Umatilla, Palouse, Cayuse, Walla Walla

Suquamish

Whidbey Island: ancestral home of Lower Skagit, S'Klallam, and others

Melvin Mackey - Sqababsh Land - Vashon, WA

Coast Salish, Stillaguamish, Sauk Suiattle, Skagit

Dori Peralta Baker - on the Yakama Reservation

Robin Hordon...caretaking a half acre of Sklaalam land...

If you don’t know the indigenous land where you reside on, you can look it up here: https://native-land.ca/

Dwight Rousu, Redmond, coastal salish lands

Roger, in Bow. WA CD: 2; LD: 40.

Stillaguamish, Duwamish, coastal Salish == Redmond

If able, you can show your appreciation for the Duwamish land by paying rent: https://www.realrentduwamish.org

Norm Conrad, Mount VernonUpper Skagit tribes

Hi Robin, Long time no see you. We worked on 9/11 Truth together years ago. Blessings to you. All the best, Kim Kerrigan

Jeremy and Nancy Street - Spokane Tribe

Betsy from Clallam County, Jamestown S’Klallam, Elwha Klallam, Makah, Quilleute and Hoh tribes

Aganita from Tacoma - Puyallup lands

Howdy Kim...still a "911 Truth for World Peace " activist but working in the weeds building our case. Funny how much "TRUTH" seeking is going on now...what a difference 20 years makes...AYE?

man am I nostalgic for the time when I didn't know hardly anything about the electoral college & the process by which its votes were counted...

Cathleen Rolph, LWVAK, LWVCentral Kenai Peninsula Indigenous people Dena’ina

Linda Bock Stillaguamish, Coast Salish, Duwamish

So great to see you again, and no wonder.

Tish Levee on Nisqually land (aka Lacey, WA)

lwv tries to monitor voting boxes

Pam Somers on Tulalip, Snohomish land -in Lake Stevens

Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is a part of the NAACP.

Freedom fighters always find each other😍

DASS - Democratic Association of Secretaries of State https://demsofstate.org/

MoveOn is working with others to encourage progressive Democrats to run for local offices - city councils, country supervisors, school board members, etc. I have been helping with research on that.

Which office is the most important for our consideration with respect to maintaining a democracy: President, Governor, Attorney General, or Secretary of State? Which gets the most news coverage?

They can still take corporate donations instead of inside information for stocks.

to think Sinema used to run the AZ Green party...

Despicable to cheat donors like that.

Cannot unilaterally disarm

They work for both the campaigns and the PACs, with nobody checking for illegal colaboration

Arnold, I notice no one answered your question, which is a good one. I believe Secretary of State for the United States has no power over elections, but is the government’s arm for negotiating treaties and foreign policy issues. The Department of Justice head is the Attorney General Merrick Garland, who could do a lot to help deal with illegal laws passed by states. Secretaries of State in each state are the ones who deal directly with overseeing elections. They are closest to the most powerful about seeing that the legitimate votes are counted. The President and governors of each state should have nothing to do with elections in an ideal world when nothing is going wrong.

I suspect he meant state secretaries of state. Maybe same for state attorneys general.

Some people leave after 1 hr, but it runs 1.5 hrs, Nadine.

• DONATION Links:o Fix Democracy First or Fix Democracy First Education Fund - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/donateo YO VOTE! - https://www.yo-vote.org/donate• Upcoming Democracy Happy Hour topics:o Feb 9th - Voter Fraud vs. Election Fraudo Feb 16th - The Advance of Authoritarianism in the U.S.o Feb 23rd – The Electoral Count Act• FDF – Current Democracy Legislation - https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/legislation• TAKE ACTION: Email your reps about RCV legislation! - https://p2a.co/s6dlbuc

• Sign the petition to close the Citizens United Loophole. - https://actionnetwork.org/forms/tell-congress-get-foreign-money-out-of-us-elections-close-the-citizens-united-loophole?source=direct_link&referrer=group-fixdemocracyfirst• TAKE ACTION for Voting Rights:o Voter Protection Volunteer Phonebanks with Common Cause - https://www.mobilize.us/dfadcoalition/event/376178/

States Attorney General and States Secretary of State. Sorry I wasn't clear.

RUN FOR OFFICE!

or help someone else you respect run!

Lottocracy like jury duty

Cindy you are awesome and this review is tremendous resource. Thank you!!

You would think...but 2016 still haunts us!

I think Manchin got it right when he said “If you want to pass progressive legislation, you have to elect more progressive candidates.”

Robert Reich has a great article in today’s Guardian, that says Trump will make his followers lose in 2022. Check it out.

Our Common Purpose - Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century - https://www.amacad.org/ourcommonpurpose/report

Only Republicans are urging no debates!

Thank you all.

Hear! Hear! Nadine!!!

Thank you so much, Cindy. Great as always!

