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WHY EVERY VOTE MATTERS: HERE'S THE SIMPLE MATH
If you can keep only one fact about elections in your head at one time, remember this: Joe Biden won in Wisconsin in 2020 by the slim margin of 20,000 votes – the equivalent of just 3 (yes, t-h-r-e-e) votes per polling place.
Without Wisconsin, Joe Biden would be just Citizen Biden today and Donald Trump would still be our President. Imagine how different the outcome would have been if just a few Democratic voters in Wisconsin had decided not to vote or a few phonebanking volunteers had decided that phonebanking was just too hard or a few postcarders had decided that writing a few more postcards wasn’t really worth their efforts.
Furthermore, it’s demonstrably false – and dangerous – to believe that these precious votes matter only in “swing states.” In blue New York state in 2022, Democratic voters failed to show up in sufficient numbers, allowing Republicans to capture several Congressional seats and achieve a slim, but effective, majority in the US House of Representatives.
Elections are often decided by the slimmest of margins. You can make a difference when you vote, when you talk with your family and friends, and when you work as a volunteer to encourage other people to vote. No matter how small and seemingly insignificant, all of our individual efforts add up to make a difference. And don’t let anyone else tell you that it’s not worth THEIR time to vote or to volunteer. Share the math with them and ask them to share it with someone else.
In this issue, we are celebrating the great work of grassroots activists in helping Democrats win. Please read below about how this army helped Tom Suozzi win big in the special election in New York's 3rd Congressional District. Also, please read about newly-announced State Senate candidate, Justin Potter, and about Maria Horn's re-election campaign. Be sure to see below for the upcoming activities of Saving Democracy, our local advocacy group. Please consider joining in the group's initiatives as well as those described in Things You Can Should Do Now. Don't miss our calendar of Upcoming Events for in-person as well as Zoom happenings. Read Voting Rights Watch and In Case You Missed It to keep tuned into some of the important news about our democracy.
Action is the best antidote for despair. But remember, you can't roll up your sleeves if you're wringing your hands!
As always,
Your faithful editor
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WE WON NY-3 AND MORE -- THANKS TO YOU
Democrats extended their winning streak in two recent special elections. In New York’s 3rd Congressional District, which covers parts of Queens and Nassau County, Tom Suozzi won back his old seat in a special election to fill the vacancy left by the expulsion of fabulist GOP representative George Santos. Suozzi, who had held the seat before vacating it to run unsuccessfully for NY Governor, beat his Republican opponent by nearly eight percentage points. Suozzi’s victory puts Democrats one seat closer to achieving control of the House of Representatives, with Republicans now holding a razor-slim 219-213 majority.
Also this month, in Florida’s state House District 35, former naval flight officer and aerospace entrepreneur Tom Keen flipped the seat from red to blue. The outcome represents a stark reversal from 2022, when GOP former state representative Fred Hawkins trounced his Democratic opponent by 10 percentage points. And in Pennsylvania, Democrats will maintain their one-vote majority in the state House, thanks to a special election victory by Jim Prokopiak.
These wins are just the most recent in a pattern of Democratic over-performance since mid-2022, including defeating ballot initiatives in Kansas and Ohio that would have restricted abortion, flipping the Virginia legislature, defeating election deniers running in secretary of state and governor races in several states, winning a statehouse majority in Pennsylvania, and flipping the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Even when Democrats are losing, they are performing much better than expected. Last month, for example, in a special election a Republican won a state seat in a deep-red area of Oklahoma, but by just five points, sparking GOP concerns about its performance in November's races.
Democrats are winning elections at multiple levels across the US. These aren’t polls – they are actual elections. What’s driving the change? We like the cogent explanation of longtime Democratic official and activist David Pepper in Pepperspectives, his Substack newsletter. He attributes the Democratic achievements to two trends that are aligning:
“First, the extreme right is becoming more and more toxic to mainstream America. And in anything close to a competitive district or state, that’s costing Republicans elections.
