U.S. Poverty Campaigns

2014 Election Day Weekly Update | November 4, 2014

• Got Two Minutes? VOTE!
• Got Ten Minutes? Get Ready for November 8 Conference Call with Jared Bernstein
• Got Twenty Minutes? Use Election Hooks to Get Media Published
• RESULTS Contact Information

This week's main action! Write Letters to the Editor Urging Congress to Protect the EITC and CTC!

Got Two Minutes? VOTE!

Today is Election Day! So that you can spend time voting and helping others do the same, this Weekly Update is short and to the point. And the first and most important thing for you to do today is VOTE. According to the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), 68 percent of Americans voted in the 2012 election but only 41 percent voted in 2010. We need to get those averages up. Most European countries are well over 70 percent in voter turnout… for every election (Iceland is above 80 percent for each election). And, in order to build a movement to end poverty and become a stronger democracy, we must include the diverse voices of those that experience poverty firsthand. Unfortunately, higher income voters are much more likely to register to vote and get to the polls on election days. We need to change this. If you want a government that reflects your values, you have to vote and then help others do the same. If you want politicians to be accountable to you and not big money donors, you have to vote. If you want a democracy that works – however imperfectly – you have to vote.

TAKE ACTION: Take two minutes to VOTE! If you are not sure where your voting place is, go to your Secretary of State’s website or http://www.canivote.org/ to check your voter registration and where you need to go to vote. If you’ve already voted (or once you do today), tell others that you voted and urge them to do the same. Work the polls, help others get there, and improve America’s voter turnout percentage (and strengthen our democracy in the process). VOTE TODAY!

Got Ten Minutes? Get Ready for November 8 Conference Call with Jared Bernstein

As announced last week, RESULTS is thrilled that that Jared Bernstein will be our guest speaker on the November 8 U.S. Poverty National Conference Call. Jared Bernstein is a Senior Fellow at Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and was the Chief Economist and Economic Adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, executive director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class, and a member of President Obama’s economic team from 2009 to 2011). He is also an author and commentator, who is repeatedly quoted in the press on his views of the economy and Washington fiscal politics. Mr. Bernstein will talk to us about the outcome of the election and what it means for anti-poverty federal policy, both in the Lame Duck session and the new Congress in 2015.

Because of his reputation and the insights he will provide on the call, please invite people in your community to participate in the call with you and your local RESULTS group (Action Network members, community allies, friends, family, etc.). To help you, copy and paste the following into an e-mail as an invitation:

Dear _____________,

I’m inviting you to an exciting event on November 8. As you know, I volunteer with RESULTS, by taking action to urge our members of Congress to make ending poverty a national priority. As part of my volunteer work, our local RESULTS group meets each month for a national conference call with volunteers from around the country. In November, we have a very exciting call lined up. Jared Bernstein, a nationally known and respected economist who was Vice President Biden’s Chief Economist and Economic Adviser, will be speaking on RESULTS national conference call. He will talk about the November election and what the outcome means for policies that impact low-income Americans. Because I know you follow these issues and are keenly interested in what the results of the election will mean for the future, I’m inviting you to join our local RESULTS group for the call.

The call is Saturday, November 8 at 12:30 pm ET. We will be meeting at ______________________________. The call will last an hour. I think you will find it very informative and interesting. Can you join us?

Sincerely,

[your name]

TAKE ACTION: Take ten minutes to remind your local RESULTS group about the RESULTS U.S. Poverty National Conference Call this Saturday, November 8 at 12:30 pm ET. Coordinate with your group where you will meet for the call. To join the call, dial (888) 409-6709 and once connected to the operator, ask for the RESULTS National Conference Call. Plan to call in no later than 12:27 pm ET to give time to the operator to connect you with the call.

Be sure to invite others in your community to join your local RESULTS group for the call.

We will have the November 2014 Conference Call Overview slides available later this week. You will find them on the RESULTS Home Page in the “Take Action” box in the top right-hand corner.

Got Twenty Minutes? Use Election Hooks to Get Media Published

In November, we’re going to again use the media to get their attention. Letters to the editor are an easy way to get poverty issues into the press and the public discussion. We want you to write letters urging Congress to work to end poverty by protecting and strengthening the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). Specifically, tell Congress that EITC and CTC provisions that are set to expire need to be a top priority in any tax policy negotiations in the Lame Duck session and beyond, and urge Congress to support bipartisan proposals to expand the EITC.  

In addition, once your local paper is done covering the elections, November is a great time to circle back about editorials on poverty and the EITC/CTC. Editors and writers will have more time to devote to your request once the election is over. Use this lull in news coverage and the “hook” of Congress’s unfinished business to push for an editorial again this month.

TAKE ACTION: Take twenty minutes to look for “hooks” in your local paper about the election and/or the Lame Duck session of Congress to use in a letter to the editor about poverty and tax credits for working families. The November Action has talking points and resources you can use for your letters. We encourage each person in your local group to submit a letter to increase your chance of getting published. In addition to your letters, encourage the media point person in your local RESULTS group to do another editorial request of your local paper. We will put out a new Editorial Memo this week so you can send them the most up-to-date information. We will discuss the November Action on this weekend’s National Conference Call as well.

If you have questions or need help with drafting your letters, please contact Jos Linn at [email protected].

RESULTS Contact Information

Main Office: (p) (202) 783-7100, (f) (202) 466-1397, 1101 15th St NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20005. If mailing a donation to our DC office, please address the envelope to the attention of Cynthia Stancil.

RESULTS U.S. Poverty Legislative and Grassroots Support Staff:

• Meredith Dodson, Director of U.S. Poverty Campaigns, (202) 783-7100, x.116, [email protected].
• Jos Linn, Grassroots Manager, U.S. Poverty Campaigns, (515) 288-3622, [email protected]
• Kristy Martino, U.S. Poverty Grassroots Organizer, (603) 531-7486, [email protected]
• Ann Beltran, U.S. Poverty Volunteer Lobbyist, [email protected]
• Kathleen Duncan, Volunteer Regional Coordinator, [email protected], (832) 971-7553
• Ginnie Vogts, Volunteer Regional Coordinator, (614) 580-7005, [email protected]
• Jen DeFranco, Grassroots Development Associate, [email protected]

The RESULTS U.S. Poverty Update is sent out every Tuesday via email to RESULTS volunteers and allies all over the country. The purpose of these updates is to inform and activate RESULTS activists to take action on our U.S. poverty campaigns.