Happy Earth Day, Activists!
It may have missed it, but today is a pretty big Earth Day in Washington, as well as all over the country. Here’s some of what’s happening:
The White House is holding Day 1 of the White House Climate Summit. President Biden is expected to announce a goal of cutting U.S. emissions by 50-52% of 2005 levels by 2030. He is expected to announce the updated target at the climate summit that will feature 40 heads of state.
The Senate Energy Committee will hold a hearing on advancing and deploying carbon and carbon-dioxide utilization technologies in the U.S.
The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing focusing on a clean energy economy in 21st-century communities.
The House Oversight Committee's Subcommittee on the Environment will hold a hearing on the role of fossil fuel subsidies that prevent action on the climate crisis. Greta Thunberg is set to testify.
And just yesterday:
The Administration announced it is pausing federal gas and oil leasing, pending a review of the government's leasing practices.
Senate Democrats introduced legislation to overhaul “overly complex” tax credits to encourage clean energy development – like tax incentives for battery-powered and electric vehicles. It would eliminate tax incentives for fossil fuels.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen laid out the department’s plans to mobilize the U.S. economy against climate change with her “whole-of-economy” plan.
All of this is to say that we know we’d be looking at a very different Earth Day if we hadn’t worked so hard last year to win the Democratic Trifecta. We also know that much of President Biden’s climate effort depends on passing the Jobs Bill and we know that the Trifecta is on a razor’s edge in the senate.
Fortunately, we have a chance to expand that senate margin next year in the 2022 midterms. Unfortunately, Philadelphia’s turnout in 2020 was unimpressive. It might seem illogical because the city went big for Biden. But not big enough. Philly’s voting turnout rate was at about 66% and the state average was 71%. So there’s work to be done right in our own backyard.
The 2022 election is right around the corner, and we need to win the open U.S. Senate seat and our Governor seat. We can do it if we increase Philadelphia voter turnout.
The good news is we know what to do, and we need to start now. We have developed two new projects to increase the city’s voter turnout, with the focus on the 2022 midterms. Don’t worry, we’ll still be doing all of our “regular” events like voter registration, postcards, etc. But these two new projects are equally important. Here they are:
1. Neighborhood Canvassing Project. This project uses some of the same theories as Stacey Abrams’s and other groups’ work in Georgia to expand the electorate and sign voters up. We will canvass in various Philadelphia neighborhoods, focusing on infrequent voters and non-voters by using proven persuasion techniques. The goal is to persuade them to vote in the 2022 midterm elections when they have not done so in the past.
It’s different than Get Out The Vote canvassing because it involves engaging voters in conversations. Because this is a different type of canvassing, we’re holding trainings so volunteers will be fully ready to go.
Our first canvass will be on Saturday, May 22, at 11:00 a.m. in the Queen Village area. If you want more information, you can email us here or just sign up below for the training and first canvass.
2. 35 Doors Project. This project involves Neighborhood Leaders who will volunteer to be responsible for interacting with voters at 35 addresses in their neighborhood or apartment building. These leaders will go to these doors a few times per year and will be the expert on elections. We will provide the addresses, handouts, and all the information you will need.
The Neighborhood Leaders will attend the same training below. If you’re interested, email us here to get more information. Or just sign up for the training below. We’ll have a meeting beforehand to go over all the details.
We are VERY excited about these new projects and we look forward to working with you to win in 2022! Many of you have already told us you want to be part of this and now you can sign up below!
PLEASE NOTE: We will canvass safely and follow all COVID protocols.
New Projects Training – An experienced Indivisible trainer will lead this.
When: Thursday, May 20, at 4:00 pm.
Sign up at this Indivisible Zoom registration link
If you can’t make this one, don’t worry. We’ll record it and there will be more live sessions too.
Neighborhood Canvass - Queen Village
When: Saturday, May 22, at 11:00 am
Matching Fundraising Program
These new projects will require us to spend some extra funds to make them successful. And luckily, Indivisible has announced a matching grant for our fundraising now through May 30. Donations will be matched up to a total of $500. So if you can, you could make a donation to help this effort and it will be matched dollar for dollar. You can donate here. Thank you!