Indivisible Yolo newsletter

March 5th is Not Just a Noun; It’s A Verb

Primary Election Day is tomorrow, March 5th. If you haven’t voted, please be sure to either vote in person or make sure your ballot is dropped off or mailed by tomorrow.  Thus far, the turnout is low – 11.4% statewide and 15.6% in Yolo County through Feb 29; much lower in critical Central Valley CD-22 (7%) where phone banks for Rudy Salas are underway all the way through Tuesday.

Our adopted district, CD-13 is only a bit below the statewide average with 11% through Mar 1 but thus far Latino turnout is only 6% and young voters (18-34) a mere 3%.  By the time you read this, little, if anything, can be done to improve voter engagement with these important groups in the primary.  But we’re not done registering and engaging voters.

It’s time to pivot to the road ahead: the general election in November and our plans to work toward restoring the Blue Trifecta to open the door for progressive change. This week’s actions include the IY Thursdays for California Phone Bank, and Canvassing in Modesto on Saturday. The weekly, Tuesday 7PM Yes, YouCan(vass) Workshops on Zoom return on March 12 for anyone who would like to learn how CADEM/BAC canvassing is done.

March 18th General Meeting – New Location

Join Indivisible Yolo for our 2024 Electoral Kick-Off, featuring Patti Crane, founding member of California Grassroots Alliance, the statewide network connecting independent progressive groups organizing to sweep six purple districts and take back the House majority in 2024.

Patti will share how we plan to win back the House majority in 2024 – and we’ll discuss our part in that plan. Team leaders will share plans for the work we’ll be doing in the Central Valley as well as working toward electing Democratic Senators in Nevada and Arizona to protect the slimmest of majorities in the Senate and winning 17 critical Electoral College votes in these important swing states. And we’ll learn how, in addition to being a doer, becoming a donor is a strategic form of activism.

The road to the House majority runs through California and the keys to the Blue Trifecta are all here in our region. The 2024 election is counting on CA, AZ and NV!  No need to travel to Pennsylvania or Michigan or Georgia to be on the front lines.

When we do the work, good things follow – like in 2018, 2020 and 2022-2023. So let’s #Do More in ‘24. And we’ll learn how being a donor is another form of being a doer.

Please join us in person on March 18 as we begin the next phase in our fight to restore the Blue Trifecta, save democracy and fend off the MAGA extremists along with their collaborators. If you are unable to attend in person, remote access will be available via Zoom. Please register now and we’ll see you on March 18th.

Ballots Received? Time to Vote!

Yolo County voters should all have received their ballots for the March 5th primary by now! So now it’s time to vote…

While Indivisible Yolo has not made any official endorsements in this election, check out the Blue Voter Guide to see endorsements for California Prop 1, President, Senator and House races, CA Senate and Assembly races as well as the recall in Woodland, parcel taxes in Davis and then VOTE! Early voting is good for turnout and gives us time to share what we did with family, neighbors and friends.  

A complete list of indoor and outdoor drop boxes can be found online at the Yolo Elections Office website.

Mailed-in ballots must be postmarked by March 5 and received by March 12 to be counted.

Recall MacDonald Campaign

Join the fight against fascism and in support of public education by canvassing for the Recall campaign in Woodland.

The Recall MacDonald campaign is working on getting out the vote for Woodland’s WJUSD area 2 recall of the anti-trans school board member Emily MacDonald. Sign up for a canvassing shift below:

Indivisible Reiterates Call for an Immediate Ceasefire in Israel and Gaza in Response to Ruling from the International Court of Justice

Please read the Indivisible.org latest statement below calling for all the parties to do everything in in their power to enact a durable ceasefire, and then call your Senators/Representative:

Contact only your own Representative (Rep. Mike Thompson or Rep. Doris Matsui). Former Yolo County Representative Garamendi has called for a ceasefire- we want our current Representative to do the same!

Encourage Your Democratic Representative to Oppose All Extreme MAGA Policy Riders

Another government funding deadline is rapidly approaching and, once again, Republicans are in chaos.

This time, they’re threatening to shut down the government unless they can pass hundreds of bad, non-starter policy riders as a part of the government funding bills. They’re called “riders” because they “ride along” on a bigger piece of legislation, but make no mistake these are serious threats. These poison-pill riders include attacks on abortion and reproductive freedom, the LGBTQ+ community, and vulnerable asylum seekers and immigrants.

However, the Republican caucus is in such disarray that passing any bill to fund the government will need significant Democratic support. There might even be more Democrats voting for it than Republicans, despite the GOP House majority. Democrats should not offer their votes for any appropriations bills that include extreme GOP demands.

It’s not up to Democrats to save Republicans from their own chaos. They cannot give in to baseless Republican threats and allow any of these extreme, unpopular riders to pass. Once a rider passes, it becomes entrenched as a legacy rider and is almost impossible to remove from future appropriation bills.

Let them know that you expect them to fight back against these outrageous Republican demands and only support a clean government funding bill without any poison-pill riders.

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