Join us Saturday morning, September 25, 9:30 - 11:30 as we give you more tools to make you an effective advocate for democracy reform. The event will be online via Zoom and will feature as our opening speaker Brenda Lett, National Treasurer; National Coalition Of Blacks for Reparations in America, (N’COBRA), Board Chair; NH Black Women Health Project, and Board Member; Greater Manchester Black Scholarship Foundation.

This event is FREE and is open to volunteers of any organization who want to learn more about how to advocate for the freedom to vote, end the influence of special interests on our elected officials, and how to be more effective in your communications to other voters.

We have two tracks in our program, based on suggestions by our Open Democracy Teams members, "Issues" and "Tools." You will have the opportunity to attend a total of 2 of the 4 workshops. All will be recorded so you can watch the others at your leisure.

RSVP below!

Our program:

Issues:

9:45-10:20 am Public Funding of Elections

One of the solutions to ending the influence of Big Money special interests on our elected officials is the implementation of public funding of elections. This reform can be "voter dollars," certificates which voters give to candidates they support, or matching funds. Learn more about how these models work, and where they've been implemented, the success they've had, and ways we can advocate for this game-changing reform.

Presenter: Nick Nyhart

Nick Nyhart (former President and CEO, Public Campaign/Every Voice Center) is a longtime democracy advocate. For nearly 20 years, he led Public Campaign (later Every Voice Center), which supported groundbreaking local, state, and national efforts to design, win, and implement innovative systems of publicly financed elections. A consultant since 2019, he remains an expert on small dollar donor public financing programs and related policies to improve American democracy by making politics more inclusive and equitable.

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10:25-11:10 am Difficult Conversations on Redistricting

Partisan redistricting and gerrymandering have been cancers on American democracy since the beginning of the republic. Voters recognize that it's unfair, but many politicians see it as a means to an end -- power. We'll show you ways to have a conversation with a legislator or voter who may like things the way they are, or be may just not know about how fair redistricting would be better for voters of all parties.

Presenter: Liz Tentarelli

Liz Tentarelli is a retired educator. She has a been a member of the non-partisan League of Women Voters for more than 25 years, and president of the state League since 2013. Liz often testifies on election law issues in the NH Legislature on behalf of the League of Women Voters. She is also a presenter for the NH Humanities on women's suffrage. Liz lives in Newbury NH.

Tools:

9:45-10:20 am Facebook as an Advocacy Tool

Love it or hate it, Facebook is regularly used by 71% of the U.S. population, with an even higher number of pro-democracy users, according to Pew Research. As advocates, we can't afford to ignore the platform for events, mobilizing people to action, or movement building. Find out how Facebook can be used to move democracy reform, tricks which allow you to do more, and it's limitations.

Presenter: Zandra Rice Hawkins

Zandra Rice Hawkins is the founding Executive Director of Granite State Progress and developed her communications expertise with groups such as America Coming Together and New Hampshire for Health Care.

Zandra serves on the America Votes – New Hampshire Executive Work Group, convenes the NH Health Care Coalition and NH Gun Violence Prevention Coalition, and is active in her local Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) committee.

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10:25-11:10 am Twitter Basics

What's a Tweet Storm? How do I ReTweet? What's a Hashtag for? Twitter isn't used by anywhere near as many Americans - 21%, so why bother? It's WHO uses Twitter that's important. We'll teach you the basics of using Twitter, all about #Hashtags, and why it can be an effective tool for raising the visibility of an issue with influencers.

Presenter: Becky Timmons

Becky Timmons is the Communications Coordinator at Common Cause.

Recognition:

We'll also take just a few minutes during the event to acknowledge the incredible contributions of our Open Democracy Teams, who just this year have written over 120 letters to the editor, generate hundreds of calls to our U.S. Senators on the For the People Act, challenged Governor Sununu's claims that there is no gerrymandering in NH and so much more. You'll learn more about what Open Democracy Teams do on a weekly basis, and how they are making an impact on the debate in New Hampshire.