Yes, Wednesday, January 19, 2022, was a depressing day in our battle to preserve our freedom to vote and get rid of the undemocratic filibuster. But the televised Senate debate helped more of the public learn that although Republican state legislatures have enacted laws to restrict voting and even nullify election results with partisan majority votes, we couldn’t get this 50/50 Senate to protect our voting rights with a majority vote. The public learned that exemptions to the filibuster were made to pass the Trump tax cuts, and more recently, to raise the debt ceiling. Republicans who were willing to bend the filibuster to preserve the full faith and credit of the US Treasury would not do it to preserve our democracy.
So once again, it is up to us. Just as January 6, 2021, was not the end, January 18, 2022 won’t be either.
“We don’t operate on these political deadlines — our deadline is victory," Rev. Dr. William Barber says about the voting rights agenda. "We can't allow the politicians to set the deadlines and to say where we have won or where we've lost."
We of Indivisible will fight on to elect the progressive, pro-voting rights Democrats that we need in federal, state, and local governments, and we will fight on to restore the democratic norms that Republicans have been ruthlessly destroying.
With national voting rights legislation all but dead for this session of Congress, we as progressives must begin preparing for a long, hard, state-by-state, district-by-district defense of voting rights, a fierce election campaign season, and a massive Get Out The Vote (GOTV) drive in the fall. ISF will continue monitoring and mobilizing around national and state legislation, and supporting allied organizations and campaigns directly involved in legal defense, election work, and/or GOTV.
Visit our blog to explore some ways we suggest getting involved. When democracy is under attack, what do we do? Stand Up! Fight Back!
How do I vote in the Jan–Feb 2022 election?
There’s an election happening RIGHT NOW here in San Francisco! You should already have your ballot—it looks like this:
If you haven’t gotten it yet, check on that. If you need to register to vote (including to update your registration), you have to do that by Monday, January 31 in order to get a ballot mailed to you—otherwise, you’ll have to vote in person.
Return your ballot as early as possible! Make sure you SIGN THE RETURN ENVELOPE and write your name and address on the appropriate blanks in the lower-left corner. You can return your ballot by mail, by using any official drop box, by going to City Hall, or (as the end of the election draws closer) by going to any voting center or (on the very last day) any polling place in the City.
Need more details? We’ve got step-by-step instructions on how to vote in this election on our blog.
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If you’re interested in participating in activities like drafting letters to our Members of Congress and developing our strategy for influencing them, the Indivisible SF Federal Working Group is where it happens. Join us at our next meeting on Thursday, January 27. Details on how to register below.
TODAY: Phone Bank for AB 1416, the Ballot DISCLOSE Act, with the CA Clean Money Campaign! Wednesday, January 26, 9 AM–7 PM. The CA Clean Money Campaign is running a phone bank to get Californians to call their Assemblymember and urge them to pass AB 1416, the Ballot DISCLOSE Act, before the January 31 deadline. This bill, supported by CA StateStrong, would add a short list of the top donors for and against each proposition to the title and summary on the ballot, helping voters make more informed choices. See the campaign's summary of the bill and sign up for a shift!
ISF Federal Working Group meeting: Thursday, January 27, 7:30–9 PM. Register here to join our regular Zoom meeting, where we work together to develop strategies for influencing our Members of Congress and the Biden administration to support a progressive agenda. All are welcome to participate and contribute, even if you’ve never attended an ISF meeting before.
About this week’s photo
If you’ve seen our newsletter posts on Twitter and Facebook, you might have noticed that we include a photo or graphic with each issue. Today’s image is the above photo of an official ballot envelope for San Francisco.
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
If you'd like to support our all-volunteer team:
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