Newsletter: Independents are taking action
Independent voters are told they don't matter by our own government. But this week, we'll share the good news: independents are stepping up to take action.
I come with good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?
Okay, fine: bad news first.
The bad news is that independent voters are now getting text messages from our government telling us to re-register as Democrats and Republicans.
I'm serious. Take a look at this real text message sent to an independent voter in New York City:
To be clear, NYC Votes isn't a nonprofit. It's not a partisan political group. NYC Votes is an initiative of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, a government agency. They're supposed to be neutral.
What's worse? They genuinely think they're doing us a service! In a way, they are: they're telling us the law, and encouraging us to vote. I suppose. But you know what would be a real service? Letting all voters vote in the elections their taxes pay for.
In today's newsletter, we cover the good news: voters are onto this problem, and we're taking action.
LetUsVote Newsletter: independents are taking action
Last Thursday afternoon, I hopped in a car with Open Primaries Vice President Jeremy Gruber, and we drove from New York City to Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. Ballot PA was hosting an event for independent voters, adorably titled The Unprimary.
It was incredible. 200 independent voters from across Pennsylvania - people who really don't spend much time at political events - poured into this tiny room at an Irish bar called Magerk's.
I interviewed quite a few of them for our Citizen Spotlight project, and we'll release their videos in the coming days. But I can tell you what they were saying:
"The major parties want to bully me, but I won't let them."
It was a great start, and an eye out for these stories over the next few days. But then all hell broke loose. Jeremy Gruber, the guy I drove with from New York City, took the microphone and delivered one of the most passionate, inspirational speeches I have ever seen. Click to watch it:
"I seem to recall that we fought a revolution over no taxation without representation. So why are we, 250 years later, sitting here and demanding the right to vote in our democracy? It's downright unAmerican!"
-Jeremy Gruber
You want good news? That's it: Americans like Jeremy. Americans like you and me. Americans like the 200 independent voters who showed up to an Irish pub in Fort Washington on a Thursday night.
The good news is that the days of independent voters cast out and dismissed - lonely and isolated - are slowly, inch by inch, fading behind us.
It's hard work, and it takes all of us. But it has to be done. So here's a question: are you willing to step up and lead?
No, seriously. We're building a leadership team here at LetUsVote, I'd love for you to join it. Drop your name right here, and I'll email you to find a time to talk in the next few days:
Step Up: Lead Independent Voters
If you haven't subscribed to our YouTube channel yet, by the way, I highly recommend you do. We just launched it two weeks ago, and we've already posted 21 videos of normal independent voters sharing their stories. It's pretty cool.
Click here to check it out.
Okay, that's what we've got for now. On Wednesday, I hope to share many of those interviews from the Unprimary in Pennsylvania. I can't wait to chat then.
If you support what we're doing here at LetUsVote, please know that any contribution - big or small - helps us keep up the work of building a unique and totally new community for independent voters. It would mean the world if you can contribute.
Thank you for all you do.
Sincerely,
Campaign Director - LetUsVote