What do you think?
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Hi Friend,

 

All 50 states have now certified their elections, but the attacks haven’t
stopped. Whether they’re Democrats or Republicans, election officials are
facing increasinglyviolent threats
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against themselves, their jobs, and even their families. 

 

Is this really who we’ve become? 

 

No matter the election results, no matter the party affiliation of our
election officials, we should have faith that they’re upholding the integrity
of our elections and the will of the people. Violence and the threat of
violence is antithetical to our republic’s value of free and fair elections. 

 

The results have been certified. Now, we wait for the electors to do their job.

 

Here are three things to think about this week:

What an “America Caucus” might look like.
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Unite America board members Charles Wheelan and Neal Simon teamed up this week
to sketch a plan for a new American Senate
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.What would happen if a bipartisan team of Senators put an end to the status
quo and charted a new way forward for compromise and deal making in Congress?
What would that look like, and who would be viable candidates to lead such an
effort?

 

Turns out, the foundation is already there. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Mitt
Romney (R-UT), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Susan Collins (R-ME) have teamed up
with Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and Angus King (I-ME) to
craft a new, desperately needed coronavirus relief bill. In doing so, they buck
the establishment of their parties, andput the good of their constituents over
their political parties. With just a handful of common-sense, reason-guided
senators working together, we could break the gridlock that has hampered DC for
so long.

 

If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Charles Wheelan founded Unite
America — and Neal Simon ran for Senate — on the back of a similar idea: in a
closely divided senate, just a handful of leaders could serve as the fulcrum
needed to get both sides to the table. And as Charlie and Neal point out, we’ve
seen this sort of country-over-party type leadership before, in the Progressive
Era, when the term “progressives” didn’t describe a new party, but rather a new
mindset for leaders from different parties who believed in reform. The
opportunity is there; here’s hoping these senators take it.



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A real life example of why ranked choice voting is important.
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We get questions from time to time about why ranked choice voting is
important. We get accusations that ranked choice voting is just a reform to
help third party candidates, and are told that we’re trying to mess with
something that isn’t broken. Well to all those doubters, I would like to
present to youFlorida State Senate District 37
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. 

 

The final results were incredibly close. The Republican 48.53%; the Democrat
got 48.51%. Meanwhile, a faceless third party candidate that few had ever heard
of got 2.96% of the vote.No candidate received a majority of support. The
election was decided by just 34 votes, while Alex Rodriguez got 6,000 votes,
seemingly without running a campaign at all. How suspicious is it? Suspicious
enough for Florida prosecutors to start looking into it, to see if this
candidate was simply an explicit attempt to spoil the election.


This should outrage everyone, because this may well be an example of the two
parties using the two-party system against us, the voters -- the people they
claim to represent. With ranked choice voting, we wouldn’t have to worry about
“candidates” like Alex Rodriguez spoiling the election; when the Democrat and
the Republican failed to get 50% of the vote, the independent Rodriguez would
be eliminated as the lowest vote-getter, and voters who voted for him would
have their second place votes counted, ensuring that the winner actually has
majority of support, and actually represents the will of the people. From our
friends Rob Richie and Perry Waag
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this week, read why ranked choice voting is essential.



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Finally, get to know our new teammate!
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We are thrilled to announce that we have a new teammate week: Sarah Jane
Higginbotham has joined our team as our new Managing Director! Sarah comes to
us from the world of legislative advocacy, having worked everywhere from the
American Heart Association to Everytown for Gun Safety. 

 

Read a bit more about
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Sarah and what she’s bringing to Unite America (as well as her seemingly
encyclopedic knowledge of state capitals). As Managing Director, she’ll be
responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Unite America Fund,
which mobilizes resources to accelerate and scale the growing movement to put
voters first. 


Do you want to get involved in the movement? Friendly reminder that
DemocracyJobs.org <[link removed]> has the latest and greatest jobs
from across the reform movement.



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Stay United, 

 

Brett
__
Brett Maney
Senior Communications Manager
Unite America
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