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At this point, plenty of people have expressed frustration with the inadequacy of telling people to “just vote,” and we’re among them.
In the aftermath of continued attacks on our freedoms, rights, and democracy, it’s not enough nor appropriate to tell people to channel their rage into voting alone.
There’s no easy fix to the situation that we’re in, from abortion bans and gun violence to racial injustice and the ongoing attack on democracy. But there are a whole bunch of hard ones.
Vote AND protest.
Vote AND donate to abortion funds and independent clinics.
Vote AND keep demanding more of the people you elected.
Vote AND organize.
The slow and reluctant response from Democratic Party leadership has been a worrying sign. But those leaders are not the only tools we have at our disposal. There’s a vast network of activists, organizations, and elected leaders who have been preparing for this moment, including our team here at Vote Save America.
If you’re interested in reading more about what’s next for us, I wrote a longer piece for Crooked.com about the road ahead. If you’re looking for how you can get involved right now, keep reading.
After the Dobbs decision draft leaked, our team launched the Fuck Bans Action Plan, our plan to fight back. The first part of our plan was dealing with the immediate impact: Getting resources to the people most immediately affected by the fallout of the decision. Since the draft opinion was leaked in May, the VSA community has raised $939,000 and will keep going, as the need for this support will only increase.
The next part of the plan is where it gets more complicated, but also where we can do what we do best: Connecting our community with organizations and candidates who will help us fight back long term and at every level. Here are a few of the ways for you to do that:
- Fuck Bans, Fight Back: One way to circumvent gerrymandered state legislatures and anti-choice Republicans is through direct democracy and with this fund, we’re supporting efforts to enshrine reproductive rights into state constitutions like in Michigan, and stopping anti-choice ballot measures like ones in Kansas and Kentucky. This fund also supports grassroots organizing in states where abortion rights are under threat but voters still have a say in what happens next. DONATE
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Vote Save Democracy: A state’s Attorney General is involved in all sorts of issues, but here’s one big one—they can decide not to prosecute patients who violate restrictive abortion laws. These candidates typically don’t get as much attention as Governors and Senators, but MAGA Republicans have realized the power they hold so these elections have never been more expensive. DONATE
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Vote Save the States (NEW): You’ve probably heard a lot of people complaining over the past few months that Democrats have failed to pay attention to state legislatures over the past couple of decades. Help fix that by contributing to candidates in competitive districts in our target states: Michigan, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Nevada, Maine, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. DONATE
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Midterm Madness: Decisions in state level races in places like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan and elsewhere will be key in determining reproductive rights and freedoms in those states moving forward. By signing up for Midterm Madness, you can find weekly opportunities to get involved in key races at every level, in states throughout your region, from now until November. SIGN UP
We’re at an inflection point for the pro-choice majority in this country right now. Will the response to Dobbs be a month of anger and outrage that dissipates, giving Republicans the space they need to destroy all of the progress we’ve made over the last 150 years, or will it be a movement that sustains itself for years to come?
This work won’t be easy, and it won’t get done in one cycle, but right now we must choose defiance over despair. We must recognize our power and use it to reclaim control of our lives and country. We hope you’ll join us.
Shaniqua
Senior Political Director, Crooked Media
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