Author Archives: Becci

SC’s midterm elections: the good, the bad, the ugly

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While the results of the midterm elections are still unclear, there should be no dispute about who really lost: the voters.

From elections corrupted by money and gerrymandered districts, to faulty voting machines and unnecessary photo-ID laws, to parties using fear and outdated playbooks to mobilize their increasingly polarized bases, voters continue to be victimized by a broken system.

A bit of good news is that the election confirmed the value of the SC Progressive Network‘s strategy of civic engagement and long-term, grass-roots movement building led by people who understand this state’s history and its players. Over 22 years, we have grown a community of activists committed to addressing the root causes of our democratic rot, and mapping a better path that serves all of South Carolina, not just the wealthy, white, and well-connected. We do this every day of the year, not just during election season or legislative sessions.

While we found it a challenge to meet all the volunteer opportunities this election cycle offered, we did an impressive job of registering and mobilizing voters in targeted communities, starting relationships with individuals and organizations that we expect to strengthen in the coming months and years.

Our nonpartisan Missing Voter Project (c-3) and our individual membership’s (c-4) work this year again focused on what Dr. Martin Luther King called “the greatest of all injustices: the inequality in health care.” While the MVP went after unregistered voters, both efforts cited the state’s rejection of Medicaid expansion to cover a quarter-million of its most vulnerable citizens.

We did deep demographic work on registered voters being denied Medicaid funding, and crafted a message to them specifically. We printed 30,000 side-by-side comparisons of the gubernatorial candidates’ positions on expanding Medicaid, and distributed them in neighborhoods with densities of minority voters who had their health care stolen. We mailed 10,000 card to the three House districts that were won by the smallest margins in 2016, and made nearly 30,000 robo-calls to young black registered voters who didn’t vote in the 2016 election.

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, a founding member of the Network, recorded a call that went to our targeted voters. (You can play the call below.)

We invited recipients to call the Network for more information. Some 130 young black voters called, and spoke to Network Co-chair Omari Fox. “I was surprised by the amount of people in the dark about Medicaid expansion and their potential for health coverage,” Fox said. “Our democracy is sick, and our civic engagement can remedy that. I’m more determined than ever to educate, agitate, and organize.”

Omari Fox (left) and Col. Tim Pearson work to register and mobilize voters at the Columbia Housing Authority’s Fall Festival.

Our most notable electoral win can be attributed in part to the 5,258 cards we mailed to voters in House District 121 letting them know that their health care is being denied by the current governor. J.A. Moore, the young black Democrat, beat Samuel Rivers, the legislature’s only black Republican, by 455 votes (3 percent) in a majority-white district. Moore was not involved in our voter mobilization campaign, nor were any of the other candidates who may have benefited from our work.

The Network also trained volunteers to help protect the vote in South Carolina on Election Day. Network Director Brett Bursey offered this summary just hours before the polls closed on Nov. 6.

Your donation can help educate and mobilize voters

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In the last few months, the SC Progressive Network’s nonpartisan Education Fund registered hundreds of SC voters, educating them on Medicaid expansion and what’s at stake in the midterm elections. The outreach primarily targeted the 203,000 registered voters of color whose health care was denied by the current governor.

We printed and are distributing 30,000 cards comparing the gubernatorial candidates’ positions on Medicaid expansion. We are mailing thousands of cards to voters who fall into the Medicaid gap, and will be making 30,000 robo-calls to advise them to vote on Nov. 6.

To date, we have spent nearly $9,000 but have raised just $6,500. Unfortunately, some of the people and entities that had promised to help fund our effort did not follow through. We need an additional $2,438 to get the job done. Can you help?

Support our work on voter mobilization by clicking DONATE. (Donations are not tax-deductible.)Omari Fox (left) and Col. Tim Pearson do voter education and mobilization at the Columbia Housing Authority’s Fall Festival.

 

 

 

 

Election Protection Hotline goes live for midterms

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The national election protection hotline is now available for voters to ask questions or to report problems while casting their ballot. Please keep this number handy as you head out to vote.

“This is the 10th year that this free, nonpartisan service has helped voters with problems at the polls,” said SC Progressive Network Director Brett Bursey. “We cover all of South Carolina, and we expect that the midterm elections will keep us busy.”

