cuz we have a LOT: primary press drama, RCV media exposure, and Katherine Gehl
on reform.
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Hi Friend,

 

There was a lot of chatter on social media ahead of Kentucky’s primary
Tuesday. Everyone from LeBron James to Reese Witherspoon was sounding the alarm
about alleged efforts underway to suppress voter turnout in the Bluegrass
State. #AllEyesOnKentucky began trending nationally. 


But here’s the big thing
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the national narrative did not capture a full or accurate picture. Kentucky is
one of the few states in which there’s been bipartisan collaboration (Democrat
governor working with a Republican secretary of state) to make the voting
process better. Indeed, Kentucky officials and lawmakers were actively working
to expand access to voting options.  


Certainly, things weren’t perfect, and there are clear areas that need
improvement for November. Voters in some counties waited in long lines, and
some voters were shut out of the polls due to a limited voting window on
Election Day itself. But for those on the ground, the national narrative
popularized by celebrities on social media drowned out the much larger and much
brighter story of Democrats and Republicans coming together to expand absentee
and early voting — a move that resulted in near historic turnout of more than 1
million voters
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. Swift action ensured all registered voters were mailed information about
requesting ballots through a newly created online portal.


There is more Kentucky got right about how to administer an election during a
pandemic than it got wrong, and other states should take note. 


Here are three things to think about this week:

Support local journalism.
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If there’s a lesson to be learned from Kentucky, it’s this: local journalists
know what’s up. These reporters arewriting the stories
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that inform voters and hold power to account — and the stories that national
journalists should be using to inform their work. This was clear in Kentucky
Monday night, as a national (somewhat maligned) furor began, leaving local
journalists, like the Pulitzer Prize-winningPhillip Bailey
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The truth is that Kentucky officials did work to put voters first. They created
early voting for the first time ever in the state in an effort to protect
voters from coronavirus. Obviously there are major lessons to be learned from
Kentucky — polling locations will always be necessary, and voters shouldn’t be
shut out due to traffic or other menial concerns. 


If you want to know what’s going on in your state or city, subscribe to your
local paper. These reporters and their stories may not get as much attention as
national stories, but their stories are just as important.



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Ma, we made it.
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Election reform got a major boost this week, after The Patriot Act on Netflix
highlightedranked choice voting
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that can fix our elections. Instead of voting to ensure that our least favorite
candidate doesn’t get elected, RCV allows voters to vote their conscience, and
vote based on what they do like about a candidate. 


Host Hasan Minaj pulls from a study published earlier this month by the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
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 that analyzed the key ways that we can fix American democracy. Ranked choice
voting, campaign finance reform, and national service were also on their list.

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And in case you weren’t sold on the idea of reform yet.
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Political dysfunction is a direct output of a poorly designed system.
Politics, it turns out, is a lot like a business in that way. At least that’s
the conclusion of Unite America board member and Democracy Found Co-Chair
Katherine Gehl, who wasinterviewed this week by the Harvard Business Review
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. 


Along with her co-author, Harvard professor Michael Porter, Gehl talks on the
podcast about how a business framework helps to discern and identify the
blockers that are preventing genuine policy progress in our country. For the
American people to get a better product (like a functioning Congress) we have
to first disrupt the system with a series of reforms that can change the
incentives that drive politicians to the extremes. 


Interested in learning more? You’re in luck. Their new book came out this week.
Check it out
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.



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Best, 

Brett

__

Brett Maney

Senior Communications Manager

Unite America
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