Second, on the positive side, a grassroots pro-democracy army continues to grow, and is SHOWING UP in these races. Not just as voters, but as activists, relentlessly using their energy and passion to spark turnout in races near and far from where they actually live.”
We are the foot soldiers in that army. Anyone who participated in the recent phonebanking for Tom Suozzi saw hundreds of other volunteers from across the US online with them while others, including members of Saving Democracy here in the Northwest Corner, sent hundreds of postcards to voters. This is how we win elections. Thank you to all who helped!
| NEWS FLASH! JUSTIN POTTER ANNOUNCES FOR STATE SENATE | |
 |  | Justin Potter has filed papers to run for the Democratic nomination for State Senate from our district, District 30. He is expected to win the Democratic nomination at the district convention in May to take on Republican incumbent Steven Harding. Potter, 44, lives in Kent, where he serves as the President of the nonprofit Kent Affordable Housing and runs an ecommerce business. Raised on a dairy farm in Washington, CT, Potter attended Washington Primary School, and middle and high school at Shepaug. He then attended the University of Minnesota for two years before transferring to Cornell University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Economics in 2002. After college, Potter worked in New York City at the law firm of Cadwalader, Wickersham, and Taft until 2005, when he started an online business selling decorative branches and other lasting botanicals. The company, Nettleton Hollow, is named after a road in Washington. He is married to Claire Love, who grew up in Roxbury, with whom he has two young children. In addition to his role leading Kent Affordable Housing, Potter regularly volunteers at the Kent Food Bank and serves as a Zoning Board of Appeals alternate. He is also on the boards of the Adirondack Council and the Shingle Shanty Preserve and Research Station, which conducts ecological research in a remote preserve in the heart of Adirondack Park. For more information about Justin Potter and his campaign go to https://www.potter2024.com/.
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MARIA HORN KICKS OF RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Our hard-working State Rep., Maria Horn, has announced the start of her campaign for re-election. Because the state legislature is now in session, Maria will be focusing until June on the important business in Hartford and looks forward to focusing on her campaign starting in June. Maria has expressed her thanks to everyone who contributed to her campaign so that she could qualify for public funding. Now that her campaign has reached that milestone, it will no longer accept contributions. However, Maria urges anyone who did not have a chance to contribute to consider contributing instead to their local Democratic Town Committees, which help Maria and other local candidates in the Northwest Corner with messaging, administrative, and financial support. You can donate to the Salisbury DTC by following this link [insert].
Maria reminds us that there is plenty to do before her campaign gets into full swing in June:
- Get involved in your local Democratic Town Committee or other political action groups. 2024 is the year in which we will need everyone to act to support our democracy and the issues we care about.
- SAVE THE DATE! Saturday, June 1 from 10am-4pm. Join a Campaign Bootcamp for volunteers. Learn best practices for engaging and persuading voters from some of the most skilled in the campaign business. Watch for details.
- Support Maria's campaign on social media. Thank you to those who follow, comment, and share Maria's posts on Facebook and Instagram. Please continue!
- Sign up for Maria's campaign newsletter to get updates, including volunteer opportunities, and please forward this link to friends who would be interested.
Meanwhile, Maria asks that if you know of an important event or an issue that she should address in your town, please reach out to her or her campaign manager, Melissa Cherniske at rothcherniske@gmail.com. Also, if you would like to volunteer as a town leader who can ensure that Maria and her campaign know what’s going on in each of the nine towns in her district, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Cindy Barrett at cbingoshen@gmail.com.
