Indivisibles,
With just a month left in 2020, we bet you’re wondering at what point
March turned into November. The GOP-controlled Senate has spent the last
nine months doing everything except passing COVID-19 relief -- including,
but not limited to, helping Trump cast doubt on the legitimacy of the
election.
You’ll remember when the House passed the Heroes Act back in May, long
before total cases in the U.S. soared above 13 million. While the Senate
is playing politics with COVID-19 relief, Americans everywhere are left to
fend for themselves. Our wins this year made it clear that every vote is
powerful, but some votes are systemically and purposely disenfranchised.
The District of Columbia’s 700,000+ residents know that reality all too
well. Despite the fact that D.C. is more populous than some states, its
residents lack a voting representative in the House and have no
representation in the Senate at all. Even with overwhelming support for
D.C. statehood (96% of you say that D.C. should become the 51st state),
the federal government has so far refused to grant full representation to
D.C. residents. During a pandemic, [ [link removed] ]D.C.’s classification as a territory
instead of a state means that it receives less than half of the funding
promised to states with even smaller populations.
On the surface, it’s shocking and unfair. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll
find that if D.C. were considered a state, it would be the only one in the
nation to have a plurality of Black residents. [ [link removed] ]Making up about 47% of
the District’s population, Black folks in D.C. also make up 47% of
reported COVID-19 cases and 75% of deaths.
With COVID-19 cases recently surpassing levels reported in D.C. back in
May, it’s critical for us to recognize the impact of the Senate’s failure
to act. With an ongoing worldwide pandemic, D.C. residents are in need of
equal and adequate representation more than ever, and that’s why we’re
driving D.C. statehood as an Indivisible priority leading in 2021.
With that in mind, here are your weekly to-dos:
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Your weekly to-dos
1. [ [link removed] ]Demand your Representative become a co-sponsor on the D.C.
statehood bill. A few months ago, the House passed a historic bill
supporting statehood and giving full congressional representation to
D.C. residents -- but it died in the Senate. If we want to ensure that
a corrupt, far-right extremist like Trump is never elected again, we
need to prioritize democracy reform and that includes making statehood
for D.C. one of Biden’s top priorities. [ [link removed] ]Read our new resource on
D.C. statehood.
2. [ [link removed] ]Read and share this summary of our priorities for the final weeks
of 2020. We’ve got plans for this transition period between now and
Inauguration Day -- including helping Democrats regain full control of
both chambers of Congress. We know we’re keeping control of the House
but we won’t know the Senate’s makeup until after the Georgia runoff
elections in January 2021. There’s a lot of uncertainty right now, but
we’ve got lots of goals to finish the year strong.
3. [ [link removed] ]Learn about how a progressive voting bloc in Congress can equal big
wins. Progressives hold a significant portion of the total Democratic
seats in the House, including some exciting progressive freshmen. In
order to pass legislation, Democratic leadership needs the support of
as many of their members as possible and can only afford to lose a few
Members. One important way House progressives can grow and use their
power is through a voting bloc -- by executing a voting bloc
strategically, they can force leadership to listen to their demands
and win key victories.
4. [ [link removed] ]Thank your progressive member of Congress. This letter template can
be the first of many conversations with your member of Congress that
thanks them for the work they’ve done and encourages them to pass
bold, progressive legislation.
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2020 Update
Happy Arizona certification deadline! With the results in Arizona
officially certified, we’re taking the time to reflect on the wins we saw
in the Grand Canyon state this election. For one, [ [link removed] ]early voting in
Arizona exceeded the total number of votes cast in 2016, proving that
Arizonans are motivated and paying attention. That energy delivered for
Biden by a margin of over 10,000 votes, pushing him well over the 270
electoral vote threshold he needed to win. And after a long struggle for
the Senate, Arizona Indivisibles successfully held Martha McSally
accountable and weakened Mitch McConnell’s majority by electing Mark
Kelly. Democrats aren’t wasting any time in asking McSally to pack her
bags; [ [link removed] ]Mark Kelly will be officially sworn in as a U.S. Senator this
Wednesday.
And, since the whole country has its eyes on Georgia, be sure to reach out
to a Georgia voter to remind them of their voter registration deadline for
the Senate runoff elections is on December 7. Don’t know a Georgia voter
personally? [ [link removed] ]Sign up to write letters with our partners at Vote
Forward.
With so many deadlines coming up, we’ll be keeping you up to date with all
the news leading up to the inauguration on January 20.
Here are a few important certification-related dates over the next couple
of weeks that we want folks to be aware of:
* Today, November 30: Arizona certification deadline
* December 1: Nevada & Wisconsin certification deadlines
* December 8: Safe Harbor Deadline
* December 14: Electoral College Meets
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National Events
Indivisible December National Activist Call
Join us for our last National Activist Call of 2020 to connect with
Indivisible leaders, members, and other activists to hear updates and
connect with one another.
Date: December 3 at 8 pm EST -- [ [link removed] ]Register here.
We also want to point out our recently updated [ [link removed] ]events map! Use it to
find virtual or in-person events happening all through next year.
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Make an impact on the Georgia runoff elections
With just a few weeks until the Georgia runoff elections, we’ve been hard
at work building out our plans. These two seats will determine control of
the Senate, so we’re committing a ton of time and resources to winning and
entering 2021 in a strong position. We’re getting right to work where
folks on the ground have said we can be most useful -- including a direct
voter contact program, outreach in rural and Latinx communities, and
digital, print, and radio ads. [ [link removed] ]We need your help to make it happen:
donate to support our plans in Georgia and all our work.
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Accountability is key
Advocacy and organizing take no days off. Check out this video featuring
the work of activists from the Green New Deal Network calling on the Biden
administration to take bold action to address the climate crisis:
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Now that we’ve won the White House, we have every intention of holding our
leaders accountable. The Biden Administration has signaled its intention
to make tackling climate change a top priority. With the climate crisis
continuing to intensify, the economy entering a deep recession, and the
need for racial justice and healing being felt as acutely as ever, the
case for Green New Deal-style policymaking is stronger than ever before.
We’re grateful for the commitment and creativity of activists who are
leading the charge.
In solidarity,
Indivisible Team
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