ABOUT

OUR MISSION

Write For Democracy organizes politically themed readings and other events that raise money for organizations seeking a fairer, more inclusive democracy.

ISSUES

VOTER SUPPRESION

In its 2013 Shelby County v Holder decision, the Supreme Court gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act, the most important legislation of the Civil Rights era. Since then, voter suppression has proliferated, with politicians using numerous devious methods to prevent minorities, young people and the poor from voting. These include purging citizens from the voter rolls, eliminating polling sites, ending or restricting early voting, reducing the number of voting machines, changing residency requirements and mandating expensive, difficult to acquire IDs. Our democracy is in crisis, but there are common sense solutions to these problems. To find out more about voter suppression, go to Common Cause.

GERRYMANDERING

In a democracy, voters should choose their elected representatives, not the other way around. Unfortunately, politicians are increasingly

using sophisticated data to choose their constituents based on factors including age, income, party membership and race, thereby undermining the popular will. In a recent North Carolina congressional election, one  party earned only a half of the votes but received more than three quarters of the seats because of gerrymandering. Perhaps the most extreme example comes from a city council district where the council member drew his district to include a prison and his house, meaning that his family members were the only voters in his district. These absurd perversions of democracy must end. To find out more about gerrymandering, go to Common Cause.