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March 3 from 2:30-4pm: Meet & Greet for Congresswoman Jahana Hayes in West Cornwall. (Location will be provided 48 hours prior to the event.) Please join Gordon & Jayne Ridgway, Philippa Durrant, Leslie Levy, Myrna Watanabe, Joe & Barbara Ellis, Betty Spence, Ian & Diane Ingersoll, Richard & Barbara Wolkowitz, and Kathy & Michael Voldstad for a Northwest Corner reception in support of the re-election of our US Representative, Jahana Hayes. Jahana won re-election two years ago by a very slim margin. She is facing the same opponent this year, and he is well funded by both his own campaign and by out-of-state Republicans, who are again targeting this seat. They have millions of dollars to spend in targeted races like Jahana's. Getting funding to her early in the campaign is very important to show the strength of her support! RSVP by contributing online here or by emailing rsvp@jahanahayes.com. For more information, contact Richard Wolkowitz.
March 8 at 7:30pm: Age of Danger: Keeping America Safe in an Era of New Superpowers, New Weapons, and New Threats with authors Thom Shanker and Andrew Hoehn. Presented by the Salisbury Forum. The authors will be interviewed by Alex Ward, former editorial director at NYTimes Books. The event takes place at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. The authors will address the major security challenges facing America -- from adversarial superpowers to emerging threats like pandemics, cybersecurity, and climate change. Weaving expert analysis with exclusive interviews, the authors argue that the U.S. must pivot from a military system focused on deterrence and global operations to life and money saving strategies that keep America safe. More information is at Salisbury Forum
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March 18 from 5:30-7:30pm: “Messaging Mondays” with the Sharon Democratic Town Committee (DTC) at The Edward, 19 West Main Street in Sharon. The Sharon DTC is hosting twice-a-month gatherings to write letters and postcards to voters in other states. For this session, the group will be writing postcards to Democratic-leaning voters in Pennsylvania who previously voted by mail to alert them to changes in the rules for getting a mail-in ballot. Unless they follow the new rules, voters won't automatically receive ballots for the November general election! Scan the QR code to sign up. You can also email sharontowndemocrats@gmail.com or call 860-364-0362.
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March 19 at 7pm: Climate Change and Human Migration: Intersections, Outcomes, and Responses with Serin Houston, Associate Professor of Geography and International Relations at Mount Holyoke College. Presented by the Berkshire OLLI online via Zoom. Climate change and managing human migration are some of the most significant challenges of our times. Professor Houston will examine the intersection of these two pressing issues in various contemporary contexts and from a geographic perspective. She will also demonstrate why we need strong, collaborative, and creative governance to produce more equitable migration outcomes and to mitigate the impact of climate change. Pre-registration is required. Register online or call (413) 236-2190 (M-F 9am-4pm) to register by phone with a credit card.
March 19 at 7pm: Salisbury Democratic Town Committee. This regular monthly SDTC meeting will be held at Town Hall and via Zoom. The agenda includes the election of officers. The SDTC is committed to promoting good government and democratic principles at every level of our civic life. The SDTC recruits candidates for local elective and appointed offices and supports the most qualified Democrats to run in municipal, state, and national elections. Meetings are usually on the third Tuesday of every month. Contact Al Ginouves to receive a copy of the agenda and the link to the meeting.
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April 2 from 6am-8pm: Presidential Preference Primary Election at Town Hall. Early voting takes place on the following days: March 26, 27, 28, and 30 from 10am-6pm. To register to vote, contact the Registrars of Voting at registrars@salisburyct.us or (860) 435-5175. For more information, please visit Myvote.ct.gov.
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April 5 at 7:30pm: The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens" with Richard Haass. Presented by the Salisbury Forum at Hotchkiss School. Richard Haass is a veteran diplomat and respected scholar of international relations as well as is president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also senior counselor with Centerview Partners, an international investment banking advisory firm. He previously served in the State Department under Presidents George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, at the White House under George H.W. Bush, and at the Pentagon under Jimmy Carter. More information is at Salisbury Forum. | |
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VOTING RIGHTS WATCH
Here is our monthly recap of important stories from the frontlines of the battles to protect Americans’ most precious right – the right to vote. These stories remind us of the fragility of our democracy in the face of constant attacks by those who would rather win elections at any price than preserving our democratic institutions.
