Day 2: Who represents me? What issues do I care about?

• Continue to develop a community of learning and engagement within your section, and continue to build confidence using Google Sites, Google Docs, and JamBoard

• Develop an understanding of the three branches of government and how they function

• Develop an understanding of who represents us, and the demographics of US elected officials

• Identify issues that you care deeply about and explore why you feel drawn to them

• Gain insight and inspiration from guest speakers

1) Family History & Voting. Talk to members of your immediate family and extended family (grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.).

• • Are they eligible to vote in the US?

  • Have they voted in prior elections? (If they aren’t currently eligible to vote in the US, why not? Have they voted in elections elsewhere or in the US at other points in their life?)

  • If so, are they registered to vote and are they planning to vote in upcoming elections?

  • If they are eligible and not registered, or aren’t sure if they are registered, ask them to go here or here to find out.

  • If they're not registered to vote, and are eligible, look up the voter registration process for their state here.

  • Call or talk with the oldest family member you know. Ask them the following questions:

    • Have you voted in elections over the course of your lifetime? Why or why not?

    • How have you observed elections and the voting process shift over the course of your lifetime?

    • Have you lived in different states of the US or different countries? If so, how have the voting and election processes differed or been the same in the various places that you’ve voted?

2) Watch the video, “How is power divided in the United States government?” - Please jot down notes in your journal during or after you’ve watched it. We will be discussing this in small groups at our next meeting.

3) Who are your elected officials?

• • Who are your representatives in local, state, and national government? Go to https://myreps.datamade.us/ to find out. Make a list in your journal.

  • Write an email or letter, or call, one of your representatives to share your thoughts on an issue you care about (racial justice, climate change, public health, or anything you care deeply about).

  • [Extra: What elections are happening in your electoral districts this year? When are they? Who are the candidates?]

4) Develop questions for guest speakers.

• For each guest speaker, please read their bio and/or Google them, and develop 1-3 questions you'd like to ask them. Write these in your journal and add ONE to a sticky note in the JamBoard (include your name).

• Our guest speaker on Thursday, September 24 wll be WA Senator Joe Nguyen.

PPT for this session are here.

JamBoards for this session are here.

Reflection (write in journal after or during session)

• Guest Speaker Name: Date:

• What are 1-3 things that you learned, or that struck you, from our time with the guest speaker today?

• What follow up questions do you have for the guest speaker? Or, what questions arose from your time with the guest speaker?

0) Be sure you have a solid grasp of the three branches of government. In your journal, respond to these three questions:

• What is the US Senate? Who does it represent?

• What is the US House of Representatives? Who does it represent?

• What challenges, drawbacks, or injustices of this system do you see?

1) What positions do your elected officials have on the issues you care most about? How have they engaged in the issues you care about?

• What issues do you care deeply about (choose 1-2)? Why do you care about them?

• Choose 1-3 of your elected officials, research their positions on these issues, and write them a letter (or email, Tweet, etc.) or call them, either thanking them or asking them to shift their position.

• Add a sticky note this JamBoard with:

  • The name and title of the elected official you contacted

  • The issue you communicated with them about

  • Your first name and last initial

2) What are swing states? What swing states are in play this year? Explore at least one website that examines swing states.

• The New York Times

• NPR

• https://electoralvotemap.com/2020-battleground-states/

• Common Power

• Vote Save America

• Swing left

• Journal reflection: What swing states do you you think are most import in the November 2020 election? Why? What swing state(s) are you most drawn to or interested in volunteering on? Why?

3) Develop questions for our guest speakers. Please read their bios and/or Google them, and develop 3 questions you’d like to ask. Write these in your journal and add ONE to a sticky note in the JamBoard (include your name).

4) Watch Selma: Bridge to the Ballot. Questions to reflect on (in your journal):

• What struck you in watching this film?

• What role did young people, and particularly high school students play in the fight for voting rights for African Americans?

• How does the movement for the right to vote relate to what we’re experiencing today? What parallels do you see between the movie and today?