Speaker 1: Good morning, peeps, and welcome to wok F Daily with
Speaker 1: Me your Girl, Daniel Moody recording from the Home Bunker. Folks,
Speaker 1: I'm very excited for you to hear this episode coming
Speaker 1: up because we have had the good, good pleasure of
Speaker 1: speaking with Chris Melody Fields Figurio at BALLID Initiative Strategy
Speaker 1: Center on a number of occasions. Right, and this time
Speaker 1: this conversation takes place with roughly, as she says, for
Speaker 1: tuesdays to go until the election is over, right, because
Speaker 1: I think that we need a really important reframing around
Speaker 1: election day. They are already more than half of the
Speaker 1: states in this country have begun voting in this election,
Speaker 1: and so November fifth is not the first day, but
Speaker 1: the last day to vote. And Chris walks us through
Speaker 1: the different ways that the Republican Party is using lies
Speaker 1: and distortion and gas lighting in order to confuse voters
Speaker 1: with a number of ballot initiatives that they are running
Speaker 1: in states like Nebraska and Colorado and Arizona where you
Speaker 1: have really important issues that are on the ballot, whether
Speaker 1: that be an abortion ban, whether that is defunding of
Speaker 1: public schools, as what is on the ballot in Colorado,
Speaker 1: whether it is lowering wages for workers as it is
Speaker 1: in Arizona. Republicans know that they can't win. They can't
Speaker 1: win on their policies because their policies are unpopular, and
Speaker 1: rather than address the needs of the American people, they
Speaker 1: choose instead to force feed the public, whether they want
Speaker 1: it or notitiatives and doing so under the cloak of
Speaker 1: darkness or the cloak of lies. And you know, it
Speaker 1: is the work that Chris is doing at Ballot Initiative
Speaker 1: Strategy Center to ensure that people know what they're voting
Speaker 1: for and understand what their yes and no vote actually
Speaker 1: means to their future, to their day to day lives.
Speaker 1: And you know, if you can imagine, there are close
Speaker 1: to one hundred and fifty ballot measures that people will
Speaker 1: be voting on in roughly forty one states across this country,
Speaker 1: as well as the presidential But the only thing that
Speaker 1: we're focusing on is that top of the ticket, But
Speaker 1: on people's ballots after you're checking down those boxes, when
Speaker 1: you flip over, there are really important ballot initiatives that
Speaker 1: are out there that are there to either give you
Speaker 1: more rights or take away your rights. So I implore
Speaker 1: people to do your actual real research and head over
Speaker 1: to the Ballot Initiative where they provide the context that
Speaker 1: you need to understand so you know what you are
Speaker 1: voting for. So that conversation, important conversation with Chris is
Speaker 1: coming up next, folks. I am so happy when I
Speaker 1: have the opportunity to sit down with our friend over
Speaker 1: at Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, Chris Melody Fields Figuriedo. Chris.
Speaker 1: There are I don't even know, let's just say they're like,
Speaker 1: I think we're at the time of this recording, thirty
Speaker 1: three days until the election, correct, and which every time
Speaker 1: I say that I and the ticker goes down, it's
Speaker 1: like my stomach drops. And you know, while we're focused
Speaker 1: obviously at the top of the ticket and who the
Speaker 1: next president of the United States will be and whether
Speaker 1: or not democracy survive, there are an overwhelming number of
Speaker 1: ballot measures that Americans across the country in forty one
Speaker 1: states and Washington, DC will be voting on that your
Speaker 1: organization is following. Talk to us about just you know,
Speaker 1: I know, I ask you every time that you come
Speaker 1: on to kind of lay out to us what ballot
Speaker 1: measures are, the importance of them, give it to us
Speaker 1: in the context of some that like what's at stake
Speaker 1: in some of these states, so that people understand that
Speaker 1: after they finished checking president, you know this that the
Speaker 1: other thing that for many you got to turn over
Speaker 1: your ballot and here are all of the initiatives in
Speaker 1: your state. So talk to us about that.