By calling the 1-866-OUR-VOTE hotline, voters can confirm their registration status, find their polling location, and information about proper identification at the polls.

“We encourage voters to call in and let us know of problems,” Bursey said. “This is the only real-time, statewide audit of the system, and it helps us identify and address systemic problems.”

We will be posting the hotline number in precincts across the state, and have yard signs to place in high-traffic areas. We need volunteers on Election Day who can be dispatched to polling places to help resolve or report problems in the field. If you would like to help, email network@scpronet.com. Include your location, phone number, and availability on Nov. 6.

Spanish language assistance is available at 1-888-Ve-Y-Vota (1-888-83-9-8682) — or veyvota.org. For more information, voters can access the Election Protection website at 866OurVote.org.

 

Network moves out of Modjeska House ahead of renovation

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Over the weekend, the SC Progressive Network moved out of the Modjeska Simkins House, our home since 2009, when Historic Columbia graciously gave us the key. The house will be undergoing much-needed renovation.

We’ve temporarily relocated our offices to the building next door, the former Science Academy, a failed charter school at 2015 Marion St. This will serve as our headquarters until we complete the purchase and rehab of the building at the corner of Marion St. and Elmwood Ave.

We are very grateful to Historic Columbia for letting us use the Modjeska House for nearly a decade. It was a fitting place for activists to organize and strategize, informed and inspired by Ms. Simkins’ work. We’ve outgrown the space, though, and it’s time for the Network to have its own home. We envision something akin to the GROW, the Network’s predecessor. GROW – the Grass Roots Organizing Workshop – was a self-supporting enterprise that over the years ran a worker-owned cafe, an eco-friendly print shop (Harbinger Publications), an independent newspaper (POINT), and offered meeting space for Columbia’s activists.

The move is bittersweet, but we look forward to the next chapter in the Network’s evolution. As always, we appreciate any support – financial or sweat equity – you can offer to help elevate our organization to another level.

Please DONATE, JOIN, or RENEW your membership, and help grow the grassroots in South Carolina!

John Dawkins (left) helps Network Director Brett Bursey on move-in day in 2009.

Election Commission mails nearly 1 million unregistered residents ahead of Oct. 17 deadline

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The State Election Commission today began sending 950,000 South Carolina residents a postcard urging them to register by Oct. 17 in order to vote in the 2018 general election. Voter registration was extended due to Hurricane Florence in a court settlement initiated by the SC Progressive Network, the ACLU of SC, and the national Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights in anticipation of the storm’s impact.

The mailing was the result of South Carolina’s membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a nonpartisan project started in 2012 funded by Pew Charitable Trust and operated by member states to use voter registration, motor vehicle, Census, and Social Security Administration data to improve the accuracy of voter rolls. The 950,000 unregistered South Carolinians is nearly 100,000 more than previous estimates.

South Carolina is the latest of 25 states – and only one of three in the South – to use the service to mail residents who are eligible but not registered to vote. The United States is one of the few advanced democracies to require citizens to register in order to vote. US voter turn ranks 31st of the world’s 34 developed nations.

“While the mailing was already planned, the timing was fortunate in that it allows us to directly notify unregistered citizens that the voter registration deadline has been extended to Oct. 17,” said SEC Executive Director Marci Andino. “We want every eligible person in South Carolina to have the opportunity to register by Oct. 17.”

The SC Progressive Network applauds the effort to expand the state’s voter rolls, which the organization has long advocated. The Network’s policy institute wrote, and the late Sen. Clementa Pinckney introduced, legislation for universal registration in 2007 (S-254 and H-3682). “This bill points out that voter registration in South Carolina has always been used to keep people from voting,” said Network Director Brett Bursey. “We plan to reintroduce legislation in the coming session that will add voter education and registration to the curriculum of high school seniors across the state.”

The Network’s nonpartisan Missing Voter Project was started in 2004 to educate and register SC residents who have been historically under-represented in the state’s public policy decisions. Volunteers across the state are trained to provide education and registration materials in targeted communities to engage the million-plus missing voters in South Carolina. For details, email network@scpronet.com or call 803-808-3384.

