FEDERAL:
Protect Voting Rights--Support HR 4:
[Adapted from 5 Calls] Here’s a topic that’s absolutely vital to North Carolina--and the rest of the country--for 2020 and beyond. In the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision, the Supreme Court struck down Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), gutting the landmark legislation and ending the federal government’s oversight of potentially discriminatory state voting laws changes. Section 4(b) established a formula to identify states who needed federal preclearance of voting law changes because of their history of voter suppression. In the Shelby County v. Holder decision, the Court [ended the preapproval process](, ruling that the over 40-year old formula was outdated and put an undue burden on states. Since then, 22 states, including many previously covered by the preclearance requirement, have implemented measures that systematically disenfranchise voters of color and low-income voters. Such changes include reducing polling locations, requiring voter ID, shortening early voting, and purging voter rolls.
To restore the VRA’s enforcement power, Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) have introduced the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019 (VRAA), which includes a modern formula to determine which states must secure federal approval for voting law changes. The new formula would assess which states have had repeated voting rights violations over the previous 25 years. States found to have excessive rights violations (*cough* North Carolina *cough*) would be subject to federal oversight for ten years, with the opportunity to end federal oversight after that time period. The VRAA will again provide the federal government with the tools necessary to combat voter suppression and help ensure every American’s right to vote.
Details:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/03/democrats-hope-restore-key-section-voting-rights-act/583969/
Script:
Hi, my name is _________ and I'm a constituent from ___________. I'm calling to urge Sen./Rep. _____________ to support [H.R. 4 if House/S. 561 if Senate], the Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2019. We must restore federal oversight of potentially discriminatory voting law changes to ensure elections are fair and free for all. As we’ve seen in North Carolina, the repeal of Section 4B of the Voting Rights Act has led to rampant abuses that have restricted voting rights. Thank you.
Federal Contact Numbers:
Thom Tillis: DC: (202) 224-6342
Richard Burr DC: (202) 224-3154
Tim Scott (SC): Washington, DC: 202-224-6121
Lindsey Graham (SC): Washington, DC: 202-224-5972
House: https://www.house.gov/representatives/
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Commit to Reducing Carbon Emissions:
There is a big climate change summit taking place this week in Madrid, Spain, and once again, we are faced with the potentially dire consequences of climate change. A recent UN report is calling for a 7.6 percent a year emission decline for the next 10 years to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels. Contrastingly, emissions have increased 3 percent over the past three years, led by the United States, China, and India. We’re already seeing the impact of climate change here in North Carolina. Sea level rise is increasingly threatening our coastlines. It’s time to act.
Details:
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2019/12/02/top-emitters-must-commit-to-a-u-turn-at-cop25/
Script:
Hello, I am a constituent calling from ___________ to urge Rep./Sen. ___________ to endorse dramatic action on climate change. A recent UN report is calling for a 7.6 percent a year emission decline for the next 10 years to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels. But carbon emissions, largely led by the US have actually risen by 3 percent over the past three years. Our coastlines are increasingly endangered. We need to act soon. Thank you.
Federal Contact Numbers:
Thom Tillis: DC: (202) 224-6342
Richard Burr DC: (202) 224-3154
Tim Scott (SC): Washington, DC: 202-224-6121
Lindsey Graham (SC): Washington, DC: 202-224-5972
House: https://www.house.gov/representatives/
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If you feel compelled to call or tweet about impeachment, you can call your rep and have them demand that Devin Nunes recuse himself from the investigation into the Ukraine scandal. It is now clear from phone records involving Nunes and Rudy Giuliani and Lev Parnas that he is complicit. Nunes obviously cannot be trusted to investigate himself. Nunes--absurdly--is suing CNN for reporting what is basically in the Congress Intelligence Committee Report.
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STATE:
Call out the UNC BOG for Handing Off $2.5 Million to the Sons of Confederate Veterans:
The UNC Board of Governors, appointed by the NCGA without any input from the Governor, has decided to “settle” a “lawsuit” (one that may never have actually existed) by handing over $2.5 million to the Sons of Confederate veterans to take custody of Silent Sam. The board announced their decision the day before Thanksgiving, hoping (probably) to push out this decision while everyone was distracted by the holidays. Silent Sam had stood on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus since 1913 as a monument to soldiers who fought to preserve the right to enslave people. By giving money, through non-state funds we are told, to establish the endowment, the UNC System appeared to tie itself on a permanent basis to the preservation of this monument with racist connotations and a racist history. All of this was done outside the public eye, without any scrutiny from journalists, much less the students who pay tuition or the taxpayers who pay to subsidize the UNC system.
Of course, as the Fayetteville Observer notes, part of the problem is that the UNC BOG does not really reflect the people of the state it is ostensibly supposed to serve. Only one of the 24 BOG members is a Democrat. Seventeen of the members are white men, and only five of the members are women. Students, faculty, staff, and even alumni were ready for Silent Sam to go, but the BOG--empowered by the NCGOP-led state legislature--created a mess and now, they’re giving $2.5 million to an organization that embraces the Confederacy.
Details:
https://www.fayobserver.com/opinion/20191202/our-view-unc-system-boardrsquos-dubious-arrangement-with-confederate-group-looks-even-worse?
Email:
You can email the UNC Board of Governors and let them know how you feel about this arrangement: public@bog.northcarolina.edu
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