Speaker 2: I would love to and thank you for having me again,
Speaker 2: and not to give you any more anxiety, but to
Speaker 2: give you even more compacts. We are four tuesdays away, y'all. Okay,
Speaker 2: people are already voting. Okay, right, And so in the
Speaker 2: states across the country. Really, the fundamental thing that is
Speaker 2: at stake that is also playing out with Bawel measures
Speaker 2: is freedom and democracy. And if you think about it
Speaker 2: from the perspective of the reproductive rights ballel measures, the
Speaker 2: fight for reproductive freedom is the fight for democracy. Think
Speaker 2: about the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs and overturning roversus
Speaker 2: Wade right, that's a part of our democracy. And then
Speaker 2: the effect of that has been not only these abortion
Speaker 2: bands in the States and these bills that have been passed,
Speaker 2: but it has been upon us, the people, the active
Speaker 2: participants of our democracy, to say that those decisions that
Speaker 2: were made for us are actually not the world that
Speaker 2: we want to live with. And so we are engaging
Speaker 2: in our democracy and in ten states we are going
Speaker 2: to vote yes for reproductive freedom because we think that
Speaker 2: this is a private medical decision between a person who
Speaker 2: is pregnant and their doctor, and then we shouldn't criminalize
Speaker 2: people and their doctors, right like. That is what is
Speaker 2: at stake here in the in the freedom and I
Speaker 2: think the majority of us, and what we've already seen
Speaker 2: is we actually do agree on things like reproductive freedom, life,
Speaker 2: the importance of public education, life, the importance of raising
Speaker 2: wages for people. The more of us, regardless of our
Speaker 2: party affiliation, sometimes actually believe that is a way of
Speaker 2: caring for each other. And so we are taking the
Speaker 2: power and the agency into our own hands. And that
Speaker 2: is why we are seeing these tricks come up, which
Speaker 2: we always do in every ce, see these these dirty
Speaker 2: tricks in every election cycle that can make it really
Speaker 2: confusing for voters of what they may or may not
Speaker 2: vote on. So that's what is really at stake in
Speaker 2: this selection. And let's get into detail about exactly what
Speaker 2: what are those those dirty tricks that I know you're
Speaker 2: thinking about.
Speaker 1: Yeah, because here's the thing, Like, it's one thing to
Speaker 1: get the signatures that you need to put up the
Speaker 1: initiatives free and clear of distortion, free and clear of lies,
Speaker 1: and allow the voters to have their say. But what
Speaker 1: you all have been following, I want to go to
Speaker 1: Nebraska first. Where you have been following are nefarious tactics
Speaker 1: that are being used. So talk to us about the
Speaker 1: twelve week abortion ban. They are in Nebraska titled the
Speaker 1: Protect Women and Children Constitutional Amendment.
Speaker 2: Well there it is right there in the title, and
Speaker 2: that is what is often very confusing to people. And
Speaker 2: what I ask of people is like to read between
Speaker 2: the lines and read the details. So if you're a
Speaker 2: voter in Nebraska, you're going to have two about measures
Speaker 2: about abortion. One that is going to actually give reproductive
Speaker 2: freedom and allow people to get that healthcare access, and
Speaker 2: then there's one that is an actual ban. And in
Speaker 2: particular in Nebraska, that abortion ban is the first thing
Speaker 2: that's going to be when you go to that section
Speaker 2: on your ballot. That's the first thing that's going to appear.
Speaker 2: And on the bottom of the five measures that you
Speaker 2: can vote on in Nebraska, at the bottom is the
Speaker 2: one that actually is going to give you reproductive freedom.
Speaker 2: So this is what we call a countermeasure. So we
Speaker 2: know that reproductive freedom is incredibly popular. They gathered enough signatures,
Speaker 2: we have been gathered singers across the country to put
Speaker 2: these issues on the reproductive freedom on the ballot, and
Speaker 2: then we've seen this countermeasure by the opposition that also
Speaker 2: will confuse voters and they're not going to know exactly
Speaker 2: what they're voting on. So that's why voter education is
Speaker 2: so critically important this year. There's another ballot measure in Arizona.
