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The Center's affiliate organization,
Western
State Strategies, is continuing our traditional work
on campaign finance reform, supporting voter-owned elections
and promoting a more transparent election system that
expands democracy. |
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Help Western States Center
support and grow the progressive movement in the West! |
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Electoral
campaigns are a means to an end. They can build power—but
for whom? Unless those campaigns are deeply connected to
a base of constituencies and grounded in a common set of
values and beliefs, they are unlikely to build towards a
progressive transformation of U.S. politics. For the past
decade, Western States Center has emphasized the need for
community organizations to develop electoral organizing
skills in order to defend our communities from attack, achieve
more representative governance, and build power for marginalized
peoples. |
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Documents for
Download:
- Building
Grassroots Power - Western States Center's
195-page curriculum, Building Grassroots
Power: An Introduction to Electoral Politics,
is designed to support the eletoral organizing efforts
of groups with 501(C)(3) or 501(C)(4) tax-exempt status.
- Recruiting
Candidates - Where do we get the next generation
of progressive leaders? Find out in this article by
political activist Len Norwitz.
- Voter
Contact Plans - Article describes personal
voter contact plans, which follow the same basic steps
as standard electoral campaigns—with a key difference.
Instead of relying on mass media, they start with, and
strengthen, personal relationships.
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Helpful Web Sites:
- Ballot
Access News - Ballot Access News is
an online, non-partisan newsletter reporting on
restrictive ballot access laws in the United
States.
- Ballot
Initiative Strategy Center - The
mission of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center
is to bring together state and national groups
committed to strategic grassroots ballot
initiative campaigns in order to strengthen
progressive politics and policies across the
states and build an effective response to the
right-wing’s damaging initiative strategy.
- BallotWatch
- BallotWatch, a project of the
Initiative and Referendum Institute at the
University of Southern California, follows issues
appearing on state ballots and analyzes trends.
- FairVote
- FairVote (also known as the Center for
Voting and Democracy) seeks elections that promote
voter turnout, fair representation, inclusive
policy and meaningful choices by building on our
nation's history of improving upon the American
experiment. As a catalyst for electoral reforms
such as instant runoff voting, proportional
voting, direct election of the president and
automatic voter registration, we conduct research,
analysis, education and organizing to ensure all
Americans can exercise their right to vote and
elect representatives who reflect our racial and
political diversity.
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