Intro
ELECTION DAY IS NOVEMBER 5th.
Project 2025
What is it?
A plan to reshape the federal government and consolidate executive power if Donald Trump wins the 2024 presidential election. Developed by the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 is not the official platform of the Trump campaign, but many of the project authors served in the Trump administration.
A few key proposed initiatives:
- Abolish the Department of Education, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development.
- Move the Department of Justice under the control of the President.
- Curtail access to abortion and contraception by revoking FDA approval of the mifepristone (often used in medically induced), making it illegal to send abortion pills through the mail, requiring states to report anyone who gets an abortion, allowing insurers to drop coverage of Plan B pills.
- Strip LGBTQ+ rights by removing non-discrimination protections, eliminating transgender health care in Medicare and Medicaid, prioritizing families “comprised of a married mother, father, and their children."
- Dismantle protections for immigrants by terminating the legal status of 500,000 Dreamers, blocking federal financial aid for most immigrant groups, requiring states to report drivers license and tax payer identification information.
- Ban unions for public service workers. Allow employers to eliminate unions mid-contract.
Voter Suppression
Voter suppression in the United States consists of various legal and illegal efforts to prevent eligible citizens from exercising their right to vote. Such voter suppression efforts vary by state, local government, precinct, and election. Voter suppression has historically been used for racial, economic, gender, age and disability discrimination."Voter suppression in the United States."
Wikipedia contributors. "Voter suppression in the United States." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 May. 2024. Web. 18 Jul. 2024.
Election meltdown : dirty tricks, distrust, and the threat to American democracy by Call Number: ebookISBN: 0300252862Publication Date: 2020
Moser, Bob. "The Voter Suppression Chronicles." The American Prospect, vol. 30, no. 3, Summer 2019, p. 46+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link-gale-com.ezproxymca.flo.org/apps/doc/A594924439/AONE?u=mca_main&sid=AONE&xid=d1addf80. Accessed 18 July. 2020.
Combs, Barbara Harris. “Voter Suppression and Racial Oppression: An Old Game with a Contemporary Twist.” Phylon (1960-), vol. 59, no. 1, 2022, pp. 25–48. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27150913. Accessed 18 July 2024.
- League of Women Voters Fighting Voter SuppressionSuppression efforts range from the seemingly unobstructive, like voter ID laws and cuts to early voting, to mass purges of voter rolls and systemic disenfranchisement. And long before election cycles even begin, legislators can redraw district lines that determine the weight of your vote. Certain communities are particularly susceptible to suppression and in some cases, outright targeted — people of color, students, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement on August 6, 1965, and Congress later amended the Act five times to expand its protections.
Wikipedia contributors. "Voting Rights Act of 1965." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 3 Jul. 2024. Web. 24 Jul. 2024.
The Most Fundamental Right: Contrasting Perspectives on the Voting Rights Act by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780253007100Publication Date: 2012
Cyrus, Ramenda. "Assaults on the Right to Vote: The latest challenge to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 concerns who is allowed to sue to enforce it." The American Prospect, vol. 35, no. 1, Feb. 2024, pp. 10+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A782768653/AONE?u=mca_main&sid=ebsco&xid=272ea2fc. Accessed 24 July 2024.
15 Amendment
The Fifteenth Amendment (Amendment XV) to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government and each state from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." It was ratified on February 3, 1870.
In the final years of the American Civil War and the Reconstruction Era that followed, Congress repeatedly debated the rights of the millions of black freedmen. By 1869, amendments had been passed to abolish slavery and provide citizenship and equal protection under the laws, but the election of Ulysses S. Grant to the presidency in 1868 convinced a majority of Republicans that protecting the franchise of black male voters was important for the party's future.
Wikipedia contributors. "Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 5 Jun. 2024. Web. 24 Jul. 2024.
Fighting Chance: the struggle over woman suffrage and Black suffrage in Reconstruction America by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780199773183Publication Date: 2011
- 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Primary Documents in American HistoryPrimary document on the 15th Amendment from the collection of the Library of Congress.
Crum, Travis. "The Unabridged Fifteenth Amendment." Yale Law Journal, vol. 133, no. 4, Feb. 2024, pp. 1039+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A787597742/AONE?u=mca_main&sid=ebsco&xid=834c1f4b. Accessed 24 July 2024.
Gerrymandering
Gerrymandering, in U.S. politics, the practice of drawing the boundaries of electoral districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage over its rivals (political or partisan gerrymandering) or that dilutes the voting power of members of ethnic or linguistic minority groups (racial gerrymandering). (Duignan, Brian. "Gerrymanding." Encyclopedia Brittanica. October 11, 2019)
Party Lines: competition, partisanship, and congressional redistricting by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780815797920Publication Date: 2008
Political Fix: How Should We Get American Politics Back on Track? by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9781943028986Publication Date: 2016
"Gerrymandering and Redistricting." Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2023. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/PHQMDR855761977/OVIC?u=mca_main&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=ded5bdf8. Accessed 5 Aug. 2024.
