Voting | Jotup

STATEMENT ON ALABAMA FEDERAL COURT RULING FROM THE 100 BLACK MEN OF AMERICA, INC.

Retrieved on:

Monday, October 16, 2023

SCOTUS, Voting, Republican, Democracy, Ideological leanings of United States Supreme Court justices, 100 Black Men of America, Representative, Supreme court, Voter suppression, United States House of Representatives, African Americans, Mobile metropolitan area, House, Management

The Republican controlled Alabama legislature previously drew district boundaries that violated the Voting Rights Act, according to the three judge federal panel, based in Atlanta, GA.

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The Republican controlled Alabama legislature previously drew district boundaries that violated the Voting Rights Act, according to the three judge federal panel, based in Atlanta, GA.
The judges noted that the plan from the state of Alabama created one majority Black district in a state that has nearly 30% of its population officially counted as African American.
The 100 Black Men of America, Inc. recognizes the gerrymandered districts submitted in the summer of 2023 as an attempt to mute voices from citizens of color.
The 100 Black Men of America opposes any laws that limit that right," said Milton Jones, Jr., the newly elected chair for the organization.

Bird Partners with Rock the Vote to Boost Voter Turnout and Civic Engagement

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

In a groundbreaking partnership to boost voter turnout and civic engagement, Bird Global, Inc. (OTCQX:BRDS), the largest micromobility operator in North America, is joining forces with Rock the Vote , the preeminent organization dedicated to engaging and building the political power of young people.

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In a groundbreaking partnership to boost voter turnout and civic engagement, Bird Global, Inc. (OTCQX:BRDS), the largest micromobility operator in North America, is joining forces with Rock the Vote , the preeminent organization dedicated to engaging and building the political power of young people.
"As a company committed to creating sustainable and engaged communities, we recognize the importance of civic duty and the power of the vote," said Stewart Lyons, President of Bird Global.
"Our partnership with Rock the Vote reflects our commitment to foster civic engagement and ensure that all voices are heard."
"Rock the Vote has always harnessed the latest trends and technology to empower young voters," said Carolyn DeWitt, President and Executive Director of Rock the Vote.

AI and the 2024 Election Public Awareness Campaign

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Speech, Internet, Voting, Woman, Electoral and ethics policy of the Joe Biden administration, Equity, Literacy, SAN, Artificial intelligence, News, AI

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AIandYou, a nonprofit educating marginalized communities about the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence (AI), launches the nation's first public awareness campaign on AI and the 2024 election. The awareness campaign aims to increase awareness about AI opportunities and misinformation in the 2024 election. The goal is to empower people to protect their vote.

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SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AIandYou, a nonprofit educating marginalized communities about the benefits and risks of artificial intelligence (AI), launches the nation's first public awareness campaign on AI and the 2024 election.
The awareness campaign aims to increase awareness about AI opportunities and misinformation in the 2024 election.
Misinformation will be unprecedented in the 2024 election due to the evolution of AI.
The awareness campaign, in English and Spanish, will include online educational videos, glossaries, news, and other resources, public events, and an outreach marketing campaign.

Erb Family Foundation Commits $5 million to The Henry Ford's Jackson House Project

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Monday, October 2, 2023

Left–right political spectrum, Dr. F.W. Jackson House, Speech, Parent, Voting, History, African Americans, Movement, Congress, The Henry Ford, Child, Jackson House, Motivation, Artifact, We Shall Overcome, Machine tool

DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation commits $5 million to The Henry Ford's Jackson House project, it was announced today by Patricia Mooradian, president and CEO of The Henry Ford, and John Erb, president and chair of the Erb Family Foundation.

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DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation commits $5 million to The Henry Ford's Jackson House project, it was announced today by Patricia Mooradian, president and CEO of The Henry Ford, and John Erb, president and chair of the Erb Family Foundation.
The Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation commits $5 million to The Henry Ford's Jackson House project.
It was in the Jackson House on March 15, 1965, when Dr. King watched President Johnson's famous "We Shall Overcome" speech.
Jawana Jackson, the only child of Dr. and Mrs. Jackson, and the sole owner of the Jackson House, contacted The Henry Ford in 2022 and requested that her family home be permanently relocated to The Henry Ford's campus in Dearborn, Michigan.

US Supreme Court refuses to hear Alabama’s request to keep separate and unequal political districts

Retrieved on:

Friday, September 29, 2023

Supreme, Thornburg v. Gingles, State, Alabama Legislature, Legislature, Voting, History, Anglo-French Wars, Map, Supreme court, Compliance, Law of the United Kingdom, Republican, Voting Rights Act of 1965, Consciousness, Black

For the second time in three months, the U.S. Supreme Court has rebuffed Alabama’s attempts to advance its legislature’s congressional maps that federal courts have ruled harm Black voters.

