Tag: 2020 Election

Publicly Arresting Formerly Incarcerated Voters Is Voter Intimidation—Not ‘Election Integrity’

Under the direction of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in August arrested 20 people with felony records for breaking Florida’s elections laws during the 2020 election—even after several officials had explicitly told them that they could legally cast ballots. Some fear these public arrests will have a chilling effect on voter turnout in future elections. Already, the 2022 midterms were the first election in Florida’s history in which registered Republicans outpaced Democrats at the voting booth.

“It’s jarring to think about a grandfather getting pulled from his house by SWAT team for voting in our state,” said Neil Volz, deputy director of Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.

Dismantling the ‘Latino Republican Voter’ Myth—With Voto Latino’s María Teresa Kumar

In the last several years, a popular narrative has emerged: The rise of right-wing extremism has been fueled by a surge in Latino support. María Teresa Kumar, head of Voto Latino, says this is simply untrue. 

Ms. spoke to Kumar to try to understand the proliferation of the ‘Latino Republican voter’ myth. As the head of an organization focusing almost exclusively on engaging young Latino youth in the U.S. political process, she helped me make sense of the election aftermath, the messages she thinks Latino voters sent through the way they voted, and why it’s time for progressives to double-down on Texas.

War on Women Report: Roe v. Wade Overturned; FINA Bans Transgender Women; Sexism and Racism at the Heart of Jan. 6 Attacks

The War on Women was in full force under the Trump administration. While the battle may look different today, we are staying vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching.

This week: the United States Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade; sexism and racism enter the Jan. 6 Attack hearings; FINA bans transgender women from participating in women’s swimming competitions; and more.

The Differences Between UBI and Guaranteed Income Reveal the Importance of Equity

Many anti-poverty groups agree that strategically targeted guaranteed income, not universal basic income, is the best path forward to ending poverty, advancing gender and racial equity and supporting low-income Americans.

That’s why guaranteed income programs like the Magnolia Mother’s Trust (MMT) focus on low-income Black women to address the deeply entrenched economic inequities caused by systemic racism and sexism. MMT moms have used their monthly payments to go back to school, find stable housing, escape predatory cycles of debt and start their own businesses.

January 6 Hearings and the Big Lie’s Ongoing Damage to Democracy

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The January 6 hearings are proving that legislation is necessary to protect our democratic system and stop future attacks. A direct through line exists between 2020 elec­tion denial, the elec­tion sabot­age scheme behind the insur­rection and ongo­ing efforts to thwart the demo­cratic process.

The Big Lie that incited the insur­rec­tion contin­ues to rever­ber­ate across the coun­try, driv­ing bids to undermine voting rights, inter­fere with elect­oral processes and attack impar­tial elec­tion admin­is­trat­ors.

Is the Pipeline of Women Running for Office Broken?

A recent surge of women candidates gives the misleading impression that significant change is afoot. The fact is, women are still very unlikely to run or consider running for elected office, according a new study which shows the political ambition gap between men and women interested in running for office is virtually unchanged in the 20 years.

If the status quo is to change, the strategy for building a pipeline of women willing to run must change.