Although much has occurred in the past three weeks and there are ongoing issues, it’s worth celebrating some important democracy successes. More people voted in the 2020 elections than have ever voted before. This was the direct result of tireless efforts by many, many different and diverse groups around the country, including UU churches and UUSJ through the UU the Vote campaign. All that effort made a difference in electing a new President who promises to work to unite us rather than divide us.

So, not surprisingly, it has been quite a year for the Defending Our Democracy Task Group. Early in the year, it became obvious that no democracy legislation would make it beyond the House of Representatives, including the H.R.1 bill on which the Task Group based its actions for the year. We then changed course to supporting the UU the Vote program, assisting the UUA’s national program by providing useful web-based tools for congregations’ UU the Vote groups. We also focused on a new approach for increasing college student voting.

Many Task Group members were directly involved in leading their congregation’s UU the Vote campaigns. The Task Group actively supported the work of UUSJ & Reeb Project organizer Kelsey Cowger, which significantly contributed to the successful UU the Vote efforts. The Task Group’s work focused on creating action alerts for providing funding for states to upgrade their election systems and the June Write Here! Write Now! (WHWN) on the same topic.

As the UU the Vote program winds down, DRD members are looking ahead to the new session of Congress. The Task Group is developing priorities and providing the WHWN content for December, as well as direction for the upcoming virtual visits. DRD members look forward to virtual visits with congressional staff and building productive new relationships with staff members and participating UU congregations. Contact: Fredvandeu@gmail.com.