SEC Executive Director Marci Andino

Due to flooding from Hurricane Florence, voter registration to be extended for two weeks

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On Sept. 24, the SC Progressive Network, the SC ACLU, and the National Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights sent a letter to the State Election Commission asking for their contingency plans to extend voter registration in the event of flooding resulting from hurricane Florence.

The letter set a deadline of Sept. 27 for the SEC to respond. The threat of a lawsuit should the SEC not respond was implicit.

After conferencing with the SEC’s attorney yesterday, we got a all this morning from Deputy Attorney General Emory Smith, who proposed that the State Attorney General take over and file suit against the State Election Commission. Attorneys working with the SC Progressive Network from the SC ACLU and the National Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights agreed with Mr. Smith that this would be the most expedient way to proceed. Marci Andino, Executive Director of the SEC, has concurred that the state and counties would be able to extend the voter registration deadline statewide.

It is anticipated that the AG’s office will file tomorrow.

This means we have two more weeks to add to our Missing Voter Project. To volunteer, take a shift by signing up: MVP COLUMBIA VOLUNTEER SIGN–UP LIST

No experience needed, as new volunteers will be paired with trained volunteers. Questions? Call 803-808-3384.

Missing Voter Project enters final push ahead of Oct. 6 deadline

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We need YOUR HELP in the final days our nonpartisan Missing Voter Project. Please volunteer for a shift before voter registration ends Oct. 6!

Ours is the only registration drive targeting South Carolinians who are being denied Medicaid, in a strategic effort to help educate and mobilize them ahead of the midterm elections.

No experience needed, as new volunteers will be paired with at least one trained volunteer.

Columbia Locations

  • Comet Bus Transit Station, 1780 Sumter St.: every day 7am–7pm
  • Harden Street Eau Claire Health Center, 1228 Harden St.: Check with Curt to schedule by calling 803-979-6779
  • Monticello Road Eau Claire Health Center, 4605 Monticello Rd.: Sept. 27-28; Oct. 1-5, 10am-4pm
  • Transitions, 2025 Main St.: Sept 27-28; Oct. 2 and Oct 4, 9-11am, 2-5pm
  • Harvest Hope Food Bank, 2220 Shop Rd.: Oct. 3, 9am-1pm

If you want an MVP t-shirt and volunteer gear, call or text Curt Shumate for a short briefing at 803-979-6779.

To volunteer, email your name and contact information to network@scpronet.com. Sign up for a shift (or several) by entering your name at location time(s) listed on the roster posted HERE.

Read more about our Missing Voter Project HERE.

Questions? Call our office at 803-808-3384.

We need YOU to volunteer to register voters!

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The SC Progressive Network‘s Missing Voter Project is kicking into high gear ahead of the midterm elections Nov. 6, and we need volunteers to take shifts registering voters in Columbia. Stop by our office at 2025 Marion St. to sign the MVP pledge, and to pick up your t-shirt and MVP gear. Call Curt at 803-979-6779 to make arrangements.

Volunteers needed for tabling at Eau Claire Community Health Centers at 1228 Harden St. (M-F + Sat) and 4605 Monticello Rd. (M-F). Let Curt know you will take a Health Center shift.

Volunteers for the COMET Bus Transit Station, Laurel and Sumter, with three shifts a day: 7am-10am; noon-2pm; and 4-7pm.

Sept. 22: MVP table at Jubilee Festival, Marion Street, 11-6pm. Call Daniel at 803-319-5349 or daniel@scpronet.com for details.

Sept. 22: 4th Annual International Peace Day at the State House, tabling 11am – 2:30pm.

An experienced MVP organizer will be on hand to provide guidance for new volunteers. Questions? Call 803-808-3384.

Court ruling upholds Ohio’s practice of purging voter rolls. What does it mean for South Carolina?

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Brett Bursey
Executive Director, SC Progressive Network

Since the US Supreme Court’s June ruling that upheld Ohio’s aggressive purging of voters, some have expressed fear about voters being removed from voting rolls in South Carolina. We consulted with the State Election Commission (SEC) to verify our understanding of the ruling’s effect on SC voters.

If an Ohio voter misses two federal elections, that voter will get a series of letters from the Secretary of State. If they fail to return one confirming they still live at that address, they are removed from the list of registered voters.

