SCOTUS Rules - WE DOUBLE DOWN!

SCOTUS GUTS VOTING RIGHTS ACT...

Dear Fellow Democrat,

I'm not going to sugarcoat this - it's bad news. The Supreme Court ruled that the very tenet of the law that protects from racially gerrymandering was itself racially discriminatory, and immediately several former Confederate states began to gerrymander away any Black majority districts. THE ONLY WAY TO RESPOND is to DOUBLE DOWN on our efforts to get out the vote. I think about what just happened in Hungary. That country had been ruled by an autocrat for the past 16 years, people were oppressed, truth was silenced, elections were rigged. BUT one month ago today, the people came out in record numbers and ousted him. Nearly 80% of eligible voters cast their ballots in that election. Compare that to the United States election in 2024 where the overall turnout was under 64%, with Texas coming in at a paltry 56%, the 4th lowest turnout in the country. There is a lot of room for improvement, but in order to do that, we will have to double down on all the things we have ever done and think of new things! 

This weekend we'll be delivering door hangers across the city. We have identified 8000 voters who cast their ballots in the Democratic Primary in March, 3500 of them are first time Primary voters! We are going to remind them that EARLY VOTING STARTS MONDAY, MAY 18TH and ends May 22nd, and ELECTION DAY IS MAY 26TH! We're also inviting them to be a part of our RAD community, to meet candidates and learn about the issues, so that they can be better informed and more engaged voters. This is easy work - no knocking, just hang the flyer on the doorknob and walk on.  We have packets ready now if you want to do it during the week, but will be meeting on Saturday morning and Sunday morning to get them all out. WE NEED AN ARMY!! PLEASE sign up and come out to help. Together, we can get this important work done!

Next Thursday is our Happy Hour and it will be focused on Military Appreciation as we go into the Memorial Day Weekend. We have several candidates right here in the Richardson area who are military veterans, and we've asked them to come talk with us about their reasons for running. From Congressional candidates Evan Hunt for CD3 and Kevin Burge for CD24 to State Senate candidate Keenen Colbert for SD2 and Zach Herbert for House District 112 (the MOST-likely-to-flip district in the STATE!), we are honored to have them join us. We'll also hear from Kate Rumsey of Mission: Texas Podcast, as well as Frederick (Nic) Nickens, the Chair of the Texas Democratic Veterans. Kate and Nic are both Veterans themselves, and they are continuing to serve our country by helping elect Democrats across the state! This will be a special evening honoring true patriots to take us into Memorial Day weekend. Please join us and bring a friend - Sign up HERE! 

Please make a plan to vote in the Primary Runoff. May 26th is Election Day, early voting is from May 18th to the 22nd. RAD has endorsed these candidates.  And amazingly, this will be the last election before the Midterms! This spring has been a LOT of Voting and GOTV, so it will be a bit of relief to have several months before the next! 

As usual, we continue to show up weekly, ROARing on the bridge and with our signs! We are now NINE months into our weekly protests, and they continue to be a fun and effective way to inspire others and to lift our spirits in community. You can join the ROAR Bridge Brigade on Thursday evenings from 4-6 and Saturday mornings from 9-10 on the Collins Blvd Bridge over I-75 (park at Cafe Max on the east side and walk up!). They are always happy to have more hands to hold the banners and flags and wave at the honking cars on Central! We also meet every Saturday morning from 10-11 on the southeast corner of Campbell & 75 to let our community know that there is a resistance in Richardson! Join Us! 

One more thing... our last newsletter stated MISTAKENLY that SD4 had been *won* by the Democrat, Ron Angeletti. He actually flipped just Jefferson County by that 45 point swing, but unfortunately, the district is made up of several counties and overall, the Republican won the special election. (Thanks for that correction, Mr. Santucci!)  We'll keep working on OUR Senate District 2!
 

 ~ See You Soon ~

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Once again, if you haven't done so yet, we invite you to join or renew your membership in Richardson Area Democrats. Your suggested donation of $10/month will help us continue to build this inclusive community!  Thanks for all you do.