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, 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. 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:

 Your weekly to-dos 

1. 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. Read our new resource on D.C. statehood.
2. 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. 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. 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.

 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, 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; 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? 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

 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 -- Register here.

We also want to point out our recently updated events map! Use it to find virtual or in-person events happening all through next year.

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. We need your help to make it happen: donate to support our plans in Georgia and all our work.

 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:

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