🏜 Vegas Lights & Union Rights in Nevada
Part IV: Our Southwest Swing State GOTV Election Roadtrip
Welcome Back! 👋🏼
In Case You Missed It: 🏜 Flexing Native Voting Power Against a GOP-Controlled Arizona
Voting Power: All the Way Down Ballot
We made it to our last state: Nevada! Our first stop was the bright lights of Las Vegas to support Dallas Harris for State Senate. While the surrounding nature is more my scene than the Vegas strip, I really wanted to volunteer in Vegas to support a Black queer woman who's working to support families and workers across Nevada in the State Senate.
Being on the ground was an even more incredible experience than I could have realized. In total, I knock on 125 doors while in town. I spoke with a diverse array of families and people in the southwestern suburbs of Las Vegas. Many folks would answer the door with the kids hanging on one or multiple arms. If they weren't aware of Dallas Harris, her record on lowering costs, improving wages, and bringing affordable housing into the region sparked the most interest.
But don't just listen to me gab about Dallas Harris, you can hear it directly from her! I was also lucky enough to sit down with the candidate while I was in town. We each rocked our canvassing uniform. My 'Unsuppress the Vote' shirt, fit in perfectly next to Dallas' "Grab 'em by the Ballot' t-shirt. Overall, it's a wholesome and practical conversation about what good government can look like and what our role is in voting down ballot this election. You can listen and subscribe to our podcast on Apple podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you find podcasts!
Unions & Workers Rights: The Back Bone of Nevada
Nevada has many layers in this election as I explain while Bear and I were taking a short break at Boulder Beach, just on the other side of the Hoover Dam. It's similar to neighbor, Arizona, in that every layer of the ballot is important and the polls are close!
A Pathway to A Government That Represents
What is clear about the current state of politics is that this isn't working for everyday people. In our series to start the year, I mentioned new efforts that are already underway to enact voting reform across the country. The efforts are a desire to one day not be beholden to the two-party system that forces us into binary thinking that only divides and enrages.
As much as lawmakers try to conceal things, the people in the U.S. get it. 70% of U.S. voters wish there were more political parties to choose from. (Pew Research).
The problem is that we have turned away from politics instead of leaning in to fix our problems. The 70% gives me hope, but to make real change, we need to collectively feel more connected to politics.
The most popular way to accomplish that and one that’s already being used across the country is Ranked Choice Voting. Right now, we have a winner-take-all system that inflames partisan fights and turns people off to the electoral process (FP).
What I love about RCV is that it brings life into the political process. There is so much energy in our country. As my friend, Brit Holmes said, “You’re not apathetically opposed to something vehemently.” People want to feel like they have more of a say, but our systems are standing in the way. For us to move forward towards progressive changes, we need to be more engaged in politics, more discerning towards our lawmakers, and hold them accountable for progressive action.
Sam Chavez
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Last Week's Flowering Deep-Dive
📚 Dispelling the 'Why Should I Vote?' Crowd
Bring in Bill Nye! Leveraging Unusual Influencers
Old marketing advice would tell you to reach the most audience with the biggest celebrity to get peoples attention. But in our fractured media environment when people are seeing thousands of messages a day, the unusual influencers help draw out engagement. Bill Nye is a great example of using an influencer that can deeply connect with their audience to act rather than just scroll.
- Bill Nye, a 68-year old white man, can connect to younger voters who are deeply concerned about climate action for the Harris campaign.
- Bille Nye the Science Guy holds a warm nostalgia spot in many Millennials hearts and the 90's are back baby!
- He's also an amazing storyteller who can more directly get through to voters who might be on the fence.
- 📚 Outsourcing Prescription Refills - The affordable and accessible healthcare crisis in the U.S. has gotten so bad that a new startup hires people in the Philippines to help people in the U.S. fill hard to find drug prescriptions. And business is booming!
- 🤓 The Root 🌱 - Adderall, Ozempic, and other hard to come drugs have been increasingly hard to stock. This company hires people of the Global Majority to call into local pharmacies in the U.S. to fill hard to come by drugs. The profit-only focus of the U.S healthcare system continues to leave people behind. The emergence of these startups are signs we need a new system.
- 📚 Who Pumps the Most Into Lobbying Congress? - "You'll never guess who's winning the race to buy congress.” 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.
- 🤓 The Root 🌱 - As the saying goes, “this is why we can’t have nice things.” 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.
- 🎬 Anti-Choice Voter Suppression - Jessica Valenti has been covering the right’s crusade against women everyday and highlighting the blatant voter suppression the right is attempting in every pocket of the country. Just listen to the insane and nefarious tactics.
- 🤓 The Root 🌱 - “If a republicans are so sure that this is a pro-life nation, why are they working so hard to stop voters from having a voice?”
- 🎬 Subscriptions Have Gotten Out of Hand - @perfectunion has an infuriating story about HP's new subscription service, Instant Ink, which requires you to pay a subscription to print from your personal printer that you bought. Oh and this happens six months after you've bought the printer without warning.
- 🤓 The Root 🌱 - In late stage capitalism, the need for growth and profit reaches unreasonable ends. This will and can be illegal if we keep Lina Kahn in the FTC. This is another reminder that the presidential election is not just against two people, it is an entire vision for what government can do for us or against us.
And that's a wrap on this week’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
🌱 Seedling Member Zone
While I've in on the road, I've been listening to a lot of audiobooks! I reflect on Ta Nehisi Coates' new book, The Message, while we stopped for a drink along the Rio Grande. Find our latest videos on our 🎬 Quick Bites page.
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