TWW Louisville Member Spotlight - Reginald Meeks

Reginald Meeks: A Career Spent Working for Peace

"Although a recent member of the Together We Will, my instinct and experience has proven that individuals, groups and even communities are more influential when they collaborate and work together. For proof, one only needs only to look around and see how religion, politics and social institutions often bend over backward to separate, build barriers and work to keep us apart from each other.

"Muhammad Ali made many prophetic statements. One I’ve always taken to heart is:  'The man who is the same at 50 years of age as he was at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.' My personal and my professional life continues to deepen and expand in ways that sometimes surprise me. I am now able to appreciate even more the tireless work those before us undertook to secure, to protect and to expand even the most basic of rights enjoyed in this nation — the right to vote!

"Sadly, after all the years of fighting to secure our right to vote, this current generation is facing unprecedented assaults from the right, ultra and alt-right conservative legislators on the state level, congressional members who feel they must cater to far-right extremists out of fear of a primary election challenge, and let’s not forget activist federal district and Supreme Court Justices put in place to carry out specific conservative political agendas, all represent challenges of unprecedented proportions.

"It’s important for people to realize an oft-forgotten truth. The Founding Fathers were not considering most of us when they wrote the Bill of Rights and the Constitution itself. Their focus was on protecting the land owning, literate white males of wealth, and in justifying their rebellion against the English Crown. Only through generations of struggle and sacrifice and using our own words to inspire the common man — and woman — did we amend the core tenants of the nation to include women, Native Americans, ethnic minorities, immigrants, people of varying religious faiths, the differently abled, etc., and secure for them those protections intended only for a few!  

"This current political era is an especially poignant one, I believe that's because it has placed a mirror before us. That mirror is allowing us to reflect our national soul to the world. I suppose each administration does this through its policies and priorities, but this is an especially trying and troubling era.  

"Because it is, these coming years make it absolutely necessary that each of us remain active, alert, engaged and unrelenting to ensure our values and principles are not lost in the confusion and amid the turmoil of political expedience. As Michelle Obama once stated, 'When they go low, we go high,' and in doing so, we claim the moral high ground over political dogma that is rooted in divisiveness, and dependence on money and power being wielded by the few over the many.

"So, what is my role and responsibility? What is ours? I will, and we must, remain rooted in the belief that we as a People and as a Nation are stronger when we remain steadfast and together. That doesn’t demand we be in lockstep on every issue, but that we support core principles:

 - right to vote
 - right to judicial redress
 - freedom of speech
 - freedom from governmental overreach   - right to safe, healthy communities

"Those priorities we agree on; these are the priorities we must ensure the government protects.

"Additionally we must all work together to ensure our collective safety and security for the future. As a favorite songwriter of mine wrote, 'Peace is not the absence of war. It is the absence of rumor of war, of threats of war, preparation for war. We have to work for peace.'

"Thank each of you for caring enough to spend this time with me and to pay attention!" 

Every Vote Matters: Vote, Educate, Work for Electoral Reform

Every Vote Matters: Vote, Educate, Work for Electoral Reform 

By Ellen Birkett Morris

All you have to do is look at the results of the last presidential election to know that voting matters. A 2015 article in the Atlantic argues that boosting turnout would lead to a more representative democracy. (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/why-non-voters-matter/405250/)

Vote

To vote in Kentucky you must be a U.S. Citizen, current resident of Kentucky, at least 18 years of age on or before the next general election, not a convicted felon -- or if you have been convicted of a felony, your civil rights have been restored by executive pardon -- not been judged "mentally incompetent" in a court of law, and do not claim the right to vote anywhere outside Kentucky.

You want to make your vote count. For many voters that means being able to have a say in narrowing the field of candidates by voting in primary elections. By law, Kentucky has closed party primary elections. You must register as a Democrat or Republican to vote in either party’s primary election. If you choose to register in another political group or organization or designate independent status, you will not be eligible to vote in Republican or Democrat party primary elections.

Educate

If you are already an active voter, help educate young voters, reluctant voters and newly minted citizens in exercising their franchise. Here are some resources to help voters find their way around the process.