Amen to Nadine!!

League of Women Voters do hold Candidate Forums for local races across the state.

thank you, Cindy.

Cawthorn in NC

Linda, yes, yes, RCB

RCV, I man

GOP Women's group Maggies list is endorsing Jaime Herrera Beutler. I think she is being primaried by a Trumper.

Linda, RCV is my 1st choice for innovations to improve elections. Vote by mail, and open Final Five Primary Elections. The Proactive Voter Movement also. Occupy elections. Unite America. The 99.999% is the majority.

I ike the voucher system of Public Financing. Meanwhile, I only give money to candidates who do NOT take money form any PACS, just individuals

at www.wa.leg.gov: on left side is the menu. Select Bill Information, and in the bill history is the (vote roll call) whenever a floor vote is taken. Clicking that link brings up how all the legislators have voted on that particular bill. Then, with that information, you can email with a YAY! I like the way you voted, or NAY I didn’t like that vote. More below!

A long haul campaign to restore democray

This is a marathon, not a sprint.

Not only restore what democracy we had, but improve democracy more to what it should be.

Using a newsletter, such as League of Women Voter’s weekly newsletter or several other newsletters from organizations (like Fix Democracy First) the actions needed at that time are usually just a click or two away from you sharing your opinion with your legislator - or being part of the legislative record at a public hearing. In most legislative committees, public hearing comments from people not testifying is tallied and recorded as part of the hearing notes. Your voice does matter, they do pay attention!

For state legislation info, sign up for your Reps’ and senators’ newsletters so you can see what they are working on. This session is soon over but you can still let them know what is important to you.

And here’s the online retreat i mentioned, if interested https://www.eventbrite.com/e/healing-our-self-healing-our-country-retreat-tickets-254063630157

Postcards are very doable. In 2020 a group of volunteers wrote postcards for the NAACP in Mississippi to have people check that they were registered to vote. This group provably wrote more than 1000 postcards. The women organizing us would drop off the cards, with addresses, and a script, which even included how to politely address people in the South.

Tomorrow bills voted out of the chamber of origin will be advancing (unless they have a fiscal component, and they get a couple more days to get out of their chamber of origin). Those that are not voted out are not going forward this session. This is the halfway point in the session, so there is still LOTS of opportunity to have your voice heard by your legislators.

But we need to do something about the media too

Diff. orgs, like Sierra Club, were working mainly to get people to register to vote, and then vote, without saying who to vote for. We were targeting those who had an environmental bent….

Yes, targeting people too register is a good way to go. And there are many organizations facilitating that.

Lots of groups are doing lots but all in separate time and directions- answering to different donorsThe government is not protecting or answering people as it needs to

Copy Stacy Abrams’ campaign strategy!

Moderates working within the party can help keep the party from going overboard on proposals that likely would alienate moderate voters too much.

Next Monday, Feb. 7, 10- 11 am ACT via Zoom hosts a discussion of Public Banking with Stoney Bird, LWVWA Public Banking Issue Chair presenting basics, then state and national legislation around this important issue. contact carolosully@yahoo.com to be on the contact list. Cindy will be guest on Feb. 14, along with LWV Issue Chair Cynthia Stewart who know Housing/homelessness issues as well as Cindy knows election issues! Redistricting follows on Feb. 21, and Alliance for Gun Responsibility on Feb. 28.

Could Nancy put that contact in again, please?

I also am irritated with those who want me to use my personal cell to participate. I don't want to use my personal cell.

The faux debate sounds fun as a YouTube shortie.

I love that false debate idea!

Joanna Cullen -- Yes, both Phone # & street address... I won't participate in online events that demand that info.

Melvin, excellent points for RCV, not approval.

Joanna, I have a land line and a cell phone. When they ask for my cell phone number, I put in my land line. I don’t get many texts I don’t want that way. Also, if they call my land line and I am home, I will give them my time. Usually not my money, though.

That is one big reason I keep a land line. Worth the money

There should be a way, though, with public financing, for those of us who don’t pay taxes, can donate to the public financing fund in a limited amoutn

check out https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/

Stacy Abrams had a plan and stuck to it.

robin is right Persuadable Voters How to connect with them.

James would love to know what that platform is.

Wow! What a concept!

Interesting! Who are “WE”?

There's an interesting book out called "Talking to Strangers". It doesn't generally discuss politics, but it does discuss what we pre-assume what people believe and how often we are wrong.

Love this James!

cindy@fixdemocracyfirst.org

James, aLL GREAT PERSPECTIVES. SORRY FOR THE CAPS. TYPO.

Another source of information is the website: VoteSmart.org

Thanks, Cindy! Great “happy 11/2 hour”

Cindy, thanks for your work. I sincerely appreciate all of your efforts. Thank you.

Can't Vote, Can't Contribute.

Thank you!

Thank you all!