Weekly Call To Action - October 3, 2021

​Take Two Actions Now:

Redistricting Legislative District Comments Needed 

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​We need you to send testimony to the Redistricting Commissioners ASAP!

Washington State has a five member Redistricting Commission (2 Democrat and 2 Republican Commissioners and one non-voting moderator). Each voting Commissioner develops a map. Those maps have now been made available for public comment.

Here are the four maps proposed by the commissioners for Legislative Redistricting. If three commissioners can not agree on one map then the matter is sent to the State Supreme court. If this does go to court, your comments will provide evidence for our principles and values.  

When you look at the Legislative maps drawn by the Republican commissioners Graves and Fain, it’s obvious that they made every effort to draw districts to their political advantage. In just about every swing district in the state, they gerrymandered the district to move it from a swing district to lean Republican as well as protect their incumbents. They had to pull out all the stops and ignore the stated criteria of the commission to do this. 

Personalize your comments if possible. Read guidance from the League of Women Voters: How to write effective testimony. Written testimony is due to the commission by Oct 22.
League of Women Voters map specialist Alison McCaffree provides analysis for additional detail.  
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Action 1: Submit a Comment:

• ​​Submit Your Comment Online using this web form
  ​OR 
• Submit Comment By Email
  You can email your public comment in any language to: comment@redistricting.wa.gov . 

Email Subject Line: Legislative District Testimony

Script: I'm [NAME] from [CITY], [ZIP] .  My top concern for Legislative Redistricting is to keep these communities of interest together: 

• Tribal populations 
• Racial and ethnic communities 
• Build majority BIPOC districts
• Areas of shared economic, environmental and transportation common interests

 
Keeping communities of common interest together is more important than district competitiveness. I ask for fair and equitable representation without regard to party interests.

I urge you to adopt either the Sims or the Walkinshaw map because they have the least political bias, keep communities of interest together and are the best for respecting tribal sovereignty. 

Thanks for your consideration

Note:
You can also testify in person at the October 5, 7:00 pm-10:00 pm Commission Outreach Meeting. Learn how to testify and comment from The League of Women Voters . Democrats Testimony training video.

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Stop Pushing Voting Rights to the Back of the Bus

​​McConnell is using the filibuster to tie up the Senate so that Democrats won't have time to address voting rights. To date,17 new laws have been passed by Republican states to overturn legitimate election outcomes, but our Senate Democrats remain focused on economic reform rather than voting rights. They need to prioritize voting rights NOW, or we will lose our Democracy.

Action 2: Contact your Senators

• Senator Patty Murray, Phone: 253-572-3636 (Tacoma); 202-224-2621‬ (D.C.) or Contact Form 
• Senator Maria Cantwell, Phone 253-572-2281 (Tacoma); 202- 224-3441‬ (D.C.) or Contact Form 

• Email both your MOCs at once using Democracy.io. 

Script: May name is_________. I am from Olympia Indivisible. My zip code is ________. Every day that passes, more Republican-led state legislatures are passing laws to end free and fair elections. With 17 new state laws that authorize the subversion of legitimate election outcomes, the future of Democracy is on the brink. Our house is on fire, but instead of prioritizing passage of voting rights legislation, Senate Democrats are facing off with each other over economic reforms. Meanwhile, McConnell steadily uses filibusters to bring all work to a standstill. His plan is to delay any action on voting rights until it’s too late.

I want Senate Democrats and Senate Democratic leadership to stop pushing voting rights to the back of the bus. Make filibuster reform and the passage of voting rights legislation your number one priority. Not next week, not next month. RIGHT NOW.

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You Are Needed

URGENT! Elections Ballot Observer Training
Monday, October 4th 2:00-3:30 PM

​​Observe Ballot Processing and Counting
Republicans in Thurston County are mobilizing to observe ballot processing and counting, and there is concern that they will create an inaccurate narrative of our local elections process and security. We need to make sure that this process is nonpartisan and fair. 

When and Where Will I Observe
All observing is done at the Thurston County Elections Ballot Processing Center in two hour shifts in the days (5-7 business days) following the Nov 2nd general election. 

Training Tomorrow, Oct 4, 2:00-3:30 PM
If you can help, please attend the ballot observer training this Monday, October 4th from 2:00-3:30 PM. Registration is not required; just show up at the designated time and location. 

Location
2905 29th Ave SW, Suites E and F, Tumwater, WA 98512
Click here for printable map and directions.

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Supporting Our Candidates

Urgent! Postcards for Joel Hansen

Bad news! Printing for Joel Hansen’s final campaign mailers got delayed and those mailers will not be available until a week after ballot drop. 

Good news! Joel’s campaign has 1,000 GOTV for Joel postcards available. 

What we need: We need volunteers to get these postcards written and into the mailbox on October 7th! 