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For the second time in three months, the U.S. Supreme Court has rebuffed Alabama’s attempts to advance its legislature’s congressional maps that federal courts have ruled harm Black voters.
The court had first rejected the maps in its stunning June 8, 2023, decision that upheld the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
But in an act of defiance, Alabama lawmakers resubmitted maps that didn’t include what the court had urged them to do – create a second political district in which Black voters could reasonably be expected to choose a candidate of their choice.
On Sept. 5, the panel of three federal judges rebuked the Alabama Legislature when it ruled that the state’s proposed voting districts failed to create the second Black district.

A surprising decision to protect Black voters

Alabama officials have denied any wrongdoing and said their proposed voting districts, including one where the percentage of Black voters jumped from about 30% to 40%, were in compliance with recent federal court rulings.
Instead, our elected representatives and our voters must apparently be reduced to skin color alone.” At issue in the Alabama case is whether the power of Black voters was diluted by dividing them into districts where white voters dominate.
After the 2020 census, the Republican-controlled Alabama Legislature redrew the state’s seven congressional districts to include only one in which Black voters would likely be able to elect a candidate of their choosing.
In its surprising ruling on June 8, the Supreme Court jettisoned Republican-drawn congressional districts in Alabama that a federal district court in Alabama had ruled in 2022 discriminated against Black voters and violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
All three conditions were true in Alabama, and the totality of the circumstances suggested minority voters did not participate equally in the political process in the area.

What Alabama did

In its decisions on Alabama’s redistricting, the Supreme Court upheld laws that were designed to protect minority voting power for the last nearly four decades.
Given Alabama’s long-standing history of suppressing the votes of its Black citizens, the Supreme Court still may not have written its last word on race and redistricting.
The court is scheduled in October 2023 to hear a similar case involving South Carolina’s voting districts.

Alabama’s defiant new voting map rejected by federal court — after Republicans ignored the Supreme Court’s directive to add a second majority-Black House district

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

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Those redistricting proposals are due to the court by Sept. 25.

Key Points:

Those redistricting proposals are due to the court by Sept. 25.
Alabama officials have denied any wrongdoing and said their proposed voting districts, including one where the percentage of Black voters jumped from about 30% to 40%, were in compliance with recent federal court rulings.
The state is expected to appeal the panel’s latest ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We intend to promptly seek review from the Supreme Court to ensure that the State can use its lawful congressional districts in 2024 and beyond.”

A surprising decision to protect Black voters

At issue in the Alabama case was whether the power of Black voters was diluted by dividing them into districts where white voters dominate.
After the 2020 census, the Republican-controlled Alabama legislature redrew the state’s seven congressional districts to include only one in which Black voters would likely be able to elect a candidate of their choosing.
Black residents comprise about 27% of the state’s population, and voting rights advocates argued that their numbers suggest they should control two congressional districts.
In its surprising ruling on June 8, the U.S. Supreme Court jettisoned Republican-drawn congressional districts in Alabama that a federal district court in Alabama had ruled in 2022 discriminated against Black voters and violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

What Alabama did

State lawyers further argued that the legislature was not required to create a second majority-Black district if doing so would require ignoring traditional redistricting principles, such as keeping communities of interest together.
In its decision on Alabama’s redistricting, the Supreme Court upheld laws that were designed to protect minority voting power for the last nearly four decades.

A brief history of the Ku Klux Klan Acts: 1870s laws to protect Black voters, ignored for decades, now being used against Trump

Retrieved on:

Friday, August 4, 2023

Three of the charges in United States of America v. Donald J. Trump are fairly easy to understand.

Key Points:

Three of the charges in United States of America v. Donald J. Trump are fairly easy to understand.
They require a jury to determine whether Trump tried to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 election and if he knowingly conspired to obstruct the certification of results on Jan. 6, 2021, all in an attempt to remain in the White House.
But the fourth charge against Trump – of conspiring against the rights of the voters to cast ballots and have them fairly and honestly counted – is more complicated, and it comes from a dark time in U.S. history.
As a historian who studies and writes about democracy and the American South, I believe the 1870s have something to teach us about the fourth count in the Jan. 6 case against Trump.

Ku Klux Klan Acts

The indictment asserts that Trump knowingly conspired “to injure, oppress, threaten, and intimidate one or more persons in the free exercise and enjoyment of a right and privilege secured to them by the Constitution and laws of the United States – that is, the right to vote, and to have one’s vote counted.” That quote comes from a series of laws enacted in the 1870s called the Ku Klux Klan Acts.
As the Brennan Center for Justice points out, in the 20th century the Supreme Court has ruled that all sorts of election infringements violate the Enforcement Acts, including stuffing ballot boxes and bribing voters.

Retreat from democracy

The Department of Justice secured convictions in 140 cases by using the law that is being used to prosecute Trump.
Congress had to expand the attorney general’s staff into an entire department of government to handle the excessive case load.
After Grant was reelected, many champions of Black rights lapsed into what historians often characterize as a moral fatigue.
Nine stood trial, including one William Cruikshank, the burly, self-confident plantation owner who had supervised the executions.
The Supreme Court set William Cruikshank free, and white supremacists established racist regimes in every Southern state for nearly 100 years thereafter.

