Home › Blogs › Jake Gellar-Goad's blog ›

Not a bad week for Democracy

Submitted by Jake Gellar-Goad on Mon, 07/09/2012 - 9:52am

Looking for some good news? Check out this week's installment of the Democracy Summer intern team blogs. Here are a few clips to get you started!

Fayetteville Team:

Luckily, the week came to an end much like many difficult or challenging times during life. . . with a ray of hope. The people of North Carolina successfully fought off new Voter ID and other voter suppression measures! That’s a major victory – crucial for the general election in November. Every flyer handed out, every phone call made, every conversation with an elected official (well, with a few notable exceptions) all seams worthwhile. In the face of maddening opposition and disappointment, the people of North Carolina were also triumphant. I’m so happy just to have been a small part of that effort.

Greenville Team:

In stark contrast to their disappointing HAVA decision, the legislature had everyone in the office celebrating on Tuesday — the pernicious Photo ID Bill was not passed! Hundreds of thousands of voters in North Carolina just barely avoided this unreasonable, anti-democratic block to their voting actions. But avoid it they did, and we’re thrilled to see some of our work pay off.

Charlotte Team:

I would definitely say the week was great and one of the more exciting of the summer for all the reasons I have stated. We’re only moving forward from this point on. The clock is ticking down and victory rest in hands of the Charlotte team.

Tagged:

Comments

In addition to the Democracy

Submitted by Jake Gellar-Goad on Mon, 07/09/2012 - 9:57am.

In addition to the Democracy Summer intern teams working across the state, we are also excited to have a Duke student interning at our Durham office this summer. She's been working (and blogging) about her outreach to the faith community. I'll let her words tell you more:

Faith and the Latino Community (part 1)

My name is Erin Sweeney and I am a student intern doing a summer research project for Democracy North Carolina. I’m working out of Democracy NC’s headquarters in Durham. It may surprise some of you that Democracy NC does not have a fulltime organizer for the Triangle; the main office serves more as a communications hub and operation site that coordinates other staff (and other interns!) throughout the state. However, Democracy NC recognizes Durham’s importance in the upcoming election, and wants to explore the possibility of a “Souls to the Polls” program in the area. “Souls to the Polls” encourages faith-based communities to register, educate, and mobilize people to vote.

My job is to reach out to area religious leaders of all types to discuss how faith and political participation intersect in Durham. One of the questions I most enjoy asking priests, reverends, pastors, ministers, bishops, rabbis (and other faith leaders I have yet to interview!) is: “What are the most important social/political issues to you and your congregation?” The answers vary but interestingly, nearly all of my conversations have included discussion about the need for “immigration reform.”

Read More