Speaker 2: The way it is titled is the Tips Worker Protection Act,
Speaker 2: which if you hear that on its well, that sounds great, right,
Speaker 2: but actually it is going to treat tipped workers as
Speaker 2: a subclass of workers and they could be paid twenty
Speaker 2: five percent less per hour than the minimum wage in
Speaker 2: the states. So that's something that what is playing out.
Speaker 2: I mean, in Ohio they also were handed really bad
Speaker 2: language on their redistricting ballot measure from the ballot board.
Speaker 2: This is something they legally challenge and what we've seen
Speaker 2: across the countries, everything is coming up in these legal
Speaker 2: challenges where again the language, the way it is written
Speaker 2: is incredibly biased, it's incredibly deceptive. We know that ohioans
Speaker 2: that we are in fair of ending jerry managering in
Speaker 2: their state and won a fair redistricting process, but the
Speaker 2: way that the language is written makes people think that
Speaker 2: that's not what they're voting for when you actually yes,
Speaker 2: you should vote yes for that redistricting bowel measure in
Speaker 2: Ohio because it is actually going to create a more fair,
Speaker 2: citizen driven process to draw the lines in your state.
Speaker 2: And so this is what we often see, and we've
Speaker 2: seen it escalate, especially around these reproductive freedom measures, as
Speaker 2: we have seen that really the people are in opposition
Speaker 2: to our elected officials, to the people that we're putting
Speaker 2: into office. They're actually not listening to the will of
Speaker 2: the voters, and they are pulling out every trick in
Speaker 2: the book to undermine our power, to undermine our voices
Speaker 2: through these deceptive light, these deceptive languages, through this missing
Speaker 2: disinformation that we're seeing out there. And what is really
Speaker 2: required of all of us is to do the hard
Speaker 2: work and read between the lines and really understand the
Speaker 2: language and not just read the title right that can
Speaker 2: be the very confusing, but really read the details of
Speaker 2: what we may need to vote for, like in the
Speaker 2: case of Ohio, was redistricting or what we may need
Speaker 2: to vote against, like that Arizona proposition of one point
Speaker 2: thirty eight that actually is not going to help tip towards.
Speaker 1: The reality here is that Republicans are liars, Like it
Speaker 1: isn't just Donald Trump, it isn't just a JD Vance,
Speaker 1: It is the entire infrastructure that commands the Republican Party.
Speaker 1: Because why would you have to lie to voters about
Speaker 1: a ballot initiative that you thought that they would readily
Speaker 1: vote yes on. Why would you have to use deceptive
Speaker 1: tactics in order to change your fonts or misconstrue your
Speaker 1: language and not just say clear what it is.
Speaker 2: Well, it's because the reality is they can't win unfair terms,
Speaker 2: and so they're changing the rules. They are deceiving voters
Speaker 2: because that is the only way they know how to win,
Speaker 2: because they are not on the side of the majority
Speaker 2: of voters. And this is including their own constituents. If
Speaker 2: you look at many of these progressive quote unquote progressive
Speaker 2: right issues like raising the minimum wage, like Medicaid expansion,
Speaker 2: like reproductive freedom, like very districting right, they have won
Speaker 2: regardless party affiliation. That means Republicans, Democrats, independents are all
Speaker 2: coming to vote together to vote yes on these issues.
Speaker 2: And that is an opposition of their decided upon agenda
Speaker 2: of what they are trying to push when they are
Speaker 2: in power. And that is why these issues are so
Speaker 2: fundamental to our democracy because in an ideal world, our
Speaker 2: representative government right, it's responsive to us. But the reality
Speaker 2: is we are moving closer to authoritarianism. We are towards
Speaker 2: minority rule because unfortunately one particular party does not think
Speaker 2: that they can win on fair frounds.
