May 2021 – Updates
2021 Legislative session ends; what to do now!
Dear NPV Advocates:
Once again, the National Popular Vote bill was filed in the Florida House and Senate, but no action was taken. However, we continue to learn and strategize.
Here is what we accomplished:
House Bill 39 filed by Rep. Joseph Geller had 5 co-sponsors. The most ever. We continue to gather support.
Many of you contacted your local legislators showing support for NPV. Even if you didn’t get a meeting, your emails and calls matter!
Twenty-two newspapers around the state published Op-Eds written by our NPV District Chairs. Many letters-to-the-editor were penned in reply to those Op-Eds. Click here for a list.
Five hundred sixty legislators and their staff received a series of emails explaining NPV. This non-partisan educational exercise was aimed at dispelling the myths around NPV.
We got social! After 2 years of piggy-backing on existing social media pages, Angie Wegner joined our team and now manages the Floridians for NPV presence on Facebook and Twitter.
Conservatives for yes for NPV joined Floridians for NPV as a coalition member. It’s especially important in Florida to show that conservatives are confident that a National Popular Vote is in everyone’s best interest.
Here’s what to do next:
Write to your legislators and THANK them for all they do! Find something specific you can agree with and mention that. Seriously. Plant the seed for your next encounter to be friendly rather than adversarial. Here’s a list of a few laws that were passed that you can reference.
Attend the League of Women Voters Florida Convention June 4 – 5, 2021. It will be virtual and Floridians for National Popular Vote will present a workshop. Exact date & time TBA. Open to LWV members only.
If you’d like to be more involved, reach out to your local District Chair. Their contact information is located on the map on our website or through our District Chair Organizer, Anne Coppenhaver. We’d love to have you!
For our 2022 strategy planning, tell us which legislators you spoke to especially if they seemed reasonable. Maybe not convinced, but at least open-minded. This will help us concentrate our efforts.
Make it a point to be active in voting issues, like fair districting, open primaries, ranked-choice voting and campaign finance reform. We need a combination of these reforms to get reasonable legislators elected rather than extremists on either side. Only then will we have a fair chance of getting NPV passed in Florida.
Thanks to all of you for your continued support,
Deb Mazzaferro
Co-founder
Marketing and Strategy
Update on US Census and Redistricting
Every 10 years, the US conducts a census. Due to the COVID pandemic, the 2020 census results are delayed until September 2021. However, the League of Women Voters, All on the Line and many other non-partisan advocacy organizations are already planning ways to ensure the districts drawn are fair for all voters.
Click here for more information.