FTP-MD: Organizational sign-on opportunities
Charlie Cooper
September 16, 2024
Two ways to fight corruption
Rep. Jamie Raskin has introduced the Ranked Choice Voting Act as H.R. 9578. His office is looking for co-sponsors. You can contact your Representative and ask that she/he contact Chief Council Rachel Marshall in his office. Here is an excerpt from Raskin's press release:
We need to fortify and improve [our democracy] by guaranteeing that all winners have majority support, while ensuring the voices of people in the political minority are heard and counted, too. Communities from Maine to California have promoted majority rule and minority voice by adopting ranked choice voting. To bolster these efforts, Senator Welch and I are introducing the Ranked Choice Voting Act, which would ensure that all our congressional elections are fairer, more positive, more efficient, and more representative.
The Ranked Choice Voting Act would require ranked choice voting (RCV) in all primary and general elections for Congress beginning in 2028. The bill would also authorize federal funding to help states implement this change, including adapting equipment if necessary and conducting voter education.
Our allies at Public Citizen are organizing to bring attention to the dangers of Presidential immunity from prosecution. They ask organizations to sign a letter by COB on Wednesday, September 18 urging Congress to take action. They write:
"The Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. United States poses a significant threat to our democracy. . . . The idea that a president should be granted constitutional protection from prosecution for otherwise criminal “official acts” is an affront to the fundamental principle of American democracy that no one is above the law.
How Harris and Trump would protect elections
Trump’s platform:
“Republicans Will Ensure Election Integrity. We will implement measures to secure our Elections, including Voter ID, highly sophisticated paper ballots, proof of citizenship, and same day Voting. We will not allow the Democrats to give Voting Rights to illegal Aliens.”
See here for his full platform.
Harris’s Issues Page: https://kamalaharris.com/issues/
"Vice President Harris and Governor Walz . . . . will fight to ensure that Americans have the opportunity to participate in our democracy by passing the John Lewis Voting Rights and the Freedom to Vote Acts — laws that will enshrine voting rights protections, expand vote-by-mail and early voting, and more.
I am asking key people to suggest to the Harris campaign adding "banning partisan gerrymandering and dark money" to the description. These are two hugely popular provisions of the Freedom to Vote Act.
See here for her full platform.
Election action
Here is an action menu from some of our Maryland and national partners full of campaign activities from which you can choose.
News
The Washington Post: Trump is making personal profit from autographed books, dinner with Trump, pieces of the suit he wore for the debate with Biden, hats, flags, and more. "His [for-profit] company's website also sells a variety of political merchandise at higher prices than his campaign charges for the same items."
The Intercept: David Sirota is interviewed by Ryan Grim. Sirota is part of a group that found previously unreported documentary evidence linking the infamous Powell memo of 1971 with activities to organize corporate leaders into a political force. Their planning led directly to the founding of the Heritage Society and to Buckley v. Valeo (1976), the Supreme Court decision that first equated political spending with First Amendment rights. This interview names specific people and events that eventually led to Citizens United, Trump v. United States, and Project 2025.
There is also a 4-part podcast on the Lever, Sirota's Substack site.
OpenSecrets.org: Automakers have ramped up their lobbying in the context of competition between electric and fossil-fuel-powered vehicles.
Meeting Monday, TBD
2 ways to join
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Charlie Cooper
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Get Money Out - Maryland · Baltimore, MD 21209, United States
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Charlie Cooper
“Vice President Harris and Governor Walz believe many fundamental freedoms are at stake in this election. They will fight to ensure that Americans have the opportunity to participate in our democracy by passing the John Lewis Voting Rights and the Freedom to Vote Acts — laws that will enshrine voting rights protections, expand vote-by-mail and early voting, and more.”
He agreed with me that it would be better -- especially in the interim between the election and inauguration -- for them to add that the bill would ban partisan gerrymandering and dark money. He said his office is tracking any references that are made during the campaign to these bills and that he would continue to raise the issue that broadening the appeal of the For the People/Freedom to Vote Act might help get it enacted.
Charlie Cooper