- In a huge win, Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin signed into law new legislative maps that could drastically alter the state’s balance of power, giving Democrats a chance to win control of the state’s legislature for the first time in more than a decade in this battleground state. The new maps were made possible because of a ruling by the state Supreme Court that flipped to a progressive majority in 2023 after 15 years of conservative control. Still outstanding is a suit by state Democrats to redraw congressional maps, in which six of the eight seats are held by a Republicans. Also, the Wisconsin Elections Commission voted last month to comply with a recent court ruling ordering election officials to accept absentee ballots with missing witness information. The order resulted from a suit by liberal groups over rules set by previous court rulings in lawsuits brought by conservative groups following the 2020 election.
- No-Excuse Absentee Ballots Survive in Georgia. In a 3-2 vote, the Georgia State Election Board has rejected a proposal to require Georgia voters to provide a reason when requesting mail ballots. A record number of Georgians voted at home in the 2020 general election cycle, but the use of mail ballots in Georgia has been under increased scrutiny after the Georgia State Election Board adopted emergency rules in 2020 in response to COVID-19, and Donald Trump narrowly lost to Joe Biden.
- In a big setback for voting rights, the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals will not reconsider its decision that private parties and voters cannot sue to enforce Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. This action leaves in place the catastrophic ruling for the seven states covered by the circuit court: Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
- The Kentucky Senate passed a bill banning college and university photo ID cards as acceptable forms of identification for voting. Kentucky's Republican secretary of state actually opposes the bill, saying that he worries it could alienate young voters.
- The Republican National Committee and Mississippi Republican Party sued over Mississippi’s law allowing mail-in ballots postmarked on or before Election Day to be counted if they are received within five business days after the election.
- In Arizona, the America First Legal Foundation, a far-right legal group led by former Trump advisor Stephen Miller, voluntarily withdrew its exhaustive lawsuit against Maricopa County, challenging a laundry list of its election procedures, including its use of voting centers. Maricopa County has long been a right-wing target because the county is the most populous in the state and is home to the highest number of registered Democrats.
- Voting centers in Arizona are still under attack from the Republican-controlled House, which passed legislation last month to ban voting centers in the state. Currently 12 of the state’s 15 counties make use of this convenient practice, which allows voters to drop off mail ballots. The legislation would additionally bar counties from establishing early voting locations.
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THINGS YOU CAN SHOULD DO NOW
Yes, it’s only March, but the election cycles are longer than ever and campaigns already need our help. The time we put in now, at the early stages of campaigns, has a multiplier effect by laying the foundation for successes later in the year. Thanks to technology like Zoom, campaigns are now well organized to put volunteers to work remotely. Please consider contributing whatever time you can to these important initiatives.
Wisconsin Democrats - Wisconsin is often referred to as the breaking-point state — as goes Wisconsin, so goes the country. Under the leadership of its youthful chair, Ben Wikler, WisDems has become one of the most successful state operations in the past few years, turning back the GOP tide, preventing a GOP "trifecta" in the state government, flipping the state Supreme Court to progressive majority, and helping Joe Biden win (narrowly) in 2020.
Right now, WisDems is recruiting volunteers for the spring and summer state elections leading to this fall's Presidential and Senatorial elections. If you're a reluctant phonebanker, this is a great way to cut your teeth. This phonebanking is very easy because it is targeting a list of thousands of past volunteers who will be happy to hear from a fellow volunteer. Take the plunge and sign-up here. If you have questions, please feel free to contact Lee Greenhouse at (917) 701-5739 or Lrgreenhouse@gmail.com.
