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Democratizing Elections Call back some faint spirit of Jefferson and Lincoln, and when again we can hold a fair election on real issues, let's vote, and not till then. Is this impossible? Then democracy in America is impossible. ~ W.E.B. DuBois
Many Americans believe that voting is either irrelevant as a tactic for pursuing genuine democratic social change, or that casting and counting ballots is the sum total of democracy. Although current U.S. elections are indeed a farce, elections have the potential to play a necessary role in ensuring that people can meaningfully participate in making the decisions that affect their lives.
Liberty Tree's Democratizing Elections Program strives to fundamentally transform U.S. elections by nurturing a powerful new voting rights movement that will implement the fundamental and systemic electoral reforms defined in the "Voter Bill of Rights." Organizing ResourcesRuckus: A Call for Nonviolent Direct ActionThe Ruckus Society has developed an election-focused action toolkit you'll want to check out. We also recommend United for Peace and Justice's non-violent direct action resources. Voter Bill of RightsFrom unreliable electronic voting machines and millions of uncounted ballots, to partisan election officials and 10-hour waits at the polls, it is clear that our electoral system is in dire need of an overhaul. To build a more just, secure, and robust democracy, please support the following 10-point Voter Bill of Rights . . . NewsElection observers: Facebook, text messages aim to suppress youth turnoutDate: November 4, 2008PSN: Voting by Mail and Before Election Day: States Open Multiple Paths to the Ballot BoxDate: April 13, 2009PSN: Washington State Legislature and Nevada Assembly Pass National Popular VoteDate: April 23, 2009Take ActionSupport Fair Elections Now!source: Public CitizenDon't Let Them Steal --THIS-- Election (12/12/08)source: No More Stolen Elections!Move to Amend: Overrule the Supreme Courtsource: Campaign to Legalize DemocracyEventsU.S. Social Forum II(June 22, 2009 - June 26, 2010)Another World is Possible! Another U.S.A. is necessary! Democracy Track at the U.S. Social ForumThe Democracy Track is a series of sessions and community spaces at the U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta, Georgia, June 27-July 1, 2007. The purpose of these sessions is to centralize democracy in all of our everyday struggles. Extending Democracy w/The Progressive, Manski, Farsetta, Gray, Wellstone(May 1, 2009 - May 2, 2009)Major speakers include Robert Redford, Amy Goodman, Naomi Klein, Barbara Ehrenreich, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and the editorial staff of the Progressive Magazine. Liberty Tree's Ben Manski, together with various members of Liberty Tree's Board of Directors and Board of Advisors -- John Nichols and Robert McChesney, among them -- will also be speaking at this exciting event. Publications & TalksVIDEO: Building a Democracy Movement in the USACheck out a short video from "BUILDING A DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES", a workshop by Liberty Tree Fellows Benjamin, Cobb, Manski, and Robinson, one of about 100 sessions at the 2006 Midwest Social Forum. La FOLLETTE: July 4, 1897 on the Dangers Threatening Representative GovernmentConsidered among the several most significant speeches of the great radical reformer, Fighting Bob La Follette, we offer these excerpts to you 112 years later. NICHOLS: Special Report on the 2008 Elections(November 5, 2008)"A great democracy that is home to a very busy people ought not ask citizens to wait up to eight hours to cast their ballots, But that is precisely what America has done during the course of this most volatile and critical of election seasons." |
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~ Simón Bolivar