats may be able to win four Republican-held congressional seats in Virginia, without the recent Democratic redistricting. Others report that the Republicans’ extreme gerrymandering may even cost them seats.
However, the recent weakening of voting rights does mean that our IWCCC election work is even more important. We all need to phone bank, write postcards, text, canvas, register people to vote, and/or talk with people in our lives to get out the vote.
The one thing that we can’t do is give up. MAGA is great at depressing turnout by dividing us, killing morale, and using skewed polls. We can take a moment, but then we have to get past feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.
As Jessica Craven says, “Our giving up is the one thing that can enable Republicans to win. Not the gerrymandering. Not ICE at the polls. Not Trump threatening to federalize the elections. Yes, all of that can make our fight harder. But we are the X factor, the one thing they can’t overcome if we decide not to be overcome.”
In addition to election work, we need to take care of each other. And we especially need to protect the immigrants in our community. So, I really encourage you to attend at least part of our upcoming “Training for Community Care” on May 16, which includes three 1.5-hr skills-based trainings with breaks in between. See the Outreach/Coalition Building Action Group below for details I hope to see you there.
Jennifer Huber for IWCCC