Civil War amendments today

The 5-4 majority held that states could be trusted to guarantee citizens’ voting rights.
Writing in dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg compared enforcing the Civil War amendments to “battling the Hydra,” the multiheaded monster that sprouted new heads after one was defeated.
Given this long history of advance and retreat, it’s not surprising, then, that special counsel Jack Smith, in his use of a law to prosecute Trump that dates back to the Reconstruction Era’s laws protecting the Black vote, has reasserted the Department of Justice’s power to enforce the Civil War amendments.

Paratek Pharmaceuticals Files Definitive Proxy Statement and Letter to Stockholders in Connection with Acquisition by Gurnet Point Capital and Novo Holdings

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

BOSTON, Aug. 02, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Paratek”) (Nasdaq: PRTK), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapies for life-threatening diseases and other public health threats, today announced that it has filed definitive proxy materials and a letter to Paratek stockholders with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the Company’s previously announced definitive agreement to be acquired by Gurnet Point Capital ("Gurnet Point") and Novo Holdings A/S ("Novo Holdings"). Paratek will commence mailing the definitive proxy statement and letter to its stockholders on Aug. 2, 2023.

Key Points:

Paratek will commence mailing the definitive proxy statement and letter to its stockholders on Aug. 2, 2023.
The special meeting of stockholders of Paratek will be held virtually via live webcast on Monday, Sept. 18, 2023 at 9 a.m.
The board of directors of Paratek recommends that stockholders vote “FOR” each of the proposals listed on the WHITE proxy card enclosed with the definitive proxy statement.
As you saw, on June 6, 2023, we announced a definitive agreement to be acquired by Gurnet Point Capital and Novo Holdings A/S.

Transformative Justice Coalition and Its Partners Announce the 58th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

National Bar Association, Music, Rainbow/PUSH, League, Voting, Human, National Organization for Marriage, United Farm Workers, Inclusive Democracy, Transformative use, National Organization for Women, Conference, Woman

MILWAUKEE, Aug. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On, Saturday, August 5, 2023, the Transformative Justice Coalition as part of its Make Good Trouble Voter Series along with its partners: Rainbow/Push Coalition, Black Voters Matter Fund, Wisconsin Voices, League of Women Voters, Florida NAACP State Conference, Georgia NAACP State Conference, National Organization for Women, Arkansas Asian Amer. Pacific Islander Assn, Vote Riders, National Farmworkers Association, National Bar Association, and others are taking it to "America's Heartland, as we fight for the soul of our country" by hosting the 58th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, "STAY WOKE AMERICA: The Fight for a Multi-Racial and Inclusive Democracy!" voter cookout. A citizen's right to vote is your voice. Join us and check your voting status and enjoy good food, music, and games as we transform voting and the voting experience. This is a free nonpartisan event.

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Pacific Islander Assn, Vote Riders, National Farmworkers Association, National Bar Association, and others are taking it to "America's Heartland, as we fight for the soul of our country" by hosting the 58th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, "STAY WOKE AMERICA: The Fight for a Multi-Racial and Inclusive Democracy!"
A citizen's right to vote is your voice.
Join us and check your voting status and enjoy good food, music, and games as we transform voting and the voting experience.
This is a free nonpartisan event.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts uses conflicting views of race to resolve America's history of racial discrimination

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

In two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 summer recess, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote majority opinions that involved the use of race.

Key Points:

In two cases before the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 summer recess, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote majority opinions that involved the use of race.
In the court’s 5-4 Allen v. Milligan decision, Roberts wrote that states must consider race in some circumstances when drawing congressional districts.
Though Roberts’ opinions appear at odds, his general disdain for the use of race is not.

Use of race to determine political districts

At issue in the Alabama case was whether the power of Black voters was diluted by dividing them into districts where white voters dominate.
Black residents make up about 27% of the state’s population, and voting rights advocates argued that they deserved not one but two political districts.
Second, if the racial minority is politically cohesive, meaning that its members tend to vote together for the same candidates.
All three conditions were true in Alabama, and the totality of the circumstances suggested minority voters did not participate equally in the political process in the area.
“States shouldn’t let race be the primary factor in deciding how to draw boundaries, but it should be a consideration,” Roberts wrote.

The use of race in college admissions

Roberts had a different view of race and its importance in diversifying college campuses.
He argued that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment – and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act – strictly limited how schools could use race in admissions.
“College admissions are zero sum, and a benefit provided to some applicants but not to others necessarily advantages the former at the expense of the latter,” Roberts wrote.
Though Roberts could have used previous U.S. Supreme Court decisions in 1978’s Regents of the University of California v. Bakke or its 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger decision to continue to allow the use of race in college admissions, he did not.

Roberts’ opinions reveal racial ambivalence

In both circumstances, the use of race worked as a corrective to discriminatory voting laws and college admissions practices.
In congressional redistricting, race is used to build districts to counter racial bloc voting and de facto residential and ideological segregation.
In her dissent in the North Carolina affirmative action case, Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson spells out the problem with Roberts’ ambivalence on race.