SWIMail Newsletter
FOR OUR PROTECTION THESE EVENTS MAY NOT BE ON SOCIAL MEDIA!!! Copy and share ONLY with your members to avoid Zoom intruders.
Post-conference, we created a "word cloud" of topics that Conference attendees felt most strongly about. The larger the font size, the more times this topics was identified! Good things to work on!
SWIM FACEBOOK CHALLENGE
As of August 31 we will be closing and archiving the StateWide Indivisible Michigan - SWIM Public Page on Facebook and will transition everyone over to the private member page SWIM (StateWide Indivisible Michigan) Members. If you have not already done so, please join our SWIM Facebook Group. In addition, our challenge to you is to invite 5 like-minded friends to join as well. Let's see if we can add 50 members by the end of August!
SCHEDULES FOR SWIM AND PARTNER MEETINGS
SWIM BI-MONTHLY MEMBER MEETING The next bi-monthly Member Meeting will be Tuesday July 25 at 7:00 pm. We will have an overview of our June conference with feedback from attendees about our path forward, as well as Indivisible National's latest initiatives, and plenty of time for open forum discussion from our members about what's happening locally! Register for the meeting here. MEET WITH SENATOR STABENOW'S STAFF The next meeting with Terry Campbell, Senator Stabenow's regional representative, will be Thursday August 3 at 11:00 am. Register here to join us and hear the latest news about our Senator's work for us! Please submit your questions by email to info@statewideindivisiblemi.com by July 22 so that we can send them to Terry ahead of time.
CALLS TO ACTION
PROMOTE THE VOTE---LEGISLATIVE ACTION. Our partners at Promote the Vote Michigan have more resources than it is possible to highlight here. They provide an informative newsletter with updated information. To learn more and to sign up for mailings, check out their website here. INDIVISIBLE NATIONAL - POWERING PROGRESS CAMPAIGN Indivisible National has launched their Powering Progress Campaign. This campaign is classic Indivisible. It helps defeat authoritarian impulses and defend democracy. It demonstrates the transformative power of an active and inclusive government. It relies on the amazing grassroots activism of our national network. It will go some way toward undermining and inoculating against far-right messaging and divisive race-baiting rhetoric. Plus it’s a great opportunity for local groups to build skills around messaging, recruitment, and to embrace some positivity amidst an often demoralizing media landscape -- all as we celebrate the accomplishments and improvements in people’s lives as the result of last year's historical legislation (especially the Inflation Reduction Act, which many voters know little about). Indivisible's National Powering Progress campaign will run from July into the fall, with a nationally coordinated Week of Action this coming August, timed to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act – the biggest climate action legislation in history! Your group can pick and choose the time that works for you. To learn more, you can access the slide-deck from the launch meeting here. To receive updates on actions and resources from the National Organization, you can sign up here.
POST CARDING CALLS TO ACTION
OHIO SPECIAL ELECTION AUGUST 8TH - GET OUT THE VOTE
This August, Ohio voters have just one question on their ballot: should Ohioans permanently give up their right to majority rule? Extreme anti-abortion politicians are trying to sneak this constitutional amendment through that ends majority rule because they know most Ohioans oppose their state’s extreme abortion ban and would vote to undo it.
Consider this: Doctors can be sent to jail for doing what’s best for the health of their patients. Recently, a 10-year old rape victim had to travel out of Ohio to get an abortion because there’s no exception for rape or incest in their state law. This amendment will make it harder for voters to pass ballot issues - including restoring reasonable abortion laws in Ohio - by changing the rules to require 60% to pass. Just 40% of voters could veto any amendments to the Ohio constitution. We must defeat this in August so that we can restore reproductive rights in November.
To that end, we're releasing postcards that will go to voters of color who have likely been purged from the voter rolls to remind them to check their voter registration and re-register ASAP, so they can vote in August. Postcards for this campaign can be pre-ordered now. VOTE FORWARD OHIO CAMPAIGN
Many of you have used Vote Forward in the past and know how easy it is. They also have a campaign to impact this ballot initiative in Ohio. They are targeting young Democratic-leaning women voters in Ohio and encouraging them to vote in the special August ballot initiative election. To access this campaign, go to Votefwd.org and search for the "Ohio Ballot Initiative Campaign". You can adopt as few as 5 voters or as many as you want. The site provides names, addresses and letters you can print out at home. You need only follow the directions on mailing and provide the postage. Letters must be mailed by August 1. LET'S FLIP THE HOUSE 2024 WITH POSTCARD WRITING Activate America, formerly Flip the West, is an organization dedicated to mobilizing voters to elect Democrats in the House and Senate through post-carding, phone banking, texting, and canvassing opportunities. Right now, the organization is focusing on flipping 11 House seats in California and New York, all of which President Biden won in the 2020 presidential election. Click here to join Activate America in writing postcards to voters in these districts, and work towards flipping the House back to Democratic control in 2024. See the (currently) second item on their homepage. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD
School may be out for the summer but our work is never done. Why not use this time to hone your communication skills so you can be a more effective participant in your local school board meetings. Our partners at Red, Wine and Blue have developed a wonderful series of trainings to help you do just that. Session 2: "Passion to Power: The Power of Voice" will be on Monday July 24 at 7:00 pm. Register here. Session 3: "Passion to Power: The Power of Presence" will be on Monday July 31 at 7:00 pm. Register here.
For more information on everything else Red, Wine and Blue, check out their website. We also promote RW&B events on our SWIM website events page!
VOTER REGISTRATION
REGISTER DEMOCRATS AND SAVE THE WORLD THE FIELD TEAM 6 WAY Want to do something concrete to fight voter suppression in our crucial state of Michigan? Learn to register Democrats, the Field Team 6 way! It's the #1 most direct, effective way to swing elections – and it's also incredibly fun. At this training, you'll be introduced to Field Team 6 who will let you in on all the secrets of successful voter registration and answer all your questions. You'll leave the call fired up, and knowing everything you need to lead your own voter drive! Register here.
Stay current on SWIM activities and share them with your networks! Here are some ways to do that: Visit the Website! www.statewideindivisiblemi.com. This new website is designed to be a central repository of the resources and network partners that we’ve amassed since 2016. We also want you, as members, to be able to add your own announcements about your successes and events. Have news to share? Let us know by using the "Comment" link at the top of the homepage, or click here! Follow us on Facebook! The SWIM private group is now open to all interested members. Simply go to the page, answer a few simple questions and you are in. This is a great way to keep current on events and issues in between newsletters. This page will be the sole Facebook page for SWIM going forward as the SWIM public page is being archived in the near future, so join the group today! Help us build our social media presence and impact by following SWIM on Twitter @SWIMIndivisible and Instagram StateWideIndivisibleMichigan ! If you are familiar with social media platforms like Mastodon, WhatsApp, TikTok, Tribel, Post, etc. please contact SWIM CORE member & resident social media maven Vickie Gutowski at info@statewideindivisiblemi.com to help expand our outreach! GET INVOLVED GOT IDEAS, GOOD NEWS OR QUESTIONS??? Send us your thoughts here!
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