Check out this week's Three Things Thursday
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Hi Friend,

 

Election reform doesn’t have a party allegiance. 

 

Here at Unite America, we support nonpartisan election reforms. They don’t
benefit any single party, but they do benefit voters, ensuring that their
desires and their voices are heard loudly by the people in power. 

 

Politicians may seek power for themselves, but we seek power for the people. 

 

Here are three things to think about this week: 

Bad faith mapmaking
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While the national narrative around gerrymandering tends to decry states in
which Republican lawmakers are the perpetrators of gerrymandering, make no
mistake: it happens in Democrat-controlled states too.

 

Governor Pritzker (D) of Illinois this week walked back on earlier promises to
ensure fair maps in his state, approving gerrymandered maps drawn by the
state’s liberal legislature. It’s a disappointing setback for the Land of
Lincoln, and one that could have been readily prevented if the state had
adopted theredistricting reform
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that had been introduced in the last year. 


As one local editorial
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put it, “Look, it is not a matter of whether Republicans have a say or for
that matter, whether Democrats have one. It is whether the people do. We feel
the need to shout this: You either cherish democracy or you do not...Democracy
is not a fashion when it moves in favor of your political viewpoint but OK to
be discarded when it becomes inconvenient.Democracy matters above all.”



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Good faith lawmaking
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Meanwhile, the movement saw MAJOR success this week, with two more states
adoptingfull vote at home <[link removed]>
systems, Nevada and Vermont.The victory in Vermont was especially sweet, as the
legislation passed in a bipartisan manner, and was signed by the state’s
Republican governor.Seven states now have full vote at home systems, with more
expanding their mail-in voting programs after the 2020 election. 

 

The victory in Vermont pushes back against the national narrative that vote at
home is in any way a partisan issue; vote at home is a voter issue that ensures
greater accessibility and security in our elections.Congratulations, Vermont!
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The Primary Problem: Missouri edition
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If you’ve ever looked at your elected officials and questioned why these
people had been selected to represent you, you’ve probably fallen victim to the
Primary Problem — the dynamic in which just a handful of voters hold outsized
influence over our political process.


This week, Lynn Schmidt talks about the Primary Problem dynamics she sees
playing out in her home state of Missouri, in which she says she feels like
neither side is trying to represent her or the state’s interests. Schmidt
advocates for nonpartisan primaries and ranked choice voting (a reform known
around these parts as Final-Five voting). Check out thewhole piece here
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.



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Brett
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Brett Maney
Senior Communications Manager
Unite America
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