We’re all too familiar with the landscape: Toxic campaign ads, candidates who do nothing but ask for your money and tell you what you want to hear, and at the end of the day one narrative to rule them all- don’t waste your vote on a candidate who isn’t “electable.”
This self-fulfilling prophecy puts the power of American politics soundly in the hands of those who get to decide who is “electable.” The result is a political landscape owned by big money donors and corporate media. …
Today’s vocabulary lesson:
• Agent Provocateur: An infiltrator planted to seed chaos, start violence, or otherwise undermine and discredit a movement from the inside.
• Violence: Causes physical or emotional injury and bodily harm to an individual.
• Vandalism: Destroys or defaces property, causing economic harm to the owner.
Do: Stand in solidarity- Don’t allow violence in your community. Don’t be a bystander. Stand up for people when you witness injustice.
Don’t: allow agent provocateurs in your community or organization- Don’t let them undermine or discredit your protest. Don’t fall for it, and DON’T follow them.
Note: White people rising…
Lane County petitioners celebrate historic first campaign to institute STAR Voting
Eugene, OR, November 6th, 2018. Campaign organizers and volunteers gathered Tuesday night to watch the election returns roll in for the world’s first campaign to institute STAR Voting in public elections. STAR Voting would have replaced Lane County’s “Top Two” primary/general election system with a single November election using STAR Voting. STAR Voting allows voters to support candidates on a 0–5 scale, and elects the majority favorite between the two top-scoring candidates. Although the final tally was 42.0% in favor and 46.4% opposed, with 11.6% …
STAR Voting For Lane County Initiative approved for November ballot: New voting system sets critical precedent for fair elections
By Mark Frohnmayer, Hallie Roberts, Alan Zundel, and Sara Wolk
Eugene, Oregon — June 6, 2018 — The STAR Voting For Lane County Campaign announced today that Lane County Elections officials have certified more than the 11,506 required signatures needed to qualify a County Charter Amendment for the November 6th, 2018 ballot. The STAR Voting initiative would change the voting method for elected county officials.
Currently, Lane County has a non-partisan primary and then a top-two general election. The STAR Voting initiative would replace both elections with a single November election using the STAR Voting method.
In the new STAR…
by Sara Wolk, Chief Petitioner for “STAR Voting for Multnomah County” and PDX chapter leader for The Equal Vote Coalition and Represent.Portland
Necessity is the mother of invention and not surprisingly this has been a groundbreaking year for election reform. In Oregon the Equal Vote Coalition is collecting signatures for twin ballot initiatives in Multnomah and Lane Counties to fundamentally change the way we vote. If successful, we will have elections for the first time EVER where the voting system doesn’t play favorites, where every vote makes a difference, and where voting your conscience is the best strategy. …
Imagine if you could vote your conscience and never vote for the lesser of two evils again… What if you knew that your vote would make a difference, even if your favorite wasn’t going to win? What if our voting system wasn’t rigged to favor some voters and parties over others and we were all on an even playing field? The basic principle of democracy is “For the people, by the people”. If we can’t safely express what we want, then this is not a Democracy!
The problem:
We all know that democracy is broken. In our current voting system…
Sara Wolk
Systems design, election reform, music, regenerative agriculture, natural building.