Visit https://vrsws.sos.ky.gov/ovrweb/govoteky to register, renew or update your registration, get information about absentee voting, get a sample ballot, get your voting location or find out how to serve as a poll worker.

Reform

A 2016 article from the Brookings Institution notes that voter turnout in the U.S. lags behind almost all other developed, democratic nations. According to the Pew Research Center, the United States ranks 31st out of the 35 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development when it comes to voter turnout in national elections.

Brookings Senior Fellow William Galston offers suggestions to effectively increase voter turnout—from making Election Day a national holiday, to eliminating voter ID laws, to making voting compulsory. Check out his ideas here:

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2016/10/05/how-can-we-increase-voter-participation/

Here are several organizations that are working for electoral reform and fair voting practices.

·       ACLU People Power -- https://vote.peoplepower.org/getinvolved

While ACLU lawyers protect our voting rights and fight voter suppression in the courts, PeoplePower activists are going on offense to expand voting rights in every state in the country.

•        American Association of People with Disabilities -- http://www.aapd.com/our-focus/voting/

AAPD advocates for policies that allow people with disabilities to fully participate in the political process, including ensuring the accessibility of polling locations and through promoting the availability of accessible voting technology.

•        People for the American Way -- http://www.pfaw.org/protecting-the-right-to-vote/

PFAW is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and defend constitutional values under attack, including free expression, religious liberty, equal justice under the law, and the right to meaningfully participate in our democracy.

•        Center for Voting and Democracy -- http://www.fairvote.org/about

FairVote is a nonpartisan champion of electoral reforms that give voters greater choice, a stronger voice, and a representative democracy that works for all Americans.

TWW Louisville Coffee Break Activism November Focus - Voting

             

Did you know that a registered Independent cannot

cast a vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary in Kentucky?

Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy, but sadly far too few people vote. Even fewer people understand the voting process or how their local participation affects the political party with which they align themselves. This, in turn, affects their representation. Low participation in the last gubernatorial election resulted in the election of Governor Bevin.

Nationally, the 2016 election saw only about 55% of registered voters casting ballots, and look where that got us. Compare that to 2008 when a record high 64% of voting age citizens cast a ballot. Detailed information on the 2016 election in Jefferson County can be found here and state information can be found here.

In Kentucky we have a closed primary system, which means that the selection of a party's candidates for an election is limited to registered party members. During a primary, voters can only cast a ballot for someone belonging to the same political party as the voter. An independent cannot cast a vote in either the Republican or Democratic primary.

The good news is that voters can change their party affiliation prior to the election so long as that change is made at least 29 days prior to the election, and those changes, along with registering to vote, can now be done for Kentuckians online here.  

If you aren’t sure where you vote, you can find out here. This site will also give you links to the names of all your state, local, and federal representatives when you enter your home address.

LINK ABOVE

                                  

Let’s talk for a minute about how Jefferson County, KY, looks from a voter and representation perspective…

We have 18 State Legislative Districts  that are segmented into 623 voting precincts where voters cast their ballots based on their home address. We also have 10 State Senatorial Districts.

In Jefferson County KY we are part of the 3rd and 4th U.S. Congressional Districts. The entire state votes for Kentucky’s two U.S. Senators.

As we move into the 2018/19/20 election cycles we need to be more educated, more motivated, and more ready than we have ever been to get more voters to the polls to help us put our community, state, and nation back on the path of progress.

For the past three decades voters have been disproportionately of higher income, older and more partisan in their interests. Parallel to participation gaps are widening gaps in wealth, reduced opportunity for youth and frustration with the polarization in politics. How would our world be different if everyone participated?

If you feel as we do -- that we need more voters who reflect our values and who represent a deeper more diverse community -- then we invite you to join us for Voter Registration Training and Fellowship on Saturday, November 11, at the Headquarters of the Louisville/Jefferson County, Democratic Party Executive Committee from 2-4 p.m. at 1501 Durrett Lane Louisville, KY. 40213. You can sign up HERE.