As we lingered over the second piece of pie, we reflected on how strange time feels right now. It’s a bit like we are dancing the night away as the iceberg gets nearer and nearer. We know how hard it is to ignore that 2025 and the new administration are coming but we hope you have been able to unplug over the past week and that you will use this holiday time to recharge. If you can engage now, read to the end of the newsletter to get to our Calls To Action and Events section.
Today, however, is Giving Tuesday and we hope you will make a donation to NJ 11th for Change. As noted, 2025 is only weeks away and New Jersey’s gubernatorial race is a national bellwether. History has its eyes on us. NJ 11th for Change has work to do and we need your financial support to get it done.
As the new year begins, NJ 11th for Change will continue what we’ve been doing since we met up outside of Rodney’s office in 2017: we will continue to call for transparent, accountable, responsive representation for our district, our state and our nation. This past year, we helped defeat NJ’s antiquated, unfair ballot design and saw “the line” relegated to the trash heap where it belongs; we helped Rep. Mikie Sherrill defend her seat in NJ11; alongside Sue Altman, we fought hard and lost a tough battle in CD7; we helped elect Andy Kim to the Senate. We got on buses, we wrote postcards, we texted, we phone banked, we talked to neighbors and WE AREN’T DONE YET.
Help us keep the grassroots fire burning and make a donation today. Any amount you contribute will go directly towards doing the work and maintaining a strong grassroots presence in NJ.
We will leave you with some (slightly paraphrased) thoughts from Indivisible’s new guide:
Political power in our democracy overlaps between local, state, and federal electeds. We still have power and we know how to use it! It comes from your ability to be a source of support (or a pain in the ass) to our electeds. We will use this power to demand that our representatives stand up to Trump 2.0 or face political consequences.
Things are about to get much worse, and we need to treat an attack on one as an attack on all of us. That means supporting communities under threat and preparing to operate under increasingly authoritarian conditions. We’ll organize to protect communities under threat. MAGA will hit hard, and we’ll need to stand together.
Calls to Action and Events
It’s that time again to get used to calling your representatives and making sure your voice is heard!
- Mass Movement Calls to Action - Immigrant Rights: Please join us and our partners at the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice to prepare to fight back against plans for mass detention and deportation in New Jersey. Review and sign up for urgent actions below. DECEMBER 3RD 5:00 - 6:30 PM
Get up to speed on everything happening to New Jersey's detention centers and what we might expect during the first 100 days of the new administration. Interpretation will be offered in Spanish and Arabic. Register here:
- FAIR BALLOT DESIGN—People’s Hearing Virtual Town Hall, Wednesday, December 4th 6 – 8pm EST
About this event–Join us for a People’s Hearing on Ballot Design, a virtual event dedicated to exploring the critical role of ballot design in ensuring fair and accessible elections. This engaging session, hosted on Zoom, will bring together experts, advocates, and community leaders to discuss ballot design and its impact on voter participation and election outcomes. This event will feature a panel of moderators who will guide discussions on various key topics surrounding ballot design, including accessibility, clarity, and legal precedents.
The hearing will offer members of the public an opportunity to listen to expert testimony, learn about the legal frameworks that guide ballot design, and also engage in meaningful conversation about how to create ballots that are clear, inclusive, and accessible to all voters. In addition to the panel discussions, the public will be able to ask questions, share concerns, and provide input on how the legislature can codify the court order eliminating the county line in primary elections.
- Save the date: Join us at the statewide community gathering of New Jersey Indivisible groups on Monday, Dec. 9th at 7:00 on Zoom
- Tell your Democratic senators to fill every judicial vacancy now. The Senate needs to work around the clock for the next 18 days to confirm Biden’s judicial nominees or Trump will get the chance to fill all those vacancies with MAGA loyalists. Tell your senators you expect them to put in the long hours necessary to get pro-democracy judges confirmed.
- Tell your representative to push for the publication of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ERA cleared the 38-state threshold for ratification in 2020, but thanks to years of legal debates and Republican obstruction, it has not been published and certified as the 28th Amendment. Call your representative today and urge them to enshrine gender equality into our Constitution by pushing for the publication of the Equal Rights Amendment.
- John R. Lewis Voter Empowerment Act of New Jersey
This state Voting Rights Act would help address serious challenges to voting in our state. With voting rights under assault across the country and in the courts, New Jersey voters, especially voters of color, face challenges when trying to vote. Urge your legislators to support a New Jersey Voting Rights Act now!
- Same-Day Voter Registration: It is time for New Jersey to join the over 20 states and D.C that already allow same-day voter registration. Same-Day Voter Registration would combat voter suppression by allowing otherwise eligible voters to register and vote up to and on election day. Urge your legislators to support Same-Day Voter Registration now!
- Jersey City Mutual Aid (JCMAS) Immigrant Resource Fair, Dec. 8th, 12:30-2:30 pm