Can we do this? Yes, we can, with your help. We’re gonna make this easy and fun. We’re even hosting a Zoom postcard-writing party this Tuesday (October 5) from 12-1:30pm. And we’ll even deliver the cards to you if that’s what you need to take action!

Action: Please, please, please sign up TODAY to do a pack of 25 postcards for Joel. Each pack includes postcards, stamps, addresses, & instructions. Just send an email to getpostcards22@gmail.com ​and 

• tell Melinda how many packs you want, 
• if you want to sign up for the Zoom postcard party, and
• if you need your postcards delivered.
  (If you can pick up your postcards, that’s a big help, and Melinda will share information about how to do this--the pickup location is close to the San Francisco Street Bakery). 

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Want to Help Our Endorsed Lacey and Thurston County Candidates Win?
October 9th and 10th

​​Here is an upcoming opportunity to support Robin Vazquez and Carolyn Cox (for Lacey City Council) and Joel Hansen (for Port Commissioner).

Jubilee Lit Drop and Doorbelling Weekend 

Volunteers are being asked to: 

• distribute literature 
• doorbelling

Meet in the picnic pavilion at 4875 Vashon Dr NE, Lacey, WA 98516

Shifts

• 10:00 am - 12:00 pm, Saturday, October 9th
• 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm, Saturday, October 9th
• 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm, Sunday, October 10th

Registration
Use this registration link for signing up for a shift.

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Upcoming Opportunities To Sign Wave For Your Preferred Candidates

​Sign Waving Thru the November 2nd Election
Joel Hansen’s campaign is hosting coordinated sign-waving days through the November 2nd Election for County, School Board and Municipal Candidates! We have multiple days, times and locations to choose from and more may be added soon. We look forward to having you join us!

Between 1.5 - 2 Hours in Length for Each Shift
These events will range between 1.5-2 hours in length and will be socially
distanced.

Signs
We will provide some signs, but we ask that you bring your own if possible.

Waving For
We will be waving for and with candidates in the following races:

• Port of Olympia Commissioner District 2
• Port of Olympia Commissioner District 3
• Olympia School Board
• Lacey City Council
• Tumwater City Council
• Olympia City Council
  
  

Sign Up
We're using SignUp.com to organize our upcoming signwaving events. Sign up! It's easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com.
Here's how SignUp works in two easy steps:

1. Click this link to see our SignUp sheet
2. Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.

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Questions?
Contact Rory Summerson by emailing the campaign at info@votejoel.org with questions.

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2021 General Election Candidate Forums

The League of Women Voters of Thurston County (LWVTC), in collaboration with Thurston Community Media (TC Media), invites voters to view candidate forums featuring candidates for:

• Port of Olympia Commissioners, Districts 2 and 3 (OI Endorsed Candidates: Joel Hansen and Bob Iyall)
• Olympia City Council, Positions 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7
• Lacey City Council, Positions 4 & 7 (OI Endorsed Candidate: Robin Vazquez and Carolyn Cox)
• Tumwater City Council, Position 6
• Olympia School District Directors, Districts 3 and 5
• North Thurston School District Directors, Districts 2 and 4.

The forums are now available on Comcast Channel 77 and are available via YouTube. They can also be accessed through the League’s website at Candidate Forums - League of Women Voters of Thurston County (lwvthurston.org). 

Also, check the OI website for more information on our endorsed candidates.

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Have you scheduled these events? 

Town Hall in Support of Accountability of Elected Officials
 Tuesday, Oct 12, 7:00pm - 8:00pm

​Join Washington Indivisible Network (WIN) for a town hall discussion with Attorney General Bob Ferguson!

There's a lot to talk about.

This town hall will be moderated by Stephan Cox, Washington State Indivisible Podcast, and will be recorded.

Action: Register for this Town Hall​

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Olympia Indivisible All-Member Meeting:
How are you feeling? How do we move forward?

In early 2021, many Olympia Indivisible members stepped away from political engagement. If you’re one of those people, you're entitled. All of us need and deserve to take breathers from this work of defending democracy: time to do self-care, time to care for others. Although we hoped for ease and relief after four difficult years, there’s been plenty of trouble in 2021, between pandemic fatigue, catastrophic climate change in our region, and discouraging developments on our political landscape.

If we as a group want to continue to give a damn about the future for our planet and for our nation's battered, increasingly threatened democracy, we also have to make space to be real about how we are feeling as individuals about what’s happening now, and find ways to to support each other and move forward.

We want to invite everyone in Olympia Indivisible to come to a

• One-hour all-member Zoom gathering 
• Tuesday, October 19th at 7pm

Come share your feelings or simply be with your fellow Indivisiblers as we create a space for acknowledgement, acceptance, fellowship, and resilience. A first step in our planning for 2022!

This gathering will be facilitated by OI member Melinda H., a veteran mental wellness counselor. 

Action: Register here for this Tuesday, October 19, at 7:00 pm meeting. ​