Speaker 1: It just becomes so incredibly disheartening, Chris, for us to
Speaker 1: try and work inside of a system that is becoming
Speaker 1: increasingly rigged by the Republican Party. Like you said, they
Speaker 1: move the goalpost consistently, they rewrite the rules consistently so
Speaker 1: that they can win. So what is it that organizations
Speaker 1: like yours now are tasked with doing that is different
Speaker 1: than let's say, eight and nine years ago, given how
Speaker 1: the seeds of doubt and confusion have been planted about
Speaker 1: our systems in general.
Speaker 2: It's such a good question, Danielle, because at the same time,
Speaker 2: an award that often comes up to me is simultaneity,
Speaker 2: we're asking people to have faith in a system that,
Speaker 2: for many of us, and we've talked about this before,
Speaker 2: was never designed for us, especially if you're talking about
Speaker 2: black and brown folks, if you're talking about queer folks, right,
Speaker 2: you're talking about women. We're asking them to have faith
Speaker 2: in a system that at the same time, those who
Speaker 2: are in power are trying to change those rules. And
Speaker 2: we're saying, hey, I need you to vote or be
Speaker 2: a part of this, because actually, the only way we
Speaker 2: change that system is by forcing those people who are
Speaker 2: not listening either out of office or taking power into
Speaker 2: our own hands and putting these issues before the ballot.
Speaker 2: And then the reality is it is and I tell
Speaker 2: people this that, like your vote is hurt, three of
Speaker 2: a longer process, right, it's just the beginning of a
Speaker 2: longer process for all of us to be civic participants
Speaker 2: in the decisions that matter for our lives. So we
Speaker 2: are asking you to have faith in maybe not in
Speaker 2: the system, but in the people who are working that
Speaker 2: are on your side. I have faith in you and
Speaker 2: myself and my community, in the organizations that we work with,
Speaker 2: because I know how much they care and love their
Speaker 2: communities and I have faith in them, and so I'm
Speaker 2: asking you to participate in the system that may not
Speaker 2: be perfect. It is not perfect, right, But the only
Speaker 2: way we can potentially change that system moving forward is
Speaker 2: not by simply abandoning it, is by participating in it
Speaker 2: and then going back and making demands, whether it's through
Speaker 2: our state legislature, whether it's through a rules process, right like,
Speaker 2: these are the things that this is how we are
Speaker 2: governed in this country, and we just can't sit back
Speaker 2: after election day and the reality after this particular election day,
Speaker 2: the process is not going to be over. We are
Speaker 2: going to have to think about the certification of these elections.
Speaker 2: And so what I'm asking folks is is like to
Speaker 2: be these active participants, to hold power accountable and to
Speaker 2: do the work to change those systems that aren't right
Speaker 2: now working for us.
Speaker 1: I appreciate the idea that we have to have faith
Speaker 1: in each other at a time when institutions and infrastructure
Speaker 1: are being tested, that we have to have faith in
Speaker 1: in the people. And I think that that, to me
Speaker 1: is probably the most insidious piece of what has helped
Speaker 1: to distort and undo our faith in democracy is to
Speaker 1: pit neighbor against neighbor, person against person is to instill
Speaker 1: this sense of distrust and fear. And so because the
Speaker 1: idea is that if you lose faith in institution and
Speaker 1: you lose faith in people, then that is how authoritarianism
Speaker 1: comes in. As people have begun voting in more than
Speaker 1: half of the states, That's the thing that I kind
Speaker 1: of had a reframe around is that the election is
Speaker 1: not in four tuesdays, as you said, but the election
Speaker 1: is over in four tuesdays because the election has already begun.
Speaker 1: So what do you say to folks right now that
Speaker 1: are feeling a sense of disillusionment that are just you know,
Speaker 1: we at the time of this recording, we had yet
Speaker 1: another bomb drop with regard to Donald Trump in January
Speaker 1: sixth and trying to overturn the election and turn our
Speaker 1: elections into a circus essentially, right, like, we're here because
Speaker 1: of the decisions that were made four years ago to
Speaker 1: discount the results of an election. If Donald Trump had said, yes,
Speaker 1: I lost, and then but I'm running again in twenty
Speaker 1: twenty four, we all would have gone about our business. Okay,
Speaker 1: see you again in twenty twenty four, right, But that's
Speaker 1: not what they did. So what do you say to
Speaker 1: people now that are readying their ballots to cast or
Speaker 1: have already about the future of our democracy and their
Speaker 1: place in it.
