Monthly Archives: September 2018

A couple voting rights organizations worthy of support

There are many others, but these two stand out:

Verified Voting
Verified Voting is an effective organization that works for legislation and regulation promoting accuracy, transparency and verifiability of elections. The Voting News section and Blog are great. They are “on the ground” in state houses across the country. Visit the site. If you agree they are worthy of support, do what you can to help advance their efforts.
verifiedvoting.org

Fair Vote
Since 1992, Fair Vote has worked for, and won, electoral reforms at the local, state, and national level through strategic research, communications and collaboration. Visit the site. If you aren’t familiar, learn about the benefits of ranked choice voting. Help spread the message and lend them your support.
fairvote.org

How to make fun of nazis

Is a hate group organizing a rally in your town/city?

Wunsiedel Germany provides a wonderful example of how to respond (see also the New York Times article below).

Can you imagine turning every hate group rally into a pledge drive for the Southern Poverty Law Center, or other effective anti-hate organization?

When white supremacists are coming to town, contact counter-protest organizers and urge them to respond in a new way. Send them the article. Urge them to mount a pledge drive calling on sane people to contribute X dollars to an anti-hate cause for every person who shows up to support a message of hate. At the event, they could put up a giant fund raising thermometer to track funds raised, and greet each hate filled attendee with cheers and thanks for their part in contributing to such a great cause.

Or if the hate group is marching, just follow the Wunsiedel “most involuntary walkathon” model.

Wouldn’t this be far more effective than the “standard” confrontational counter-protest? Tell us what you think.

New York Times
How to Make Fun of Nazis
By Moises Velasquez-Manoff
AUG. 17, 2017

For decades, Wunsiedel, a German town near the Czech border, has struggled with a parade of unwanted visitors. It was the original burial place of one of Adolf Hitler’s deputies, a man named Rudolf Hess. And every year, to residents’ chagrin, neo-Nazis marched to his grave site. The town had staged counterdemonstrations to dissuade these pilgrims. In 2011 it had exhumed Hess’s body and even removed his grave stone. But undeterred, the neo-Nazis returned. So in 2014, the town tried a different tactic: humorous subversion.

The campaign, called Rechts Gegen Rechts — the Right Against the Right — [u]turned the march into Germany’s “most involuntary walkathon.” For every meter the neo-Nazis marched, local residents and businesses pledged to donate 10 euros (then equivalent to about $12.50) to a program that helps people leave right-wing extremist groups, called EXIT Deutschland.[/u]

They turned the march into a mock sporting event. Someone stenciled onto the street “start,” a halfway mark and a finish line, as if it were a race. Colorful signs with silly slogans festooned the route. “If only the Führer knew!” read one. “Mein Mampf!” (my munch) read another that hung over a table of bananas. A sign at the end of the route thanked the marchers for their contribution to the anti-Nazi cause — €10,000 (close to $12,000). And someone showered the marchers with rainbow confetti at the finish line.

The approach has spread to several other German towns and one in Sweden (where it was billed as Nazis Against Nazis).

This week, following the violence in Charlottesville, Va., Wunsiedel has come back into the news. Experts in nonviolent protest say it could serve as a model for Americans alarmed by the resurgent white supremacist movement who are looking for an effective way to respond (and who might otherwise be tempted to meet violence with violence).

Put an end to long lines to vote

With few exceptions, states are cutting budgets for elections. It’s a race to the bottom. Fewer and fewer voting places and resources. Longer and longer lines.

What happens when a potential voter is confronted with a long line? Many have extraordinary determination, and will wait for as long as it takes to exercise their right to vote, even if it means missing work, increased child care costs, or other losses.

But voting shouldn’t have to be an act of extraordinary determination. It is a right. Guaranteeing that right means making it as easy as possible for every citizen, whatever their circumstances, to cast their ballot.

Lost Votes

When faced with a long line too vote, competing commitments and priorities win the day for far too many of us. There is no data, but it is probably safe to assume that for every 10 people waiting in the line, at least one drove by, or left the line without voting.

With so many lost votes, how can we say our elections reflect the will of the people?

Long Lines Anywhere in America Affect All Americans

Lack of resources and long lines affects ALL of us, whatever state we live in. If voting is difficult for ANYONE in ANY STATE, we are failing to protect our most fundamental right, and we all suffer fallout of the betrayal.

The New Poll Tax

Time is precious, and long lines to vote are intolerable. They are the new poll tax.

Lobby for “Lines=Fines”

How can we put an end to long lines to vote? The answer is to change the incentives.

One way is to enact federal legislation that imposes substantial fines on a state if their cut backs force voters in any jurisdiction to wait more than 30 minutes to cast their vote on election day. Penalties must be substantial enough to offset any money saved though under allocation of resources. Let’s make it more cost effective to ensure resources are more than sufficient to handle the highest turnout.

Write the representative of your congressional district. Write your senators. Or, better yet, get together with neighbors and friends and ask them join you in requesting a meeting with your representative or senators, or with a member of their staff to talk about the problem and discuss solutions and steps.

Encourage any political action organizations you are involved with to promote a “lines=fines” campaign.

Every Conversation Matters

This is not not just about implementing any specific legislation. It’s about transforming the discussion.  It’s about reminding others of our fundamental values and ensuring that it is easy for every American to exercise their right to vote, whenever they opt to do so. (Early voting options do not compensate for failure to provide adequate resources on election day.)

Every conversation you have about the need to put an end to long lines to vote, whether it is with a lawmaker in Washington, DC or your next door neighbor, matters.

Let’s get moving in the right direction. Let’s transform thinking both inside and outside the beltway.

Whatever action you take, post a comment to let others know what you did and what the response was.

More to come!

The site is just getting off the ground. Watch this space. There is more to come.