๐Ÿœ Flexing Native Voting Power Against a GOP-Controlled Arizona

Part III: Our Southwest Swing State GOTV Election Roadtrip

Sam Chavez
Sam Chavez

Welcome Back! ๐Ÿ‘‹๐Ÿผ

๐Ÿœ๏ธ
We are highlighting our Southwest Swing State Roadtrip this month! Each week, I will report from and highlight key swing states or districts and reflect back on past newsletter topics that will impact the 2024 U.S. Election. This week, we land in Arizona where we learn more about Indigenous rights and the Right's state takeover that we can reverse. Read on for more...

In Case You Missed It: ๐Ÿœ Feeding America, Demanding More in the Central Valley

Flexing Native Voting Power

After leaving California, my first voter outreach stop was in a rural part of Arizona that few frequent: Whiteriver, AZ

A messy me (right) with organizers from the Northeast Arizona Native Democrats and Jonathan Nez, Arizona House candidate

I was in this small town in Navajo county that is east of Phoenix to add an extra hand to the Northeast Arizona Native Democrats (NEAND).

I originally learned about them in 2020 through Swing Left and have been supporting them ever since. They have been organizing across Navajo county for years in a year-round approach to organizing and community support. Their core mission is to get out the Native vote and educate folks about voting and its importance. When it comes to Navajo county, it is a big task to talk with Native voters across the reservation and adjacent rural towns. Their cars and trucks have the mileage and dirt stains to prove that their efforts are paying off and allowing Native voters to see and flex their electoral strength.

In Arizona, Indigenous people are over 6 percent of the population, or more than 424,000 people as of 2018. Thatโ€™s pretty important considering that Biden won Arizona by just over 10,000 votes.

Interestingly, Republicans also recognize the power of Indigenous voters. During the voter outreach picnic event I volunteered at, we heard from some of the voters who came over for lunch about the voter suppression tactics that GOP agitators were attempting at the polling location across the street. One voter told me that someone was telling voters that today was the early voting day for Republicans and that they would have to come back for the Democrat early voting day. This is a provable lie, but one that is easily believable when voter information is not readily available. Unfortunately, this kind of voter intimidation or attempts to suppress Democratic vote are happening all across Arizona. When the election will come down to the margin of effort, the GOP would rather cheat and steal than turn out voters to their policies.

The Down-Ballot Potential for Arizona

Republicans are reacting with voter suppression and fear, because Arizona is a battleground state across every step of the ballot.

  • President: This is one of the tightest swing states in the country and the polls show a complete toss-up. Biden won the state by only 10,000 votes so turnout is what will determine the outcome.
  • Senate: Ruben Gallego can help Democrats keep and maybe expand the Senate. This is a key win, because we can pass voting rights reform if we expand our Senate majority and remove the filibuster with Krysten Sinema now out of the way.
  • House: I was lucky enough to meet Jonathan Nez who is running for Congress in Arizonaโ€™s District 2. He would be the first tribal leader to serve in Congress if elected. He understands the need for progressive action to better support communities that have historically been left behind. (Follow our Instagram for more updates)
  • State Senate: The GOP has kept a tight grip on Arizonaโ€™s state government for nearly 60 years with extreme gerrymandering despite having a Democratic Governor. Democrats have a chance to flip both chambers thanks to enthusiasm against the GOPs more extreme measures. I was lucky enough to canvass for three Democrats (Nicholas Gonzales, Brandy Reese, and Sharon Winters) in the Phoenix suburbs this weekend.
  • Ballot measures: Speaking of, Arizona voters have a chance to roll back an 1864 law that the Arizona GOP brought back from the dead by voting Yes on Prop 139. ๐ŸงŸ Talk about spooky! ๐Ÿ‘ป We've seen the most signs for this effort, especially when we got snowed in at Flagstaff, AZ.

The Status Quo Is Going Backwards

Having Prop 139 on the ballot is huge for Arizona, because it has a chance to boost turnout. And when turnout is high, abortion wins. As Iโ€™ve reflected in my newsletter, abortion is a winning issue. In every election, ballot measure, and special election since Roe v. Wade was overturned where abortion has been on the ballot, abortion has won.

Our Overton window is shifting beneath our feet and our leaders are hardly batting an eye compared to the urgency of the moment. While I'm not an abortion expert, I follow them online and there is news about Abortion Every Day! Which is also the name of a newsletter that I highly recommend!
๐ŸŒฑ A Reluctant Electorate & The State of Abortion
Part I: Old Laws Trap US in Patriarchy

Controlling Women No Matter the Costs

Let's be clear, this is a direct assault on younger generations' desire to live independently and their progressive views. Itโ€™s a desire to force women back into the kitchen and create an evangelical Christian nationalist dream nation. If this sounds shocking, it should be. Itโ€™s only a sliver of what the right-wing apparatus is attempting to achieve in the courts, the states, government, and more.