Speaker 2: It's such an important question because I go back to this,
Speaker 2: this word that is constantly in my head around simultanety.
Speaker 2: Many things can be true at once, and this what
Speaker 2: is happening right now with the people who are voting now, yes,
Speaker 2: the election ends and for Tuesday is it's a question
Speaker 2: about what conditions do we want to continue to fight it.
Speaker 2: We have lived under a Trump presidency. We have already
Speaker 2: seen in our states what happens when we let authoritarianism's
Speaker 2: the authoritarian minded people be in governance likea Georgia, like
Speaker 2: of Florida, like my home state of Texas that are
Speaker 2: facing these abortion bands where momas are dying. That is
Speaker 2: literally what is happening right now. We know what that
Speaker 2: world looks like, and I think all of us, I
Speaker 2: think the majority, the overwhelming majority of us, does not
Speaker 2: want that to be our story. And so if we
Speaker 2: allow those people to maintain power, and even if the
Speaker 2: system is not exactly ideal, it is truly about the
Speaker 2: conditions that we want to fight under and who we
Speaker 2: can put pressure on because they don't care. Authoritarianism that
Speaker 2: it doesn't care. It's all about maintaining power. They don't
Speaker 2: care about your voice. They don't care about the majority
Speaker 2: of people. And that is what I think people really
Speaker 2: have to think about. It's like, what are the conditions
Speaker 2: that I want to go and fight for reproductive freedom
Speaker 2: or hold accountability around what's happening in cause of right?
Speaker 2: What are the conditions that I want to fight under
Speaker 2: in the future.
Speaker 1: I think that that is the main that's the main thing.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 1: They say, you know, keep the main thing, the main thing,
Speaker 1: and that is it. It is what are the conditions that
Speaker 1: we want to fight under? Because I think that two
Speaker 1: folks have to realize that this is our new normal,
Speaker 1: having to fight for our voice and our vote. This
Speaker 1: is something that we thought was one and done with
Speaker 1: the Voting Rights Act, and it isn't. Because we realize
Speaker 1: that the Republicans continue to be really slick in their
Speaker 1: maneuvering to do their best to undo democracy and it
Speaker 1: will continue whether or not Donald Trump is elected in November.
Speaker 1: They'll just find another wolf to fill the sheep's clothing.
Speaker 1: I can't thank you enough, Chris for the work that
Speaker 1: you continue to do for the fight that you continue
Speaker 1: to have. And just as we close out, please tell
Speaker 1: people how they can connect, how they can stay informed,
Speaker 1: because it's necessary.
Speaker 2: Absolutely well. We have about measure Hub on our website
Speaker 2: dot org. We try to keep it really simple for folks.
Speaker 2: You can follow us on social media at Ballot Strategy
Speaker 2: and that's where we're going to be sharing voter guides
Speaker 2: the information from our partners in the states that are
Speaker 2: working on these different issues. So I encourage you to
Speaker 2: go to our website. The bout measure Hub is a
Speaker 2: treasure trow of information for you. And then on social
Speaker 2: media we're sharing things like voter guides, like and in
Speaker 2: Arizona where there is a voter guide to tell you
Speaker 2: all the things to vote know on and other things
Speaker 2: to vote yes for. So please follow us on all
Speaker 2: the ways you like to get your information.
Speaker 1: Chris, I can't thank you enough for making the time
Speaker 1: for WOKF and you know, I hope we will speak
Speaker 1: to you after the election and see where things stand.
Speaker 1: Really really appreciate you.
Speaker 2: Thanks for having me, Daniel, I love talking to you.
Speaker 1: That is it for me today, dear friends on WOKF.
Speaker 1: As always, power to the people, and to all the
Speaker 1: people power get woke and stay woke as fuck.