All in for North Carolina (AINC) – This New England group is working remotely to help Democrats win elections in North Carolina. North Carolina is a winnable linchpin for Democratic control of the US government in 2024. While Republicans have won the last few elections for Governor, US Senate, state Supreme Court Chief Justice, and President, the margins have been very close. Joe Biden lost to Trump in 2020 by the smallest margin in any state. Demographic changes have been moving in Democrats' favor with an influx of young progressive voters. The state's Democratic organization has been re-building itself in the last few years and is now run by a young and very dynamic new chairperson, Anderson Clayton. (Watch this 22-minute interview of her by The Washington Post.)
There is a great opportunity specifically in Mecklenburg County, home of Charlotte, to dramatically increase new voter registrations among young people and voters of color. Currently white voters have a participation rate that is 17 points higher than voters of color and there are still 800,000 unregistered voters of color. Read more about the NC story here.
Join AINC every-other Sunday night for phonebanks from 6-8pm to recruit volunteers for the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party. For more information and to sign up click here.
Contribute and attend All In For North Carolina's fundraiser, "40,000 More Voters," with keynote speaker former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick on March 6 at 7:30pm. Funds help support voter registration by civic and community organizations in Mecklenburg County and are tax deductible. For more information and to contribute click here.
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GOOD THINGS ARE HAPPENING | |
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While you are working for change against what can seem like difficult forces, take inspiration from the many good things that are happening because people like us worked hard. This month's sampling of good news comes from a longer list (as it frequently does) from Jessica Craven and her Substack newsletter, Chop Wood, Carry Water. Her activism and optimism are infectious, and her free newsletter is worthwhile reading.
- A scientific paper that is fundamental to the legal case against the abortion pill, Mifepristone, was retracted by its publisher. The retraction comes less than two months before the US Supreme Court is expected to hear an appeal of a Texas judge's 2023 ruling in which he cited the article several times.
- President Biden officially joined TikTok.
- After blowback, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen has reversed his staunch opposition and agreed to accept federal USDA funds to feed low-income children. With this decision, Nebraska's governor is breaking away from the more than a dozen other Republican governors around the US who have refused to accept the federal money.
- Kansas just signed legislation to eliminate a loophole that has long allowed employers nationwide to pay people with disabilities far below states’ minimum wage.
- Rep. Mark Green (R-Tennessee) is retiring. He is a Tea Party conservative closely allied with Donald Trump, who nominated him for Army Secretary until blowback forced Green to withdraw his candidacy.
- The Missouri State Supreme Court again ruled that Republicans’ efforts to ban Planned Parenthood from getting Medicaid reimbursements are unconstitutional.
- A landmark Utah geothermal project by a start-up company, Fervo Energy, is outpacing expectations and showing promise in drastically reducing the cost of building geothermal energy plants.
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Harding Named Minority Leader. CT State Senator Stephen Harding (R-30 - our district) was chosen to replace State Senator Kevin Kelly (R-21) as minority leader in the State Senate. The 30th Senate District includes all six Region One towns, including Salisbury. The Republicans are outnumbered 24-12 in the State Senate and 98-53 in the State House. Read more in The Lakeville Journal.
The Strongest Democratic Party that Any of Us Has Ever Seen – Simon Rosenberg interviewed by New York Times' columnist Ezra Klein. In a sea of pessimists, longtime Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg is an unabashed optimist about the prospects for Democrats. In his Substack newsletter, Hopium Chronicles, he provides a raft of data showing that ”things get better with Democrats,” that Democrats have out-performed Republicans in a string of recent elections, and that we should feel confident that we can perform similarly well in 2024, if we do the necessary work. Listen to the interview (1 hour and 8 minutes).
President Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act is Transforming Maricopa County, AZ. The promise of federal subsidies from the Biden-backed CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 has sparked some of the biggest investment projects in the nation’s history, transforming Maricopa County into one of the world’s most important manufacturing sites for the tiny components that power all modern electronics. Whether the investments will benefit Biden’s presidential campaign in this vital swing county is unclear. But the projects are creating thousands of high-tech jobs that will draw more professionals who tend to vote blue, analysts say. Maricopa, the nation’s fourth most populous county, is already purple, having flipped from Trump to Biden in the 2020 election. Read more in The Washington Post.
