Dear friends,
I was thinking of the theme of this post even before I saw today’s very important ruling in Moore v Harper, in which the Supreme Court has rejected a bone-headed legal idea called the “independent state legislatures theory.”
Had the so-called theory held sway, it would have given state legislatures the power to set rules for federal elections and to draw gerrymandered congressional maps without corresponding checks on their power.
The faulty theory
is based on a reading of the Constitution’s Elections Clause, which says, “The times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.”
Proponents of the strongest form of the theory say this means that no other organs of state government — not courts, not governors, not election administrators, not independent commissions — can alter a legislature’s actions on federal elections.
As a social studies teacher (sans law degree), I can assure you that the framers did not intend to give unchecked power to any branch of government. What a relief that six of the nine ‘justices’ worked that out.
As with the recent decision upholding section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, this decision is a victorious defense against an attack on democracy — not to mention reason. Holding the line against such attacks is of great importance.
Today, Alabama Governor, Kay Ivey, notified legislators of a special session in mid-July to redraw the state’s district map to create a second majority-Black congressional district, in compliance with the Supreme Court’s decision in Allen v Milligan.
In NYS, the legislature passed a bill that requires all high schools — public, private, and charter — to conduct voter registration drives. Schools, students, and communities need to be involved in breathing life into pre-registration and civic engagement.
The importance of this legislation is underscored by a recent report by the Civics Center. Low levels of pre-registration — under 17 percent statewide, with an abysmal rate of 5.2 percent in New York City — are a stark indication that the 2019 legislation that allows teens to pre-register to vote before they reach voting age needs better implementation.
Laura Brill, the Civic Center's founder and CEO, pointed out that when young people are not registered,
“Candidates can't see them, can't understand their concerns, and can't really represent them and all of us in the way that they should.”
Urge Governor Hochul to sign the law to bring voter pre-registration to all NYS high schools! This quick action is from The Civics Center.
In Rhode Island, the governor just signed a law to allow 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections if they will be 18 when the general election is held. Senator Valarie Lawson, a former high school civics teacher, introduced that bill.
Over the weekend, we passed the unhappy anniversary of the Dobbs decision. On the bright side, public support for reproductive rights has increased and continues to motivate voters.
We are going to use our voices to keep the pressure on all the levers of power to promote reproductive justice. Today’s action concerns so-called Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs), which are diabolical.
CPCs are primarily known for their main purpose, which is to convince people not to have abortions, often using deceptive tactics. However, over the last decade or so, some of them have begun to offer limited medical services, perhaps in an attempt to counter the “fake clinic” moniker that many advocates have applied to them. It’s also a ploy to gobble up more government funding.
Because CPCs provide free testing for pregnancy and sexually-transmitted infections, they are included in directories when people go looking for health care. This is a problem.
Tell the CDC to remove “crisis pregnancy centers” from the National Prevention Information Network database. This action is from Americans of Conscience.
Congestion pricing will improve air quality and street safety while raising funds for public transit. That’s three public goods in one.
Finally, when the justice system works, it enables people to seek redress for harms done to them, even when the entities that caused the harm are rich and powerful.
Late last week, 3M reached a $10.3 billion settlement with a class of US public water systems. This settlement will pay out funds for testing and treating water polluted by the 3M products containing “forever chemicals,” or PFAS.
“We have reached the largest drinking water settlement in American history, which will be used to help filter PFAS from drinking water that is served to the public,” Scott Summy, a lead attorney for the water systems suing 3M, said in a statement.
Making polluters pay improves every day.
with love,
L