Indivisible Ventura’s Voting Guide for the 2022 Primary Election
Note: this post will be periodically updated! (05/18/2022)
QUICK LINKS TO: Federal candidates, State candidates, County candidates, Local Measures, Voting/registration information, Ballot drop-off locations, In-person voting locations, Other voting guides/endorsements.
We believe we have promises to keep to Rep. Elijah Cummings, to Rep. John Lewis and to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg – that we would care for the country they sacrificed so much for. And after watching the GOP abandon any pretense to democracy, after watching raucous school board meetings with angry parents yelling out fake CRT beliefs and demanding the banning of books, after watching red state legislatures pass harmful anti-LGBTQIA laws, anti-abortion penalties and racist voting restrictions – we find that we actually share one belief with the extreme right-wing – that there are no unimportant elections, no unimportant public offices, and no elected offices where the beliefs of the candidate don’t matter, even those deemed “non-partisan.”
- Although Indivisible Ventura is not officially endorsing any particular candidate, we’ve pulled together endorsements from other groups we respect for your consideration, along with relevant reference materials. We need to win.
- Note – we NEVER RECOMMEND VOTING FOR SOMEONE WITHOUT ENDORSEMENTS! Leadership implies trust earned. Minimum ask for candidates: Find people who would trust you with the power of the office you seek and ask them to endorse you.
- Not all the people/races listed in our guide are on your ballot. Check your sample ballot or click here.
- It’s OK to leave parts blank.
- Read political flyers carefully. Who paid for it? Is it from a political party, or are they pay-to-play “slate” mailers? Read this article from 2016.
- You don’t need to be an expert to become involved. Phonebanking! Textbanking! Letter Writing! and other great things to do!: Click here.
- This post will be updated as more endorsements come in.
We fell down research rabbit holes for you so that you and our husbands wouldn’t have to. It’s now on all of us to fix what we can and to create a path to a more just and sustainable future for this country that we love. At a polling booth, or at our own kitchen tables, armed with a pen and a ballot, we are going to fight for the American dream for everyone.
QUICK LINKS TO: Federal candidates, State candidates, County candidates, Local Measures, Voting/registration information, Ballot drop-off locations, In-person voting locations, Other voting guides/endorsements.
Continue reading “Indivisible Ventura’s Voting Guide for the 2022 Primary Election”The rally is over. Now what?
Don’t just wait for the next rally or march. Your own pressure campaign for democracy is waiting in your phone.
At the rally we asked you to contact your legislators every day. Here is our handout on HOW to program your phone to make it really fast to do, and WHY you need to call your own Democratic legislators as well.
Continue reading “The rally is over. Now what?”Join in the action against Medicare profiteering!
While we’re distracted with abortion rights, the GOP and their Wall Street donors are busy trying ruin something else that we value.
- Action #1: On May 23, learn more about how corporate vultures plan to privatize Medicare and how to stop them. Share this in your social circles!
- Action #2: Sign a petition to Joe to stop this nonsense before more vulnerable people are hurt.
- Action #3: Make a call to Joe to “executive action” this away.
- Action #4: Call your representative to fight against Trump’s corrupt leftovers.
This action was shared with us by our Ventura County chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP). The nationwide organization’s mission statement is simple:
“The answer to our health care crisis is clear. We propose a publicly financed, non-profit single-payer national health program that would fully cover medical care for all Americans.
The video below explains the ACO REACH program, which was originally proposed by the Trump administration.
- The GOP says the acronym stands for the Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health. Hmmm…isn’t that what Medicare is already doing?
- Here’s the real translation – the American Corporations & Oligarchs – REACHing into and draining our Medicare fund dry. Under this program, private equity and ventura capitalist firms, who have already wreaked havoc on the wheelchair and air ambulance industries, will finally be allowed bring their particular blend of toxic greed to the Medicare trough, right alongside the private insurance companies who are already making bank with their aptly named “Medicare Advantage” plans.
Earlier action with more information here.
Action #1: On May 23, learn more about how corporate vultures plan to privatize Medicare and how to stop them. Share this in your social circles!
Continue reading “Join in the action against Medicare profiteering!”Answer: Big telecom companies! And now partnered civil rights groups are spreading their propaganda.
Update: This one woman, Gigi Sohn, poses such a threat to telecom giants AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, and Charter, that their lobbyists are pulling out all the stops to smear her, as reported here. Watchdog site TechDirt.com has identified four Democratic senators (Manchin, Sinema, Kelly, Cortes Masto) who the telecom lobby are targeting for a “NO” vote. Although these industries have reportedly created entirely fake consumer or civil rights groups, it appears that they may be “co-opting” partnered organizations like LULAC, all to prevent this one woman from restoring meaningful federal oversight of their industry.
FIRE UP YOUR PHONES! Call your Senators to vote for Gigi Sohn For FCC NOW!
Continue reading “Answer: Big telecom companies! And now partnered civil rights groups are spreading their propaganda.”Don’t hand your reproductive privacy to authoritarians without a fight!
The internet is tracking your period apps, your search history and your location. Companies are already selling that information to cops and extremists.
“I do think that we are facing a future in which the data collected by period-tracking apps could be used either as a dragnet to identify women who may have had an abortion or as evidence that a woman has had an abortion in a future in which seeking out or having an abortion is criminalized, which is something anti-abortion advocates have been eager to do.” – Eva Galperin (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
Action: Call your legislators!
Continue reading “Don’t hand your reproductive privacy to authoritarians without a fight!”Visualize this! Smacking the GOP out of office and getting the work done!
Thanks to everyone who showed up yesterday for our Ventura County Government Center action for #BansoffOurBodies. Be ready for a Planned Parenthood action on May 14.