Refresher on 3 Branches of US Government
How and When to Vote
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GET READY
Are you registered to vote? Find out HERE.
What is the deadline to register in your state? Find out HERE.
Not registered? Register HERE.
Absentee ballots/Mail-in voting. Options and qualifications vary by state. Find out more HERE.
Registered and want an absentee ballot? Request it HERE.
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Rock the Vote: How to Research Your Ballot
"There are no perfect candidates. There are only candidates who most align with your values. It can be hard to know where to start, but don’t worry – we’ve got you!"
How to Research Your Ballot: An Explainer from Rock the Vote
Artists for Democracy
Shepard Fairey: The amazing thing about art is that it can get to someone’s emotions around empathy, compassion, seeing that the country should work for everyone, not just for the super rich and powerful.
Why We Vote Zine
Rock the Vote
Building the Political Power
of Young People
19 Amendment
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recognizing the right of women to vote. Ratified August 18th 1920. (Wikipedia contributors. "Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 23 Jun. 2024. Web. 5 Aug. 2024.)
Wu, Michelle M., et al. "Searching for Equality: The Nineteenth Amendment and Beyond: A conversation between United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge M. Margaret McKeown." Georgetown Law Journal, vol. 108, no. SE, June 2020, p. 5+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://link-gale-com.ezproxymca.flo.org/apps/doc/A630831510/AONE?u=mca_main&sid=AONE&xid=37657a53. Accessed 31 Aug. 2020.
- 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Primary Documents in American HistoryPrimary documents on the Women's Suffrage Movement from the collection of the Library of Congress.
Votes for Women: a portrait of persistence by
A richly illustrated history of women's suffrage in the United States that highlights underrecognized activists Marking the centenary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, Votes for Women is the first richly illustrated book to reveal the history and complexity of the national suffrage movement. For nearly a hundred years, from the mid-nineteenth century onward, countless American women fought for the right to vote. While some of the leading figures of the suffrage movement have received deserved appreciation, the crusade for women's enfranchisement involved many individuals, each with a unique story to be told. Weaving together a diverse collection of portraits and other visual materials--including photographs, drawings, paintings, prints, textiles, and mixed media--along with biographical narratives and trenchant essays, this comprehensive book presents fresh perspectives on the history of the movement. Bringing attention to underrecognized individuals and groups, the leading historians featured here look at how suffragists used portraiture to promote gender equality and other feminist ideals, and how photographic portraits in particular proved to be a crucial element of women's activism and recruitment. The contributors also explore the reasons why certain events and leaders of the suffrage movement have been remembered over others, the obstacles that black women faced when organizing with white suffragists and the subsequent founding of black women's suffrage groups, the foundations of the violent antisuffrage movement, and the ways suffragists held up American women physicians who served in France during World War I as exemplary citizens, deserving the right to vote. With nearly 200 color illustrations, Votes for Women offers a more complete picture of American women's suffrage, one that sheds new light on the movement's relevance for our own time. Published in association with the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
Call Number: KF4895 .L46 2019ISBN: 9780691191171Publication Date: 2019
Electoral College
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to particular offices. Often these represent different organizations, political parties or entities, with each organization, political party or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way. The United States has been the only democracy in the 21st century that still uses an electoral college to select its executive president.
(Wikipedia contributors. "Electoral college." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 1 Jun. 2024. Web. 5 Aug. 2024.)
- What is the Electoral College?Information on the Electoral College from the National Archives.
Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America by Call Number: ebookISBN: 9780300180879Publication Date: 2011
Crisis at the Polls: an electoral reform handbook by Call Number: ebookISBN: 0313351260Publication Date: 2008
It's Not Just the President on the Ballot
Magleby, David B. “Ballot Initiatives and Intergovernmental Relations in the United States.” Publius, vol. 28, no. 1, 1998, pp. 147–163. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3331013. Accessed 29 Sept. 2020.
In Massachusetts there are five questions on the ballot this year. Ballotpedia breaks down the questions:
Massachusetts Question 1: Massachusetts Authorization of State Auditor to Audit General Court Initiative
Massachusetts Question 2: Massachusetts Minimum Wage for Tipped Employees Initiative
Massachusetts Question 3: Massachusetts Regulated Access to Psychedelic Substances Initiative
Massachusetts Question 4: Massachusetts Repeal Competency Assessment Requirement for High School Graduation Initiative
Massachusetts Question 5: Massachusetts Unionization and Collective Bargaining for Transportation Network Drivers Initiative
For more in depth debate about each ballot questions, check out WBUR's Ballot Question Explainers.
For information about ballot questions and local elections in other states, find information at one of the following sites.
