As in, partisan positioning isn't helping anyone.
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Hi Friend,

 

Amidst a rapidly growing national emergency, it may seem strange to talk about
why election reform is important. How does voting by mail or ranked choice
voting help when entire cities are shutting down and people are beginning to
lose their jobs? 


Actually, they help a lot. 


This, right now, is when government matters most; we need a coordinated,
functional response from our government (at all levels) to keep the effects of
this pandemic to a minimum. And that’s a problem when we don’t have a
coordinated or functional government. 


Across the media, we see politicians that are still jockeying to get the upper
hand, when what Americans need is a helping hand. 


This is when people must come before party. 


So, here are three things to think about this week:

Lack of representation = Lack of voting <[link removed]>

There is a bias in both polling and media reports towards those who vote.
Their preferences, their thoughts, and their world perspective are considerably
more reported on than the more than 100 million Americans who don’t vote,
despite making up more than a third of our population. 


The Knight Foundation, a national organization that broadly seeks to
strengthen our democracy, recently published a study on nonvoters, centering
their research on who they people are, why they don’t vote, and what would
happen if they did. 


The takeaway: there’s a crisis-level of distrust in our system. 38% of
nonvoters believe that elections don’t reflect the will of the people because
the system is rigged.  They are unmotivated by the candidates that run, and
feel as if their decisions don’t impact their lives. To get these people
involved, we have to show them that their voice does matter, and that their
choices are actually reflected in the outcomes of elections. When our elected
leaders are beholden to all of us -- instead of just an active few -- our
leaders are more likely to listen to all of us, especially if they want to win
reelection.



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A more functional Congress starts with a better functioning Congress
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In a massive bipartisan victory, 29 recommendations on how to improve and
modernize Congress were passed in the House,395-13. The Select Bipartisan
Committee on the Modernization of Congress was tasked with figuring out how to
bring Congress and its processes into the 21st century, with the belief that a
more functional congress would lead to a better balance of power in Washington. 


The executive branch, able to move swiftly and directly to advance policy
priorities, has become an outsized power, able to command giant federal
agencies, which, in the aggregate, chip away at the power of the legislative
branch. The recommendations from the committee include policies on how to
retain staff, increase bipartisan fraternization, and improve legislative
processes. 


It’s a big deal. Here at Unite America, we argue that election reforms are an
essential part of maintaining the health of our democracy; these
recommendations from the committee are similar maintenance measures that are
essential to ensuring that our government is able to operate rapidly and
effectively to address the enormous problems our nation faces.



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ICYMI: Virginia legislature passes redistricting reform amendment!
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The hard-fought battle for fair maps passed a major benchmark in Virginia last
week, as legislators debated into the very final hours of the legislative
session to advance an amendment to establish a bipartisan redistricting
commission in the Commonwealth. 


SJ18 survived its second passage in the General Assembly. (Constitutional
amendments in Virginia must pass two consecutive sessions through the
legislature -- with an intervening election in between -- before going to the
voters for a referendum). With the first hurdle accomplished, the next step is
voters approving the measure this November. We’ll be watching and supporting
our friends atOneVirginia2021 <> as they lead the initiative!


Special shoutout to Commonwealth Caucus
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co-founders andUnity candidates
<[link removed]>, Del. Suhas
Subramanyam (D) and Sen. Emmett Hanger Jr. (R), who were strong supporters in
getting this amendment over the finish line.



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Stay safe, stay away from large crowds, and stay washing your hands.

 

Brett
__
Brett Maney
Senior Communications Manager
Unite America
DONATE <[link removed]>


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