Greenwood County Democratic Party

Message from the Chair

Tomorrow evening will be a momentous event for the fledgling Young Democrats of Greenwood. Formed only a year ago, they’ve organized their largest profile activity to date: A Legislative Town Hall that will be conducted virtually, featuring a number of prominent elected officials at various levels of state government. Scroll down for details!

I am so very proud of their Chair, Jitwan Floyd, and the other members of the Executive Committee. Jitwan graduates from Lander University this year, and I’m excited to see how the new leadership will grow and continue to be a voice for political activists of all ages.

I also want to express my pride and appreciation for our Legislators who answered the call to support the YDG and update their constituents in this forum. They are encouraging participation in the political process and their words are sure to inspire future engagement from the younger voters.

We hope to see you there!

Your Voting Rights

New Voting ID Requirements in GA
There has been a lot of back & forth regarding the new Voting Suppression laws enacted in Georgia. Among the many new rules added is the requirement to include ID information when voting by mail. The Republican position is “What’s the big deal?”

Marc E. Elias, lawyer and founder of Democracy Docket, observed the following which will lead to a reduction of votes counted:

The new Georgia law will require voters to submit ID to vote by mail. If they use their driver’s license, they need to provide the #.

One of the two numbers below is correct. If they put the other, it will be rejected.

Are you sure you would pick the right one?

GWCDP News

Click the poster below to register for this unique event!

Message from the Chair

I was inspired last week by Senator Mike Fanning (see his news item below) to reflect on what the top priorities of the Greenwood County Democratic Party should be.

We need to do so much: Voter registration, issue education, fundraising, community volunteerism, and candidate support just to name a few. In my mind, in order to more effectively do these things, we have to have these as our top two priorities:

Precinct Organization and Leadership
There are 50 voting precincts in Greenwood County. We are striving to secure representatives from each one to be a part of our County Democratic leadership group and truly work to take the messaging to the people. No experience is necessary nor will it require a major time commitment. All it takes is a willingness to get involved and make a difference. You can learn more in a Zoom info session on Saturday, April 10 at 10 am.

Defend our Voting Rights
If more of the 250+ Republican-authored voting restriction laws across the nation go into effect then we will find ourselves in a position to be unable to secure representation at the local, state and federal levels. Voting accessibility is fundamental to everything else we seek to accomplish. Be informed about the “For the People Act“. Learn about what happened in GA and take it as a warning for us all. And be prepared to take action to defend this most fundamental right of our Democracy.

As COVID vaccine eligibility expands in SC this week, we’re going to be venturing out into the public again. So keep this in mind:

If you remain on the sidelines,
you may find your rights as a citizen sidelined!

Your Voting Rights

What is HR1?
A recent press release from the SCDP put it best:

HR 1. For The People Act is a comprehensive piece of legislation designed to expand voter registration, protect vote by mail and early voting access, while eliminating partisan gerrymandering and demanding an end to voter intimidation and suppression.

You will hear Republican legislators rattle off the pre-written objections that were handed to them. For example, Congressman Jeff Duncan once lamely called it the “For the Democrats Act”. Meanwhile, author Heather Cox Richardson writes:

While Republicans insist that the For the People Act voting rights act, H.R. 1, is a partisan plan, in fact, a leaked conference call from January 8 between a policy advisor to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and leaders of a number of conservative groups showed the participants’ concern that H.R. 1 is quite popular even with Republicans. Across the political spectrum, ordinary Americans especially like its provision to limit the dark money that has flowed into our elections since the 2010 Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission Supreme Court decision, permitting billionaires to buy an election’s outcome.

In the 2020 federal election cycle, dark-money groups spent more than a billion dollars. More than 654 million came from just fifteen groups, the top of which is connected to McConnell.

Message from the Chair

Precinct Presidents
Planning for success in the 2022 elections starts today, and it can start with you!

We are looking to expand our reach into every corner of Greenwood County by designating a “Precinct President” in each of the 50 voting precincts. The Precinct President is the eyes and ears of their community, looking for opportunities for the GWCDP and Democratic candidates to get the message out to the people.

We can’t rely on “someone else” to be a force for change. If we don’t have you, then who? You don’t need to be a political expert with tons of experience – you only need the fundamental desire to help turn SC Blue! 

Take a look at the poster below and reach out if you want to explore the idea further. You CAN make a difference and have fun in the process!

Your Voting Rights

Starting with this newsletter, we are going to focus on the coast-to-coast attacks on our voting rights, attacks that disproportionately affect people of color. 

Consider this: Jonathan Rodden, a political science professor at Stanford University, submitted the following report as part of a lawsuit that found that in Atlanta’s metro area during the 2020 primary:

“In polling places where minorities constituted more than 90 percent of active registered voters, the average minimum wait time in the evening was 51 minutes. When whites constituted more than 90 percent of registered voters, the average was around six minutes.”

So whether by active legislation, gerrymandering, or by selective omission of resources, the anti-democratic reaction to Donald Trump’s loss in November’s election has been swift and brazen. We will continue to report examples of legislation aimed to suppress the vote, what the Biden Administration is doing to combat that, and specific actions YOU can take to ensure democracy is allowed to thrive in the United States.