Happy Hump Day, Shit Givers.
Yesterday was National Run For Office Day, an event organized by our besties at Run For Something Civics. The goal of the day is to celebrate civic leadership and increase representation at every level of government.
But just because it was officially yesterday doesn’t mean the work stops! The people who make the decisions about your schools, roads, water, and rights all ran for something (and many of them ran unopposed!)
So this week’s issue is all about actions to build a stronger democracy, whether that’s running for office or restructuring the infrastructure (my favorite word) around it. It’s going to be a little more US-heavy today (sorry, international folks!), but scroll to the last section for ways we can prop up civic participation globally.
Let’s go.
— Willow
Someone has to run. Why not you?
Down-ballot races are often decided by dozens (dozens!) of votes, and many seats go uncontested. Running for public office is intimidating, I get it, but that’s why these amazing organizations exist to recruit and support candidates every step of the way. And if you know that public office definitely isn’t for you, there’s lots of other ways you can participate:
Run For Something recruits and supports young progressives for down-ballot races all over the US. (go)
The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund fills a critical pipeline gap by increasing LGBTQ+ representation at every level of government. (go)
Climate Cabinet elects climate champions to state and local office, which is great because this is where most climate policy actually gets implemented. (go)
Detroit Action is obviously Detroit specific, but it’s a great model for building Black political power at the local level. (go)
School board elections have particularly low turnout, but enormous impact. Run for School Board exists specifically to address this. (go)
Fight for the vote
You can’t have democracy without voters, and right now, voting rights are under active attack. We’ve been shouting about the SAVE Act for the past few weeks as it makes its way through Congress. First step is to keep calling your representatives about it, and then go ahead and check out these organizations:
THE Stacey Abrams’ organization Fair Fight is on the front lines of voter protection and election integrity. (go)
Florida Rising is doing the ground-level work of voter registration and civic engagement in one of the most consequential states in the country. (go)
Voters of Tomorrow focuses on engaging young voters so they show up to the polls. (go)
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Fix the game, not just the players
Even when people run and vote, the rules of the game can be rigged. Gerrymandering, dark money, and first-past-the-post-voting unfairly tips the scales. Things like small donor matching and donor disclosure are policy levers that these organizations are moving:
The States Project flips state legislatures, which is where redistricting, abortion access, voting laws, and most policy that affects daily life actually gets decided. (go)
RepresentUS works on all the structural stuff, like anti-corruption legislation, ranked choice voting, and gerrymandering reform. (go)
3.14 Action brings scientists and STEM professionals into policy and elected office. Evidence-based governance requires people who understand evidence! (go)
And another thing!
Democracy requires participants, and you can’t have a democracy that works for everyone if half the population is cut out of it before they’re old enough to vote. If we believe in democracy, we need to make sure everyone gets to participate in their own society, everywhere.
Child marriage removes girls from civic life (no education, no economic independence, no political voice). 12 million girls a year. Girls Not Brides is the global partnership working to end it. (go)
Girls’ secondary education is the pipeline to political participation. The Malala Fund explicitly connects girls’ education to democracy. (go)
Co-Impact funds large-scale systems change in the Global South across health, education, and civic participation. They are one of the few funders that invest in government accountability infrastructure at scale in low- and middle-income countries. (go)
Every school board seat, every state legislative race, every city council position is a vacancy waiting to be filled by someone (like you!) who gives a shit. The people who show up are the people who shape the world for those that don’t. So show up!
Thank you — as always — for giving a shit.
— Willow
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