Upcoming events

  • Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at 07:00 PM · 41 rsvps
    Online via Zoom

    Open Democracy Book Club: One Person, No Vote

    The selected title for our second Open Democracy Book Club will be One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy by Carol Anderson.  

    From the award-winning, NYT bestselling author of White Rage, the startling--and timely--history of voter suppression in America, with a foreword by Senator Dick Durbin, now with a new afterword by the author.

    In her New York Times bestseller White Rage, Carol Anderson laid bare an insidious history of policies that have systematically impeded black progress in America, from 1865 to our combustible present. With One Person, No Vote, she chronicles a related history: the rollbacks to African American participation in the vote since the 2013 Supreme Court decision that eviscerated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Known as the Shelby ruling, this decision effectively allowed districts with a demonstrated history of racial discrimination to change voting requirements without approval from the Department of Justice.

    Focusing on the aftermath of Shelby, Anderson follows the astonishing story of government-dictated racial discrimination unfolding before our very eyes as more and more states adopt voter suppression laws. In gripping, enlightening detail she explains how voter suppression works, from photo ID requirements to gerrymandering to poll closures. In a powerful new afterword, she examines the repercussions of the 2018 midterm elections. And with vivid characters, she explores the resistance: the organizing, activism, and court battles to restore the basic right to vote to all Americans.

    About the Author


    Carol Anderson is the Charles Howard Candler Professor and Chair of African American Studies at Emory University. She is the author of One Person, No Vote, longlisted for the National Book Award and a finalist for the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award; White Rage, a New York Times bestseller and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award; Bourgeois Radicals; and Eyes off the Prize. She was named a Guggenheim Fellow for Constitutional Studies and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
    ISBN: 9781635571394
    ISBN-10: 1635571391
    Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
    Publication Date: September 17th, 2019
    Pages: 368
    Language: English
    Available in paperback (18.00) from Gibson's Bookstore, Toadstool Bookstore and Water Street Books or your favorite retailer.
  • Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 05:30 PM · $25.00 USD · 57 rsvps

    2023 Annual Meeting

    Please join us for the 2023 Annual Meeting

    WHEN: June 14, 2023.  5:30 pm

    WHERE: 52 Fisk Rd, Concord, NH

    We'll celebrate our successes of the past 12 months, update you on the Strategic Planning process, elect Board members and enjoy great food and each other's company!  There will be awards for Democracy Champions and Outstanding Civic Stewardship.  Live music will be provided by Fortune's Favor. 

    Our guest speakers will be Charlene Lovett, former Mayor of Claremont and Thomas Oppel, President and Founder of O² Strategies and a regional democracy team member.

    This will be a joint Annual Meeting of Coalition for Open Democracy and Open Democracy Action.

    Tickets are just $25 each (As always, if cost is a barrier to attendance, email Olivia or Doreen for a donated ticket). 

    Want to be a sponsor of this event?  We have multiple sponsorship levels available, email Olivia for more information.  

    Open Democracy will provide sambusa's and drinks for the event. Your ticket receipt will contain a link for a sort form to indicate your preference of beef, chicken or vegetable sambusa.   Salads and desserts will be potluck.  Email Doreen if you would like to bring your favorite salad or dessert.

    The site is accessible, please email Sara if you need special assistance/arrangements.

    Please consider donating a ticket!

     

  • Thursday, September 14, 2023 at 07:00 PM · 5 rsvps
    Online via Zoom

    Open Democracy Book Club: Becoming a Democracy

    The United States wasn't built as a democracy. The Senate doesn't represent people. Both sides hate gerrymandering and the courts refuse to fix it. Our right to be heard is defeated by voter suppression and an Electoral College system that concentrates power in a handful of states and too often reverses the popular vote. But within our flawed system, we have the tools to tackle our most stubborn election problems by flexing state and local power (no constitutional amendments or courts required).

    This should be the last American election that works against the people. Kristin Eberhard, Director of Democracy at Sightline Institute, thoughtfully researched how the U.S. election system is unjust to many by design, and walks us through 10 big but practical ideas for making our elections free, fair, and secure. Now is the time:

    - More than half of Americans live in just nine states. That means less than half the population controls 82 percent of the Senate. It doesn't have to be that way. We can hope the Senate eliminates the filibuster. But while we're holding our breath, what if we went further and remade the Senate to represent people?
    - Voter suppression justified by trumped up fears of double voting and dead voters – why? There's already a simple, proven solution working in 30 states to keep voter lists secure and accurate.
    - Feel stuck with the Electoral College reversing the popular vote? That isn't even in the Constitution! There is a path for states to ensure the candidate with the most votes wins (and we're already on it).
    - We could defeat gerrymandering and create a multi-party system where voters have more options, lawmakers get more work done, and extremists are relegated to the fringe, unable to take over a major party.

    A field guide to better elections for both sides of the aisle, Becoming a Democracy illuminates the meaningful, concrete actions that can transform our elections and make sure everyone's vote counts (and that they get to vote in the first place).

    Author Kristin Eberhard  is a researcher, writer, speaker, lawyer and policy analyst.  She is known as a leading expert on electoral reform in the Pacific Northwest, and is considered an authority on proportional representation as well as carbon pricing.  She will join us for the first half hour of our program to discuss the book and answer your questions.

    ISBN: 9781098349998
    ISBN-10: 1098349997
    Publisher: BookBaby
    Publication Date: January 11th, 2021
    Pages: 228
    Language: English

    Available on paperback (12.99) from Gibson's Bookstore, Toadstool Books and Water Street Bookstore as well as your favorite retailer.

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