Images and comments regarding the Ventura action are on our Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/IndivisibleVentura . These rallies were happening all across the nation and Senator Warren had some choice words to share at an event near her.
READ: “The dog caught the car” – Read Heather Cox Ricardson’s cogent analysis of the GOP’s cynical history of manipulating evangelical Christians to remain in power and how it led to this moment here.
Get your phone ready for action!
These actions should take no more than 10 minutes total (waiting-for-your-coffee-time) if your phone is programmed with all your legislators numbers.
- How should I do this? tinyurl.com/make-faster-calls
- Why should I do this? My peeps are all Dems.: tinyurl.com/Why-call
Get a live person to talk to, say your script, mimimum (zip code) + “(YES/NO) on (bill name/#).” Add whatever moves you. Done. Rinse and repeat tomorrow. Relentless calling is how the Tea Party led us to Trump and this SCOTUS. We can do it too.
Is CA ready to be a reproductive care sanctuary?
CA already had a list of bills to pass. We’re wondering if they are strong enough.
- UPDATE: “May 5 (Reuters) – Louisiana lawmakers have advanced a bill that would abolish abortion in the state, grant constitutional rights to “all unborn children from the moment of fertilization” and classify abortion as a homicide crime.“
- UPDATE: “As Idahoans plan for a future without abortion rights, a leading Republican in the Idaho House would support holding hearings on legislation banning abortion pills and morning-after pills.
Our “Deeper Dive” section below discusses the eugenics movement that’s always been behind the eyes of GOP believers. We’re not the only ones who’ve noticed.
Hint: The forced-birther movement was never about religion. It was never about babies.
Action #1: Email your assemblymember and state senator to support our sanctuary bills.
Sample email script to legislators: I’m writing because I want Asm./Sen. [___] to vote to pass every one of the 13 remaining bills advanced by Gov. Newsom and the CA Future of Abortion Council to protect those seeking reproductive sanctuary and equity in our state. I’m appalled that a bill like AB-2223, which protects California’s women who experience pregnancy loss, wasn’t passed years ago. However, I’m concerned we may have left off some important protections.
Although AB 1666 focuses on civil liability judgements, if Roe v Wade falls, 26 states will rapidly increase criminalization of abortion, stillbirth and miscarriages. I want to CA to have protections similar to Connecticut’s HB-5414. Their bill offers protection against:
- CRIMINAL prosecution by those states who will use “fetal personhood” to press charges of homicide. It bars extradition by CT’s governor and cooperation with the pursuing state’s investigation or prosecution.
- Abusive civil lawsuits by bounty hunters. It allows those targeted to countersue for full damages, and attorneys’ fees in CT state court.
We had hoped that none of these measures would be necessary, but Texas legislators are threatening women with execution if Roe falls, and Louisiana just advanced a bill that classifies abortion as homicide and which, if passed, they intend to enforce, no matter what SCOTUS decides.
The shadow of Long COVID
Between 5 and 30 million Americans are suffering with symptoms of Long COVID.
Below are several bills that focus, in different proportions, on directly helping patients, educating medical providers and researching this new syndrome that can manifest symptoms in almost every system of the body, including our brains. Considering how many of their constituents are affected, the cosponsor lists for these bills are surprisingly short. Let’s change that!
(More information on each bill is included at the bottom.)
Action #1: Tell your legislators you expect to see their name cosponsoring H.R.7482/ S.4015 – TREAT Long COVID Act.
Continue reading “The shadow of Long COVID”Not again?!? Romney’s “TRUST Act” – the GOP’s Trojan Horse to cut seniors’ Social Security & Medicare benefits is BACK!
A lot of Democratic senators fell for this scam last time! Take nothing for granted. Tell them – “NO” on this GOP-swindle and “YES” for a real solution – “Social Security 2100 Act – A Sacred Trust.”
Sen. Feinstein joined over 20 other Democratic senators in voting for Romney’s TRUST Act last time it was up. Perhaps they did not appreciate then how it would fundamentally weaken Social Security and Medicare, allowing cuts to benefits without regard to how they would affect their constituents who depend on them. But…it’s a GOP bill. The rich are always protected and the poor and middle-class are left to pay the check. Seriously – THEY SHOULD HAVE FIGURED THIS OUT BY NOW!
What we need is H.R.5723/S.3071 “Social Security 2100 Act – A Sacred Trust.” This legislation adjusts the payroll wage cap so that the wealthy begin paying their fair share into the program. They also includes a 2 percent across the board increase in benefits and a more accurate inflation formula for calculating cost-of-living adjustments.
Action: Tell your legislators to vote “NO” on Romney’s Trojan Horse TRUST Act (H.R.2572/S.1295) and “YES” on H.R.5723/S.3071 – Social Security 2100 Act – A Sacred Trust.”
Continue reading “Not again?!? Romney’s “TRUST Act” – the GOP’s Trojan Horse to cut seniors’ Social Security & Medicare benefits is BACK!”A new kind of “Electric Slide”
2035 – the year that all new cars should be electric zero-emission models to meet the Paris Accord goals, is just 13 years away.
The transportation sector contributes 27 percent of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions – the biggest single culprit. Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill contains $7.5 billion for building a national network of electric vehicle (EV) chargers to compete with nearly 117,000 gas stations. On the state level, Gov. Newson signed an executive order requiring that 100% of new passenger vehicles sales in California will be ZEVs by 2035. Meanwhile, polls indicate that while three quarters of Americans see electric vehicles as the future of transportation, initial high cost and lack of easy access to a charging station hold many back. Here are some CA proposals to help solve these problems.
INDIVISIBLE VENTURA 