May 9, 2022

Dear Colleagues: We meet this evening to review the landscape and make plans. See the box at the bottom of this message to link to the meeting and the agenda. – Charlie, 410-624-6095

A Senate floor vote on the DISCLOSE Act seems likely

Washington-based activists and lobbyists are hearing that the DISCLOSE Act will come to the Senate floor, maybe as early as June. There will be a nation-wide effort to draw attention to the vote. We should try to make sure that voters know which senators supported and which ones opposed the DISCLOSE Act. In addition, there is a possibility of bi-partisan cooperation on making reforms to the Electoral Count Act to make it harder for Congress to reject electors properly chosen by the voters in the respective states. This latest information reinforces what Sen. Van Hollen (the author of the DISCLOSE Act) told our For the People – Maryland coalition about the intentions of Senate Majority Leader Schumer and the jockeying of the two major parties in Washington.

Biden asked to issue executive orders on voting rights

Voting rights activists are continuing to pressure the Biden administration to issue executive orders as well as to continue its dialogue with Senate about passing legislation. The For the People – Maryland coalition has also discussed executive action that could improve campaign finance transparency and expose foreign money in our elections, but there has been no word of action on that front.

House January 6 Committee hearings due

The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol will hold eight televised hearings starting on June 9 to try to focus public attention on the lie that the election was rigged against President Trump and to determine who bears responsibility for the violence directed at Vice President Pence and members of Congress. The committee faces a challenge getting GOP members to testify.

You can create a watch party with assistance from national organizations.

Congressional redistricting outlook is still unresolved

There are at three different sets of lenses through which to review the outcome of this 2022 Congressional redistricting: First, did Democrats or Republicans gain an advantage? Second, is the national map more gerrymandered than it was in 2012?  Third, are the districts more or less fair to racial and ethnic minorities who have experienced discrimination?

Courts have overturned the drastic partisan gerrymander in New York and also have rejected the Kansas map. Thus, there are fewer seats in the House of Representatives resolved than there were a month ago. Fivethirtyeight.com reports that there are now 169 seats solid or leaning for the Democrats, 193 for the Republicans, and only 33 highly-competitive seats. They conclude: “With 40 districts yet to be drawn and lawsuits still pending in several states, the exact partisan upshot of redistricting is still subject to change. But two other takeaways seem inevitable at this point. First, the number of swing seats will continue to decline; the new maps so far have seven fewer highly competitive districts than the old ones. And second, people of color will remain underrepresented in Congress.”

Spotlight on DC Statehood push

Declaration for American Democracy will host a webinar with advocates for DC Statehood on Tuesday, May 10, from 8:30 to 9:30 pm EDT. RSVP here .

---

For the People-MD Teleconference Monday, May 9, 7:30 pm Two ways to join the conference 1) Dial 1 301 715 8592, meeting ID: 931 3066 2622. The password is 173976. 2) Click on your device if you have downloaded the app from Zoom.Meeting Agenda TBA

---