Bring Your Passion to the Polls
How Your Issue Relates to the 2020 Elections
This year, UUs will continue our justice ministries focused on the issues that matter most to each of us. And we will bring our passions to the polls.
In this political moment, we can powerfully show what is possible when we move together as determined faith communities in relationship with movements for justice. In UUA’s UU The Vote toolkit, individuals were asked to share what they thought the stakes were, and how electoral justice relates to their on-going work in some of the myriad justice issues many UU’s and congregations work on:
Climate Justice
LGBTQI Justice
Trans Lives
Resisting Criminalization
Migrant Justice
Racial Justice
Economic Justice
Reproductive Justice
Building Democracy
Disability Justice
Intersectionality
Legal/Sentencing Justice (Wrongful Convictions)
GETTING OUT THE VOTE – RIGHT NOW!
Voter registration, combating voter suppression, voter education postcards/letters, texting, telephoning
RECLAIM OUR VOTE
- Action Network (a campaign of Center for Common Ground)
- Focused on combating voter suppression in 6+ states.
- 15 or more partners, including UUA’s UUtheVote campaign.
- UUCCtheVote ROV liaison: Gail Holm gailholm@gmail.com.
- Join UUCC volunteers or sign up individually on the ROV website.
SPREAD THE VOTE
- Spread the Vote
- Focused on helping people in 12 voter ID states to obtain the IDs they need for life and to vote. Printable voter info for 50 states; printable voter ID education
cards for approximately 35 states. - UUCC info: Ken Rock krockster@yahoo.com
VOTE FORWARD
- Vote Forward
- Focused on 12+ states for a ‘big send’ of 10 million letters just a week before Nov. 3.
- Studies confirm that last-minute reminders do help turn out the vote.
- UUCC the Vote project: Ken Rock krockster@yahoo.com.
- Join UUCC volunteers or sign up individually – votefwd.org
“ASK YOUR COLLEGE”
- Contact Ask Your College for an Action Kit.
- Non-partisan campaign urging colleges & universities to register all students & empower them to vote. Check to see if your college is participating!
- An initiative of Civic Nation’s “All In Campus Democracy Challenge”.
- UUCC contact: Laurie Alderman laurie.alderman@gmail.com
WISCONSIN VOICES
Year-round citizen engagement on state-wide progressive change & expanding the electorate, with emphasis on under-represented constituencies.
- UUtheVote’s state-wide organizer partnering with them: Nora Rasman nrasman@uua.org.
- UUCC contact: Melanie Milner melaniemilner@yahoo.com
WISCONSIN VOICES is an affiliate of STATE VOICES – a national network of 20+ states. Check for your home state or a particular 2020 strategic state.
SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCACY PARTNERS
Building Democracy — Money in Politics
GET MONEY OUT – MARYLAND
Through work on Maryland’s Democracy Amendment Resolution, pursuing a U.S. Constitutional amendment to guarantee every citizen’s right to vote, reserve Constitutional rights for human beings, & regulate big money in politics. Bi-weekly updates on Congressional Covid-19 relief bills, including vote-by-mail efforts & funding for states’ elections work.
2020: Securing position statements on H.J.R. 48 (see Move to Amend) from candidates for 33 U.S. Senate seats up for election.
UUCC contact: Doug Miller beacon7712@comcast.net
MOVE TO AMEND
Coalition working toward a Constitutional amendment to end corporate personhood & to establish that money is not a form of protected free speech. “We the People” Amendment H.R. 48 currently has 74 U.S. House co-sponsors. The UUA, UUSC, & 25+ UU congregations are endorsing organizations.
2020 “Pledge to Amend” campaign gathering candidate signatures – to inform the public as to where their candidates & representatives stand on H.R. 48.
INTERFAITH CAUCUS OF MOVE TO AMEND
Adding faith communities’ values, with emphasis on MTA’s work’s being essential to our ability to address global warming.
UU contact: Michael Greenman, First UU, Columbus, OH. mgreenmanoh@gmail.com
GLOBAL WARMING – CLIMATE CHANGE
UUCC CLIMATE CHANGE – 2U4C
Exploring & participating in ways to mitigate climate change & preserve our planet, at uucolumbia.net/climate-change
UUCC contact: Mary Rodgers climateaction@uucolumbia.net
UU LEGISLATIVE MINISTRY OF MARYLAND
State-wide legislative advocacy network of issue-focused task forces. Member Maryland Climate Coalition.
UUCC contact: Phil Webster, Chair, Climate Change Task Force phil.webster@me.com
350.ORG
Global grassroots movement to address & solve the climate crisis. 10-year history & 10-year future view, emphasizing intersectionality of global warming with myriad social justice issues.
2020 campaign: to mobilize the movement toward candidate-support of climate justice policies. Sign up to join & help at www.act.350.org/survey/2020-election-survey.
SUNRISE MOVEMENT EDUCATION FUND
Supports education & awareness efforts of young people’s Sunrise Movement’s plan to make climate change an urgent priority across America.
GUN SAFETY
MOMS DEMAND ACTION
- Moms Demand Action
- Grassroots movement fighting for public safety gun measures.
- Chapters in every state & affiliated with
EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY Support Fund
- www.everytown.org
- Moms, mayors, survivors & students – participating in campaigns
- seeks to improve our understanding of the causes of gun violence & solutions to reduce it; research & education.
GUN SENSE VOTER CAMPAIGNS
- Gun Sense Voter
- Identifying state- & national-level candidates that demonstrate that they will govern with gun safety in mind.
- UUCC contact: Debi Lattimer lattimertp@gmail.com
- Andrea LeWinter – MOMS HoCo elections contact
LGBTQ+
NATIONAL EQUALITY ACTION TEAM
- NEAT
- Collaborative actions & partnerships so anyone, anywhere can work for LGBTQ+ justice everywhere.
- UU the Vote partner
- UUA contact: Rev. Michael J. Crumpler mcrumpler@uua.org
NATIVE AMERICAN ELECTIONS PARTICIPATION 2020
THE CARTER CENTER FORUM ON HUMAN RIGHTS
- Carter Center Roundtables
- Scroll ‘Roundtables’ to May 29, 2020.
RACIAL JUSTICE
BLACK LIVES MATTER
Global movement to combat implicit bias & racism. “What Matters 2020” campaign focused on voter registration, education & engagement.
- www.blacklivesmatterDMV.org
- UUCC contact: Jen Hayashi calamityjen69@comcast.net
LIVING LEGACY PROJECT
Recognizing the importance of the Civil Rights Movement story & what it teaches us about the continued work of today.
- 2020: monthly on-line series “Voting Rights – The Struggle Continues”. www.uulivinglegacy.org
- UUCC contact: John Harris johnw@harris.net
SHOWING UP FOR RACIAL JUSTICE – SURJ
Network of groups & individuals working to bring white people into an accountable multiracial movement.
Contact: UUtheVote National Team voting@uua.org and, 4 Maryland chapters on SURJ website.