UU the Vote Launch
By UUA’s Side With Love
Hosted by Nora Rasman, Democracy Strategist, UU the Vote

Thursday, March 14,
7:00 p.m. ET - 6:00 p.m. CT - 5:00 p.m. MT - 4:00 p.m. PT  
RSVP: Online event

The UUA announces they are entering the work of UU the Vote 2024, grounded in our faith and national community's current political and spiritual conditions. The work needed in 2024 will require us to anchor in our power and connect authentically to mobilize UUs, voters, and our local communities. UU the Vote 2024 is an ambitious strategy to grow a powerful pro-democracy majority. (Review the 2024 Good Truble criteria.)

This year, UU the Vote reports they will help build our UU commitment to democratic practices and recommit to showing up for social movements and building infrastructure and relationships to sustain us beyond the electoral year. 

Join UU the Vote for their launch on Thursday, March 14th, as they highlight their upcoming work. You’ll learn about UU the Vote work with State Advocacy Networks and their partners in key states, key ballot initiatives, political education, spiritual grounding opportunities, and their mass voter contact program. Join the launch!

Meet Nora at the UU the Vote Launch

Sign up for the UU the Vote Launch Event on Thursday, March 14. You will hear about their plans for 2024 from our UUA President, Rev. Dr. Sophia Betancourt, as well as the new full-time Democracy Strategist for UU the Vote, Nora Rasman. Nora previously worked for Side With Love but spent the last few years building political power and working on local campaigns in Milwaukee. This included a statewide race for Senate alongside local organizing fights like the fight to Stop Line 5, ongoing election defense work, and doubling down on experiments in decriminalization. 

UUSJ has been meeting with Nora to coordinate our efforts, and we welcome the spirit of collaboration Nora brings.

Voting Rights is a Blessed Liberty

Take action: Support the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (JRLVRAA)

On the last day of February, the Senate introduced its companion bill for H.R. 14, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2023. 

• Review a letter of support to the Senate as well as faith leader quotes by Faithful Democracy, of which UUSJ is a member 
• See the list of hundreds of organizations officially supporting the act

Now, we must tell both Chambers that Voting Rights is a Blessed Liberty (Press Release, UUSJ). To do so, we have replaced our prior action targeting the House with an action that includes the Senate. 

Democracy Action Team, Actions for 2024

On February 28th, the UUSJ Democracy Action Team met with democracy leaders from UU congregations nationwide. We provided them with useful materials to help them form their own Democracy Action Teams and engage members of their congregation in the effort to save our democracy.

One of the tools we provided is available now for everyone to use. It’s called Your Personal Plan to Help Save Our Democracy, and it has 50 actions you can take leading up to the November elections. You can download a copy from our Democracy in 2024 page on the UUSJ website.

Check Your Voter Registration

With the Presidential Primaries occurring around the country, it’s a good time to check to be sure you are registered to vote and to register if you’re not (even if it’s too late to vote in the Primaries). Vote.gov takes you directly to the state elections site for the selected state.

The majority of states and D.C. now have online voter registration. You’ll need your driver's license number or another form of ID the state accepts to register. The eight states that do not have online voter registration are Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Maine.