Updates from the Justice for All Circle: Let's Flip Pennsylvania
This week was bad. Here's what we can do.
OK, we just needed to get that out of our system. It’s been a bad week. But here at Justice for All we're funneling that energy into action. Time to dig in and work.
You are getting this newsletter because you said yes—yes to democracy, yes to the importance of flipping state legislatures, yes to the power of taking collective action. Thank you for saying yes.
Together we’ve raised more than $180,000 to flip the PA legislature blue.
With the future of the Supreme Court uncertain, the work we’re doing is more important than ever. The Supreme Court doesn't write laws—it rules on laws, many of which are written in state legislatures. State legislatures are where anti-abortion bills are passed, where voter suppression is institutionalized, where racist district maps are drawn (and 2020 is a redistricting year). If we don’t trust the courts to protect us from anti-democratic majorities, then we have to win control of the legislatures where policy is made. Starting in Pennsylvania.
This is a fight we can win. PA Governor Tom Wolf (a Democrat) won re-election by 17% in 2018—and he won 41 districts with GOP-held House seats. We only need to flip 9 seats in the House and 4 in the Senate to achieve a Democratic trifecta, which could immediately improve the lives of millions of Pennsylvanians. Flipping only one chamber would also prevent Republicans from gerrymandering the state Supreme Court in addition to Congressional voting districts.
In 2018, a competitive PA House race cost ~$225k, and Senate seats are even more expensive. The money we’ve raised is already being distributed directly to candidates in critical districts in Pennsylvania where Future Now Fund sees a strong path to victory. It’s also funding persuasion mailers, relational organizing (digital tools for volunteers reaching out to friends and contacts in the district), research on split-ticket voters, and more. More to come on how our money is being used to flip the legislature and support these candidates. In the meantime…
Here are five actions you can take:
Get one friend to an organizing call: We have a fundraising zoom on October 8th at 8:30pm ET where we will be encouraging others to join Justice for All’s Circle so we can meet our fundraising goal. Here is the link to the call and you can simply forward this newsletter to your friends.
Register underrepresented PA voters. PA Stands Up is registering voters in underrepresented groups. They need people to make calls every Thursday between 4pm and 8pm ET. Sign up here.
Volunteer to Phone Bank for Marlene Katz. One of our candidates, Marlene Katz, needs more volunteers to phone bank. If you’re available, fill out this form indicating that you are willing to volunteer.
In-person leaflet dropping in PA. On Saturdays between now and Election Day, there will be socially distanced, remote leaflet dropping in Pennsylvania. There will be no interacting with voters, but it is an opportunity to share literature on behalf of Pennsylvania candidates with voters. If you’re interested, please contact Scott Fischer at scottkevin.fischer@yahoo.com
Sign up to volunteer in PA on election day. Turn PA Blue is collecting the names of volunteers who will be available on election day to help out (voter info hotline, poll worker, etc.). Sign up here. Bonus points if you’re an attorney.
We’ll be sharing more ways to get involved in the countdown to Election Day. In the meantime, you can learn more about the state of play in PA with these resources:
Meet Our PA Candidates (Future Now Fund)
Why Pennsylvania Could Decide the 2020 Election (Five Thirty Eight)
PA Senate Approves Judicial Gerrymandering Bill (TheSupremeCourts.org)
Want to dismantle structural racism in the US? Help fight gerrymandering (The Guardian)
Thank you for being a part of Justice for All! Onward!