What a tough week. The Freedom to Vote Act to protect voting rights is dead in Congress. The Supreme Court has kicked the Texas abortion law back to the Texas Supreme Court, which means it’s illegal for Texans to access an abortion, but it’s legal to sue anyone suspected of having or facilitating an abortion. […]
Read More… from Abortion Rights. Democracy. It Starts in the States.
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there “is” such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.” ―Dr. Martin […]
Last year, on January 6, we all watched with horror as the President encouraged a physical attack on our democracy. This year, we have to shift our attention from the U.S. Capitol to state capitols across the country. The onslaught on our democracy didn’t start last January 6 in the Capitol – and it certainly […]
In Give Smart’s first election in Virginia we helped shift the balance of power in the House of Delegates from a 51-49 rightwing majority to a new 55-45 majority. Unfortunately, now that recounts have concluded we know that control has shifted back in the chamber with a new 52-48 majority. While the result was a […]
Read More… from What Happened in Virginia: A Give Smart Recap
The work to overturn Roe v. Wade has been long coming, and it’s been slashed in state legislatures. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments over Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban — a law passed by state lawmakers in Mississippi with the specific goal of attacking a woman’s ability to make her own healthcare choices. Eleven […]
Read More… from Fight to Protect Abortion Access Where it’s Being Dismantled — In State Capitols
Over the weekend, news broke that in a rarely seen move, Trump has already endorsed state legislative candidates in Michigan and Arizona. Why endorse these candidates nine months ahead of the primaries? Because the radical rightwing’s strategy to hijack our democracy starts in state legislatures. State legislatures set the rules of the game for elections, […]
We have BIG news to share! We’re diving in to these five states to flip and defend these critical chambers in 2022: Arizona: Where we are just one seat away from power in both the Senate and the House Michigan: Where just three seats in each chamber would mean new majorities Minnesota: Where there is […]
Inspired by the death of Supreme Court Justice and trailblazer Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and with the support of their dad Peter, last year Stephanie and Alexis Lawrence built a States Project Giving Circle that raised more than $50,000 to help elect a state legislative majority that would improve lives. Stephanie, an entrepreneur, found out about […]
The right to vote. Choice. LGBTQ+ rights. Schools. Why are we seeing attacks on these fundamentals of democracy during a Biden presidency? Because these attacks aren’t happening at the federal level in DC. They’re happening in state capitals, where current governing majorities are attacking our right to vote and keeping women from making decisions about […]
“It’s important to get more women in legislatures overall, but also into positions of power where they also get to set the agenda. We spend a lot of time talking about what they add to the conversation; these women in leadership get to determine what conversations are had.” —Kelly Dittmar, director of research at the […]
