Good news alert! A federal appeals court in Arizona just struck down a law that would have made it harder for #PeopleLikeUs to vote. Previously, Arizona voters who accidentally cast their ballots in the wrong precinct had their votes thrown out, and campaign workers weren’t allowed to collect early ballots for delivery to polling places. This ruling is a huge development in a key state for the presidential race, not to mention local races. (Oh, and by the way, Arizona is a state where naturalized citizens make up more than 300,000 eligible voters.)
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to allow the Trump administration to begin implementing new “wealth test” rules, which makes it easier to deny immigrants residency or admission to the United States if they have used or might use public benefits.
Is this public charge rule wrong, un-American, and all about keeping Black and Brown immigrants out of the country? Absolutely. It also makes clear that the Supreme Court won’t save us from Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda, leaving it up to #PeopleLikeUs to keep fighting for and supporting our fellow immigrants and people of color.
Following the theme of making voting easier and not harder, one way we can do that is by implementing voting by mail.
Voting by mail eliminates barriers to the ballot box, and it’s also proven to work: Vote-by-mail states saw a 15% higher median turnout than polling-place-centric states during the 2018 primary.
How is 2020 and the longest January in recorded history treating you? Did you manage to survive the gym for more than a week? We know we didn’t, but the good news is we’re keeping our foot firmly on the gas when it comes to fighting to build a more inclusive democracy.
We had our first two trainings of the year this past weekend—Ready to Rise in Miami and Boss Ladies in Phoenix—and we’ll be honest, they couldn’t have gone any better, thanks to the incredible participants, partners, and trainers!
If you’re ready to flex your power and commit to creating a democracy that works for everyone, come to one of our upcoming trainings (or share them with a friend who might be interested)! Our next two are both in February: Ready to Lead in Seattle from February 14-16 (applications are due Monday!) and Boss Ladies in New York City with IGNITE on February 22.
Already running for office? Then check out our affiliate, New American Leaders Action Fund! They just launched their 2020 endorsement application and are focusing on supporting New American Leaders alumni, New Americans, and people of color running in key states like Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina. Learn more!
