In case you missed it, today is the first day for early voting in Clayton County! Click the flyer below for details and early voting locations.
I know you're probably mentally exhausted from everything in life... but please do not sleep on these 2020 elections.
So many reasons. But here's a quick story for today's example:
I always download my sample ballot before voting, but for some reason, I wanted to look at the Republican version this time. YALL. I was shocked. They're so different.
Republican ballots include 11 opinion-questions about joining the Republican Party, school-board members declaring partisanship, private school education tax-credits, Kemp's abortion-ban, whether or not Clayton County should be called a "Second Amendment Sanctuary City," and more! wtf.
Democratic ballots include 6 opinion-questions about the environment and restoring voting rights.
Nonpartisan ballots don't have any opinion-questions.
To deeply appreciate how crazy (and strategic) that is, you need to understand how Black and Blue we are down here. Nothing Blue happens in Georgia, without Clayton County's support.
They know that, and are reminding Clayton County residents that even the most progressive county in Georgia is not immune from their shenanigans. (Keep an eye out for all-things voter suppression and redistricting.)
Click below and see for yourself.
More importantly, grab your face mask and GO VOTE!
And not that you asked, but...
As of my latest check this morning, Georgia ranks 35th out of 50 states and Clayton County ranks 60th out of Georgia's 159 counties when it comes to 2020 Census responses.
Here's the tool I used to find that data. Right now, Clayton County is at 52.8% county-wide. At 55.6%, Georgia's statewide response rate isn't much better. I'd like to shoutout our neighbors to the left in Fayette County... who rank #1 in the whole state with a response rate over 71.3%.
Click here for an even deeper dive into Clayton County's 2020 Census Data. This tool takes you to the tract level! I noticed a response rate around 65% in my tract on the panhandle, and a disparity between 20%-40% compared to the northern side of the county. Some tracts near the airport have response rates around 25%. Please click here to complete your census today, and continue to encourage your friends to complete theirs, especially our non-English speaking neighbors. And remind your pregnant friends to #CountTheBaby!
I won't bother you with more nerdy analysis on the correlation(s) between our voting practices, and the services we receive (or don't receive) as a county. But I will link the county's COVID Dashboard.
And I'll just sit this screenshot here:
Our community needs our census coins, yall. For healthcare, education, and so much more.
Personally, I've struggled to find the words for Ahmaud Arbery, and the movement that finds strength in his name. Am I a coward for not doing more? After all, he is my brother. The anger, grief, and guilt just make me cry. His mother gave birth to him on Mother's day in 1994; can you imagine how hard she wept last weekend? And then, the thought I can't avoid... "what if this happened to my brother?!"
But he is...
So when my friends planned and penned an open-letter, I was excited to sign in solidarity. Shoutout to Dr. Howard, Mr. Blair, Ms. Davis, and our network of Georgia school-board members. I stand with them, and with the organizers on the ground in Glynn County. Thank you for sharing, Abib.
The open letter for Ahmaud was on the heels of another impassioned open letter, for an entirely different reason.
After the CARES Act fell short, our team and community at School Board Partners wrote an Open Letter to Congress demanding more funding for public schools.
There have been #NoDaysOff.
I wholeheartedly recognize that these letters fall short of the justice our people deserve. But I am grateful to know leaders who live their values, sharpen my iron, and are actually in the arena... doing what they can, where they can, how they can. They're #proof.
Thank you SBP, LEE, YEO, LP, RLI, NLC, GA NAACP and more. I feel privileged to have so many peers to look UP to.
I have more to share about so many things, but I think this is plenty to chew on for now.
Let's catch up about this and more. In fact, could you hold two dates on your calendar for me?
1. We chartered the Young Dems of Clayton County just last year, and are excited to host our first candidate forum on Saturday, May 30th from noon until 2p!
2. Remember when I held "Virtual Office Hours" every week during the first 90 Days of my term? Well, I miss you. So we're bringing it back! Pencil me in for next Thursday, May 28th at 2pm. And if you missed the last school board meeting, click here because I got you.
Bye for now.
I hope your day, no. I hope your WHOLE WEEK, is filled with light and love.
Stay healthy and talk to you soon,
Jasmine
コメント