In South Carolina, voters register for life. When a voter dies, the State Bureau of Vital Statistics alerts the SEC, and the person’s name is removed from the list.

The only other ways to be removed is to write the State Election Commission and request that your name be removed, or register to vote in another state, in which case that state may let the SEC know to remove you.

So — other than asking to be removed or registering in another state, South Carolinians remain registered to vote until they die.

The process is this: if you don’t vote in two presidential elections, the SEC mails a notice to your residence advising you to return the letter to remain on the roll of active voters. If you don’t respond, your name gets dropped from the precinct poll books and your name goes on the list of inactive voters kept by the county and state election office. If you show up at your old precinct and they tell you that you aren’t on the list, you tell the poll manager to contact their county office and check the inactive list. You will then be allowed to vote a regular ballot. The precinct poll books have long been cleaned up in this manner to save time signing people in and reduce the cost of printing.

The SC Progressive Network has been monitoring SC elections since 2004, when ours was the first state to buy the touch-screen voting machines that are now aging but we’re still using. We opposed the purchase of the machines then, for the same reasons people are complaining now. We have been working with the bipartisan Joint Legislative Committee on Voting Systems, and are confident that our next system will produce a voter-verified paper ballot. The goal now is to get out from under the devices that rely on secret computer codes and move to a low-tech, open-source, non-proprietary, publicly owned system.

Over the years, the Network has learned the state’s election laws, written some new ones, and beaten some in court. We’ve also gained an appreciation of the SEC’s independence from political bias and the commitment of county directors to running fair elections. The type voter purging that’s making news in battleground states where partisan officials run elections isn’t happening in South Carolina. The problem here is that our state legislature has gerrymandered the political game board to the degree that 77 percent of the voters only find one name on their general election ballot to represent them in the State House. When there is only one candidate, it hardly matters who gets to vote. (See how South Carolina’s democracy ranks HERE).

Noted Charleston activist calls “History Denied” a must-read

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Jim Campbell, a highly regarded human rights activist and recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, has been a gift to the SC Progressive Network since the group’s founding in 1996. The organization has benefited mightily from his years in the trenches – as a Marine and as a social justice warrior. (Campbell’s papers are housed at the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture in Charleston.)

Becci Robbins and Jim Campbell at the SC Progressive Network’s 2016 fall conference.

We sent him a copy of our new booklet, knowing how familiar he is with the people and history it covers. In return, he copied us on an email he sent to his comrades across the country. His endorsement is a true honor.

Campbell wrote, “I’ve just read a copy of the SC Progressive Network‘s recently published booklet, HISTORY DENIED: Recovering South Carolina’s Stolen Past by Becci Robbins. Its content is a substantive introduction to the Southern Negro Youth Congress (SNYC) and the vanguard radical labor organizing among interracial youth in the severely segregated South between 1937 and 1949. Specifically, this tells of a landmark Congress convened in Columbia, South Carolina in October of 1946. This event had in active participation such Freedom Movement notables as local South Carolina Youth Leaders in addition to Paul Robeson, Herbert Aptheker, Dorothy and Louis Burnham, Esther [Cooper] and Jim Jackson, Louise Patterson, Sallye Davis, Jack O’Dell, South Carolina’s Modjeska Simkins and the Congress’ keynote speaker, W.E.B. DuBois. His keynote speech, BEHOLD THE LAND, has been a ‘must read’ for all young activists ever since.

This landmark booklet is also a ‘must read’ for today’s activists as both struggle inspiration and primer on our long civil rights movement.”

The booklet was reviewed by Jeffrey Collins at the Associated Press.

Jim Campbell speaks at a Network retreat at Penn Center.

GET YOUR COPY OF HISTORY DENIED

Download the e-version of History Denied here. (You can also download three earlier booklets on three phenomenal SC women Modjeska Monteith Simkins, Harriet Hancock, and Sarah Leverette.)

Copies of History Denied are available at the Network’s office in the historic Modejska Simkins House, 2025 Marion St., downtown Columbia, SC. One copy is free; additional copies are $2.50 each. To order by mail, click here. To order bulk copies, call our office at 803-808-3384.