Mobilizing for Change

Inclusive Democracy

Appeals court strikes down North Carolina’s voter-ID law

Posted by on Jul 29, 2016 in Blog, Inclusive Democracy

Appeals court strikes down North Carolina’s voter-ID law

A federal appeals court on Friday struck down North Carolina’s requirement that voters show identification before casting ballots and reinstated an additional week of early voting. The decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit was an overwhelming victory for the Justice Department and civil rights groups that argued the voting law was designed to dampen the growing political clout of African American voters, who participated in record numbers in elections in 2008 and 2012. “We can only conclude that...

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Some say it’s time California had statewide rules for provisional ballots

Posted by on Jul 25, 2016 in Blog, Inclusive Democracy

Some say it’s time California had statewide rules for provisional ballots

Once reserved for emergency situations, provisional ballots were freely handed out across California on June 7 as a LA Times analysis finds they were used by more than one of every five primary voters who showed up at a polling place.

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Union-Tribune: Social justice group pushes for voter registration

Posted by on Jul 12, 2016 in Blog, Inclusive Democracy

Union-Tribune: Social justice group pushes for voter registration

A Faith that Does Justice — an interfaith organization based at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Barrio Logan that said it’s focused on fostering social, political and economic changes — is hosting outreach events. Its aims are to encourage residents to apply for U.S. citizenship, register to vote or pledge to vote. The next drive is scheduled for 8 a.m. until noon Aug. 7 at the church, 1770 Kearney Ave.  “Voter turnout in impoverished Latino communities is historically low,” said Peter Gyves, a physician, Jesuit priest and founder...

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California Voters Will Vote A Lot in November

Posted by on Jul 5, 2016 in Blog, Inclusive Democracy

California Voters Will Vote A Lot in November

California is again testing how much democracy is too much, with voters facing up to 18 ballot questions in November that could end the death penalty, cut into the cost of prescription drugs and free marijuana smokers to legally light up in the nation’s most populous state. The cascade of proposals is certain to create confusion at the ballot box, along with fresh criticism that the state’s system of direct democracy has run amok. Low voter turnout in 2014 meant campaigns needed relatively few signatures to qualify for the...

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San Marcos poised to shake up voting system

Posted by on Jun 22, 2016 in Blog, Inclusive Democracy

San Marcos poised to shake up voting system

San Marcos is poised to become the second North County city to elect City Council members by district, after being threatened with a lawsuit alleging its at-large elections disenfranchise Latino voters. Mayor Jim Desmond said Tuesday that nothing’s set in stone, but that the proposed change will be hammered out in public hearings in the coming weeks and months. He said it was “prudent” to move to district elections in the face of a potential lawsuit. The city was put on notice in December when Malibu-based attorney Kevin Shenkman sent a...

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Get-Out-The-Vote Mural Goes Up In City Heights

Posted by on Jun 17, 2016 in Blog, Inclusive Democracy

Get-Out-The-Vote Mural Goes Up In City Heights

By Megan Burks, KPBS This month’s election is over. But for community nonprofits in San Diego City Council District 9, the effort to get out the vote has just begun. The council district is home to one of San Diego’s lowest turnout precincts in City Heights and one of its highest in Kensington. KPBS, as part of its California Counts election coverage, has been focusing on this area and what it would take to get more people to go to the polls. The banner went up this week on the facade of the YMCA on the border of City Heights and...

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San Diego voters could change the way local officials are elected

Posted by on Jun 16, 2016 in Blog, Inclusive Democracy

San Diego voters could change the way local officials are elected

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – San Diego voters could decide this fall on a proposal to do away with outright victories by candidates who win a majority of votes in primary elections. The proposal by the Independent Voter Project would send the top two vote-getters to the November general election no matter what percentage they receive. It was referred to the City Attorney’s Office for further study on a 3-2 vote of the City Council’s Rules Committee today. Findings will be presented to the full City Council, perhaps next month. Read...

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Mobilizing the Vote with Alliance San Diego

Posted by on Jun 3, 2016 in Blog, Inclusive Democracy

Mobilizing the Vote with Alliance San Diego

With this being an important election year, we sat down with Brisa Johnson, Civic Engagement Manager at Alliance San Diego, to talk about the Spring Civic Engagement Program. Who are you? My name is Brisa Johnson and I am the Civic Engagement Manager at Alliance San Diego. What is the Civic Engagement Program (CEP)? The Civic Engagement Program is designed to increase civic participation and build power in historically marginalized communities of San Diego. The CEP develops community leaders and their capacity to become agents of...

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Militarization in San Diego

Posted by on Jun 3, 2016 in Blog, Inclusive Democracy

Militarization in San Diego

By Ashley Walker Public safety is an issue this election season, but the events of last Friday leave voters asking the question, public safety for whom? When city leaders talk about what they will do to protect the public, who are they talking about, who is being protected, and who is being patrolled? Last Friday, the City of San Diego deployed the largest law enforcement presence that San Diego has seen in recent memory. The presence of hundreds of police, some in uniform, some in plain clothes, and some equipped with riot gear and armored...

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Dozens Of Ferguson Protesters Were Charged Under A Bad Law. Now They Could Be Arrested Again.

Posted by on Jun 1, 2016 in Blog, Inclusive Democracy

Dozens Of Ferguson Protesters Were Charged Under A Bad Law. Now They Could Be Arrested Again.

ST. LOUIS — Officials in St. Louis County have issued warrants for the arrest of at least 47 individuals charged in connection with the August 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri, a Huffington Post review of court records has found. But the law that county officials are using to prosecute those protesters — some of whom were originally arrested while standing on the sidewalk — should have come off the books in 1987, when the Supreme Court struck down a similar ordinance as unconstitutional. It gets worse: Because St. Louis County...

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