Happy Tuesday, Activists!
And Happy Earth Week! We have an action-packed newsletter for you today. And we’ll be sending you an exciting Special Edition newsletter this Thursday, so be on the lookout for that.
Don't forget to sign up here for tomorrow's meeting with the PA Supreme Court candidate Maria McLaughlin.
1. First up – pending legislation by the boatload. You may have noticed that there are a lot of bills working their way through the House and Senate – something like 40 bills. There is so much needed legislation it’s hard to keep up. For example, the House Oversight and Reform Committee just finished the markup of the D.C. Statehood bill (H.R. 51). This is exciting progress and we must push our representatives to be supportive and vocal as the enfranchisement of 700,000 Americans advances.
And S.1, the For the People Act, needs to be marked up in the Senate. On top of that, there is H.R.4, the John Lewis Voting Rights act, background check legislation, and others. Plus, our senators must not let the filibuster stand in the way.
We need to keep the pressure on to get these bills finally passed. This calls for us to pester them over and over again, because that’s what works. They need to know we have not forgotten and we’re watching. Make the calls every day.
CALL TO ACTION
Sen. Toomey – Phila offices: 215-241-1090; D.C. 202-224-4254; email link
Sen. Casey – Phila office 215-405-9660; D.C. 202-224-6324 email link
Rep. Evans – D.C. office 202-225-4001; Phila. office 215-276-0340; email link
Rep. Boyle – D.C. office 202-225-6111; Phila office 215-335-3355; email link
For outside Philadelphia:
Find your House Representative’s phone number and email at this link.
Find your Senators’ phone numbers and emails at this link.
Call our representatives and senators and demand they move these bills through as fast as possible. Time is wasting and we need to see real democracy reform and gun safety legislation passed for the American people.
2. As we watch the Chauvin trial and await the jury’s verdict, it is as urgent as ever that we continue to commit to our shared responsibility to act in solidarity for Black lives and to center Black voices and those who’ve been doing the work for years.
You can read more about the history of overpolicing of Black and Brown communities and ways you can get involved at this link. And if you can, you can donate to Black-led organizations fighting for justice at this link
For the people of color in our network, please know that we are thinking of you, and that your safety and health are paramount. Indivisible has a POC Caucus and we invite you to join the monthly POC Caucus calls, as well as reach out at pocorganizers@indivisible.org.
3. Mark Your Calendar for this Thursday – Earth Day Call To Action
Celebrate Earth Day this Thursday, April 22, by calling our elected officials and insisting they co-sponsor the THRIVE Agenda (H. Res 104 in the House and S. Res. 43 in the Senate). After all, Earth Day is an annual event to demonstrate support for environmental protection.
The THRIVE resolution stipulates that recovery efforts be grounded in policies that create jobs, avert climate catastrophe, invest in Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities, and more. With the multiple and overlapping crises we’re facing, we need comprehensive legislation that will address the interconnected crises of our threatened and changing climate, a global pandemic, mass unemployment, and systemic racism. To learn more about the THRIVE agenda, click here for a resource with more information.
Congressmen Evans and Boyle have signed onto the THRIVE agenda, so call and thank them. Congresswoman Scanlon and Senator Casey have not signed on yet so ask them to do it. You can use the description above for your script and ask: “Will Representative/Senator XXX agree to co-sponsor the Thrive Resolution?”
Finally, for an extra-earthly show, you can watch the video here of the spectacular flight on Mars yesterday by the NASA helicopter Ingenuity.
OUR UPCOMING MEETINGS
TOMORROW our meeting will feature Democratic candidate for PA Supreme Court, Judge Maria McLaughlin. Judge McLaughlin is from Philadelphia and has served on the Superior Court since 2017. She is the only Democrat running for the Supreme Court. She began her legal career as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia, before serving in the family division of the city’s Court of Common Pleas.
Bring your questions and learn Judge McLaughlin’s judicial philosophy.
When: TOMORROW, April 21 at 5:00 pm.
City Controller – On Thursday, May 6, we are meeting with City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart. Find out what the Controller’s office is all about and bring your questions! She is running unopposed in the primary.
When: Thursday, May 6 at 3;30 pm.
VOTER REGISTRATION
Yes, we’re starting to register voters again! Our first event will be Saturday, June 5. We’ll register voters in Rittenhouse Square, one of our most successful locations because the square has people from all over during their farmers market days. We’ll register voters safely and follow all COVID protocols. We’ll meet in front of the Ethical Society. When: Saturday, June 5th, three shifts – 10-noon; noon-2; 2-4pm. Sign up here.
ELECTION MATTERS
Ballot Questions You can see the full rundown in last week’s newsletter and below is our quick review. We’ll have more as we get closer to the May 18 election. There are FOUR state-based questions on the ballot – three to amend the PA Constitution and one that is a statewide referendum, PLUS one Philadelphia question that we will review and give you info on next week. 1. Statewide Referendum. Allows Municipal fire and emergency services companies to be eligible to take out loans from an already existing state loan program. We recommend voting YES on this referendum.
2. Constitutional Amendment to Article III, Section 9. Allows the legislature to terminate or extend the Governor’s disaster emergency declaration without the Governor’s approval. We recommend voting NO on this amendment.
3. Constitutional Amendment to Article IV. Transfers certain of the Governor’s existing authority to respond to and manage disaster emergencies away from the Governor and to the General Assembly. We recommend voting NO to this Amendment.
4. Constitutional Amendment to Article I. Creates a PA constitutional prohibition against restricting or denying an individual’s equal rights under Pennsylvania law because of race or ethnicity. We recommend voting YES on this amendment.
For more – Read the Progressive Voters Guide advisory for Constitutional Amendments at this link.
Read the Committee of Seventy’s voter guide at this link.
Election Ins and Outs Mail-In Voting If you’ve already signed up, your mail-in ballots should be arriving to you in a week or so. You can sign up for a mail-in ballot on the state website here. Primary Election Deadlines – * Monday, May 3, 2021: Last day to register to vote * Tuesday, May 11, 2021, at 5 pm: Last day to request an absentee or mail-in ballot * Tuesday, May 18, 2021: Primary Election Day * Tuesday, May 18, 2021, at 8 pm: Completed mail-in ballots must be received by your county election office. Postmarked is not enough. Check out our complete listing of judicial candidate information resources in our recent newsletter here.
MATCHING FUNDRAISING PROGRAM!
Good news! Indivisible has announced a matching grant for our fundraising now through May 30. The match is for a total of $500 in donations. So your donations will be matched dollar for dollar! You can donate here Your donations help fund our programs, like buying signs, handouts, supplies for postcard projects, meeting platform fees (e.g. Zoom), and other communications tools. Donate here and thank you!