New Research Confirms Voter ID Laws Impact Millions – When Americans head to the polls this year, voters in 38 states — more than ever before — will have to confront a maze of voter ID laws that request or require a specific form of identification to cast a ballot. A new research study conducted by VoteRiders, the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement at the University of Maryland, the Brennan Center for Justice, and Public Wise shows that voter ID laws are wreaking havoc on the voting process, confusing voters and restricting the right to vote. And these rules harm some communities more than others — effectively distorting our electorate and undermining our democracy. The findings reveal that millions of Americans — disproportionately from underrepresented groups — lack a current government-issued photo ID. Nearly 21 million people, or just under 9% of voting-age U.S. citizens, do not have a current (non-expired) driver’s license. Another 12% have a non-expired license, but the license does not have both their current name and address. Citizens of color were more than three times more likely to be without an unexpired license or state ID card than white adult citizens. Read more in Democracy Docket.
Beware of the Radicalism Beyond Trump. Lurking behind the full-frontal assault by Donald Trump and his enablers lies a more far-reaching threat. If the Republicans gain control of both Houses of Congress, expect a state-authorized Constitutional Convention to eviscerate core rights and protections most Americans hold dear. Think it can’t be done? Although the convention push has been all but ignored by the commentariat and national Democratic leaders, it has powerhouse backing. The Koch network and other dark-money donors are generously funding it. The rightwing-funded American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has supplied “model legislation” and training to Republican state legislators. Endorsers include Mark Meadows, Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott, Sean Hannity, and many more. Convention of States Action (COS), the 501c(4) organization leading the campaign, whose head was a co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, has recruited and deployed volunteers to lobby their legislatures. Read more in The New Republic.
Indiana Lawmakers Trying To Kill Historic Suit Seeking Gun Industry Accountability. For nearly a quarter century, some of the world’s largest gunmakers have tried unsuccessfully to beat back a lawsuit brought by the city of Gary, Indiana, accusing them of turning a blind eye to illegal gun sales. The lawsuit was one of dozens that cities filed against gun manufacturers in the late 1990s, but it is the only one to survive a barrage of legal challenges and legislation aimed at limiting the gun industry’s liability for crimes committed with their products. Now, facing the prospect of turning over internal documents that gun-control advocates believe could contain damning evidence, the industry has returned to an important ally in a last-ditch effort to kill the suit: the state legislature. Republicans, who hold supermajorities in both chambers of the Statehouse, are close to passing a bill banning cities from suing firearm manufacturers, dealers, or trade groups. Instead, only the state could bring such a lawsuit. Significantly, the bill is retroactive to August 27, 1999 — three days before Gary filed its lawsuit. Read the story from ProPublica.
Two Large Offshore Wind Sites are Sending Power to the US Grid for the First Time – The Vineyard Wind project started sending electricity from the first of 62 turbines in a wind farm 15 miles off the coast of Massachusetts. Eversource announced in December that its first turbine was sending electricity from what will be a 12-turbine wind farm 35 miles east of Montauk, NY. Large offshore wind farms have been making electricity for three decades in Europe, and more recently in Asia. These US firsts come in the face of industry setbacks in the US with developers canceling several projects along the East Coast, saying they were no longer financially feasible. Read the Associated Press story in the Republican American.
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SHARE YOUR NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Please send us any news or announcements that you would like us to share with our community. We publish on the first of each month, so please send us any submissions at least one week earlier. Please submit to the editor at salsdemsnews@gmail.com.
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IF YOU LIKE THIS NEWSLETTER, SPREAD THE WORD
Help us have more impact by reaching more people. Please send it along to your friends and let them know that they are free to join our mailing list, regardless of where they live. We are delighted to have readers from anywhere -- Salisbury, the Northwest Corner, or elsewhere else in the world.
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