Old Men & Old Laws Harming Women Today

Enter Anthony Comstock, a rotund gentleman with bushy muttonchops and a deep affection for his rural Christian mother. He stumbled into post-Civil War New York City with $3.45 in his pocket and deep puritanical beliefs. This proved to be too much for Greenwich Village where erotica, saloons, prostitution, and dirty bookstores were plentiful. He was able to channel his horror into work when the YMCA took him under their wing. The Young Men Christian Association, at the time, was run by wealthy men in the city (think Morgan of the J.P. variety) who wanted to see Christian values cemented in the U.S. (sound familiar?!). Comstock's deep revulsion to sex, women, and erotica was a helpful tool to enact their agenda. Comstock led the Committee of Obscene Literature before being appointed as U.S. Postal Inspector in 1873 and created the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice.
Wait...why are we talking about this old guy from the Top Hat days? If you can believe it, the law he helped pass in 1873, the Comstock Act, is being resurrected from the grave to harm women and gender-nonconforming people today.
๐ŸŒฑ Old Men & Old Laws Shrinking Womenโ€™s Freedoms Today
Part II: Old Laws Trap US in Patriarchy

We can make this law a relic of the past as it should be, but only if Democrats win this November. Despite the clear flaws on the Democratic side, we need to do everything we can to prevent a Trump presidency and GOP control. Have you signed up for a phone banking or canvassing shift yet? Try it once before the election!

Stay tuned! Update your preference if youโ€™d like to get direct video updates on the road! We wonโ€™t email you more than once a week.

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storytelling for change - actionable communications advice for advocacy, activists, & campaigns

Last Week's Flowering Deep-Dive

๐Ÿ“š Donโ€™t Waste Your Ad Dollars | Tips for 2024 Fundraising


Nonprofit Pay Gap Persists

Much has been written about nonprofit leadership after the 2020 Uprisings shook the landscape and demanded more from institutions that claim to be about change. Candidโ€™s 2024 Compensation report is another example of the lack of systemic changes.

  • Overall, while men continue to be underpaid compared to men, but the pay gap is wider at larger nonprofits.
  • At the smallest organizations, women make $0.95 for every dollar a male CEO makes compared to $0.82 or less at larger nonprofits.
  • For the largest nonprofits with $50 million in funding, the pay gap has worsened since 2012! What this shows is institutional change is needed in how nonprofits are run and funded.
  • Larger nonprofits continue to follow patriarchal views of leadership, work, and change. Patriarchal ideas of leadership are not lending itself to the changes our world need.
Candidโ€™s 2024 Nonprofit Compensation Report: Executive compensation is on the rise, but not for everyone
Candid insights | Explore top insights from Candidโ€™s 2024 Nonprofit Compensation Report, including competitive benchmark data for staff and executive payโ€“and recent trends like top-earning program areas and which employeesโ€™ salaries are rising or declining.
Getting to the roots - evaluating the news with a social change lens
Building Media Literacy to Reshape the Conversation
  • ๐Ÿ“š Drug Sniffing Dogs Block Abortion Mail - The Intercept is out with a story about Mississippi officials using drug-sniffing dogs to find abortion medication in the mail and criminalize the recipients. Mississippi is testing out a dystopian future. (source: The Intercept)
    • ๐Ÿค“ The Root ๐ŸŒฑ - This is a precursor for what could happen on the national level if Trump takes office. Trump can resurrect The Comstock Act an old law from the 1800โ€™s to ban abortion pills in the mail.
  • ๐Ÿ“ฒ Who Pumps the Most Into Lobbying Congress? - "You'll never guess who's winning the race to buy congress.โ€ My friend, Emily Weltman, illustrates the obscene amounts of money that lobbyists and the wealthy pump into influencing Congress. The outcome of these efforts are fewer choices for people and more corporate consolidation in pharmaceuticals, real estate, healthcare, and more. (source: LinkedIn)
    • ๐Ÿค“ The Root ๐ŸŒฑ - As the saying goes, โ€œthis is why we canโ€™t have nice things.โ€ The Supreme Court let corporate money flood into elections in the 2010 Citizens United case. This election is about more than just one candidate at the top.
  • ๐ŸŽง Resilience Myth & Menโ€™s Loneliness Epidemic - Award-winning activist and author, Soraya Chemaly, discusses her new book and dismantles long-standing notions about what resilience is, while challenging us to rethink how we employ resilience as a source of grit and strength both within ourselves and for others. (source: The Electorette Podcast)
    • ๐Ÿค“ The Root ๐ŸŒฑ - Our patriarchal capitalist society is increasingly not working for anyone, including white men. Soraya Chemaly explains that white menโ€™s identity is being shattered by a system that promised them privilege but no longer delivers that.
  • ๐ŸŽฌ Bill Nye Asks Are You On the Fence? - Bill Nye is getting real and reaching the nostalgia vote for Millennials, Gen Z, and kids of all ages to get off the fence and vote Democrat for the future of our planet.
    • ๐Ÿค“ The Root ๐ŸŒฑ - Our planet is getting hotter and hotter and a Trump presidency would be a disaster for the planet. He's been on podcasts debunking the third party vote and talking past the BS.

And that's a wrap on this weekโ€™s newsletter! We hope you found this helpful in your work to cultivate lasting social change. Forward this to a friend and help democratize communications!

If you have any topics you want covered or have any questions, please reach out and let me know.

In Solidarity,
Sam Chavez
Roots of Change Founder

About the roots of change agency โ€” helping activists and social change communicators navigate our media & tech landscape, avoid burnout, and build connective strategies. Donate to support our work.
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๐ŸŒฑ Seedling Member Zone

Everyone's talking about the top of the ticket, but there are some crucial local races going on. I spoke with a local school board candidate about his election and the importance of voting down ballot to keep going with progressive policies like the largest fleet of electric school buses and avoid a MAGA school board takeover. Find our latest videos on our ๐ŸŽฌ Quick Bites page.

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