Gearing up for November: A Letter from Executive Director Abdi Soltani
We are in unprecedented times. The race for the White House has taken dramatic and unexpected turns. At the end of its term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued final decisions with tumultuous results. Simply stated, there is nothing about this year that is “business as usual.” In that context, the ACLU has geared up across the country on multiple fronts. Here is a snapshot of how we plan to proceed.
Protecting the Right to Vote:
The ACLU is working throughout the country protecting the right to vote in the face of voter suppression laws, policies, or practices this election year. We are also working vigorously to enforce and apply voting rights under the Constitution, federal laws such as the Voting Rights Act and the National Voter Registration Act, and under state constitutions and laws. Our Battleground States Initiative is pursuing tailored advocacy plans in each of those states, while here in California we are working to vigorously implement a range of new laws to ensure access to voter opportunities.
Protecting the Right to Protest:
The past academic year was one of significant protest on college campuses across the country. Throughout the summer and fall, the ACLU is preparing to defend the right to protest. A focal point will be the upcoming Democratic convention being held in Chicago in August. With the fall academic year and the election both around the corner, we expect to respond to issues of First Amendment rights.
Trump and Harris Memos:
During an election year, we defend the right to vote and to protest. We also analyze the records and policy platforms of candidates to educate voters and to be prepared on Day 1 of the new president’s term. To that end, the ACLU is releasing our findings in a series of memos on a potential second Trump administration and a potential Harris administration.
Holding the Biden-Harris Administration Accountable:
The ACLU holds presidents of any party accountable to the standards of our Constitution and the nation’s laws, regardless of party or whether it is an election year. And where they take steps contrary to those rights, we will speak out—and even go to court. On June 12th, the ACLU and our co-counsel and clients sued the Biden-Harris Administration for its new asylum ban. Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, put it succinctly: “We were left with no alternative but to sue. The administration lacks unilateral authority to override Congress and bar asylum based on how one enters the country, a point the courts made crystal clear when the Trump administration unsuccessfully tried a near-identical ban.”
Advancing Our Issues in an Election Year:
Beyond the presidential candidates, the ACLU will educate voters on candidate records and on ballot measures in selected races throughout the country. The new ACLU Voter Education Fund will conduct public education on state Supreme Court races in key states. The ACLU will also be working to advance high-profile abortion rights ballot measures in key states, such as Arizona and Missouri, and lower-profile measures, such as one to enshrine universal vote by mail in Connecticut.
The November California Ballot:
California voters will face a crowded ballot this November. Please look out for our Voter Guide after we complete our analysis of all those measures. There are two measures I want to highlight where the ACLU of Northern California is playing a significant leadership role in the campaigns:
First, we are continuing our decades-long advocacy for marriage equality with Prop 3, a ballot measure that repeals language in the state constitution saying that “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.” In the face of a US Supreme Court that is willing to upend decades of precedent, Prop 3 will protect the fundamental right to marry, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or race.
Second, we are opposing Prop 36, a ballot measure sponsored by California prosecutors, that increases criminal penalties for low-level retail theft and simple drug possession, rolling back advances from Proposition 47 (2014). Prop 36 would make Californians less safe by eliminating programs that have significantly reduced recidivism rates and racial disparities across the criminal legal system.
Third, we are supporting Prop 6 (Involuntary Servitude), which will amend the state constitution to prohibit slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime. Prop 6 would remove the “exception clause” so that incarcerated people can’t be forced to take any job or be cruelly punished for work absences. The legacy of slavery and forced labor runs deep in California’s history, as carefully examined in our multi-media project: Gold Chains: The Hidden History of Slavery in California. By removing the remaining practices of slavery in the state, Prop 6 would finally align California with its stated values.
We will also issue a candidate questionnaire for the San Francisco mayoral race, as well as a “Free to Be, Free to Learn” toolkit for activists and voters to ask California school board candidates their positions on a range of civil liberties and civil rights issues. And to ensure you know your rights about attending public meetings, watch this animated video on the Brown Act.
In the meantime, please reach out if you are looking for ways to volunteer or get involved, or to support our work financially. We are grateful to our members, donors, volunteers, and community partners for all you do.
Abdi Soltani is Executive Director of the ACLU of Northern California.
