Defend Democracy Team

“…from Protest To Policy.” Elijah Cummings.

TEAM MISSION and GOALS

Defend the Democracy of the United States: In our country and throughout the world, democratic values are under assault. The Defend Democracy team is committed to educating ourselves and others about the challenges we face and promoting and participating in actions that support and defend democratic values.

Indivisible has joined the Declaration for American Democracy, a historic coalition of over 145 organizations representing millions of people nationwide. Our coalition includes groups from the labor, racial justice, faith, women’s rights, environmental, good government, and many other important communities. Formed in 2018, we set out on a mission to take back our democracy and restore power to the people. We believe that we must build a democracy where everyone participates, every vote is counted, and everyone’s voice is heard.

  • Got a new law passed to expand language access for Maryland voters (part of the Maryland Voting Rights Act)
  • Drove sweeping reforms in Wicomico County, changing the election systems for the local Council and school board from an at-large system to a single-district system, allowing Black residents to have meaningful representation (remains a goal of the Maryland Voting Rights Act for other municipalities)
  • Were able to get the elections audit system changed to an automated system which enhances reliability and speed

Prior Years

  •  Got the following legislation passed: Maryland State Agency Transparency Act (2023), Student and Military Voter Empowerment Act (2021), Permanent Voting-by-Mail Lists (2021), Automatic Voter Registration (2018), Election Day Registration (2018)
  • And in Howard County: Introduction of a Charter Amendment to create an Independent Office of the Inspector General (2024), Creation of a Citizens Election Fund system for candidates for County Council and County Executive (2016)
At the national and state levels:
 
  • Ensure clean and fair elections: improve access, promote integrity, ensure security.
  • Reverse the discriminatory practices and restrictive voting laws caused by the Shelby County v. Holder Supreme Court decision.
  • End the dominance of big money in politics: guarantee disclosure, empower citizens, strengthen oversight. Specifically, call for a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United.
  • Ensure public officials work in the public interest: fortify ethics law, impose greater ethics enforcement. In particular, lobby for Sheldon Whitehouse’s bill to reform the Supreme Court (The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act or SCERT).
 
Also, 

 Continue to support the Washington DC Admission Act (H.R. 51), for statehood of Washington DC.

Key actions:

  • Join key national and state coalitions, and actions as appropriate. The Defend Democracy Team has joined the Everyone Votes Maryland coalition, together with Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, the ACLU, and others.
  • Forge relationships with elected and board of elections officials.
  • Lobby local and state elected officials, attend town halls.
  • Organize meetings to educate our members and the community on key democracy topics.
  • Participate in voter registration drives, write postcards and letters to voters.
  • Attend and/or organize rallies, such as the I95 Gorman Road overpass rallies.
  • Testify in support of important election and government transparency bills in the Maryland General Assembly.

Ways to Get Get Involved

In addition to attending regular Defend Democracy team meetings and following our recommendations for taking action, there are sub-action teams you may want to join; these smaller teams have the mission to become experts on their respective topics, reach out to other similarly aligned advocacy groups and represent us as appropriate, and come back to the team w/ updates and recommended actions.
 
Current sub-action teams are:
 
– Campaign finance 
– Civic education 
– Energizing Independent voters
– Gorman Overpass rallies
– Legislator watchdog
– Ranked-choice voting
– Social events
– Tesla Takedown
– Truth Brigade
– Liaison to the Everyone Votes Coalition 
– Liaison to the Democratic Central Committee
– Liaison to the League of Women Voters
 
If you would like to form a sub-action team on a topic of special interest to you, please let us know. 

Resources

Brennan Center for Justice Explainers: A series of brief articles on key issues such as money in politics, gerrymandering, and others.

Contact our Team Leaders