Top 5

Top 5 September 2020

Sep 29, 2020

“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you” 

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who passed away on September 18. Read LCV President Gene Karpinski’s statement on her passing here.

1) LCV Announces Launch of 2020 GreenRoots Program in Record Number of States

Earlier this month, LCV announced the launch of its 2020 GreenRoots member mobilization program. With an investment of $1.3 million, the program is working with an organizing team of 75 who are busy recruiting LCV members in 15 states — the most in GreenRoots’ history — to volunteer with candidates’ campaigns. The program is helping connect members with volunteer opportunities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Since 2012, LCV has mobilized its members through the GreenRoots program to knock on doors, make phone calls, and rally in green t-shirts to help elect environmental champions endorsed by LCV Action Fund. This year, the program will look different as a result of the pandemic, but we know our members are excited to do safe and virtual voter outreach.

“Our members are energized and ready to do what it takes to help elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, flip the Senate, and expand the pro-environment majority in the House,” said LCV Acting National Organizing Director Jennessa Agnew.

Read more about our 2020 GreenRoots program here.

2) LCV Launches $400K Ad Campaign Encouraging NC to Vote by Mail

This month, LCV launched a $400,000 ad campaign to encourage North Carolina voters who have historically faced barriers to the ballot box or who have never voted by mail before, to request a vote-by-mail ballot. The ad emphasized the ease of requesting a mail ballot and ran on digital platforms including Youtube and SnapChat.

The new ad campaign was part of a broader $6.5 million nonpartisan vote-by-mail generation program that aimed to encourage close to 750,000 voters in seven states to request ballots ahead of the November election.

“Due to the coronavirus pandemic, more people than ever before will vote-by-mail this year. We’re launching this ad campaign to make the process as safe and easy as possible for historically underrepresented communities, especially voters of color and young voters,” said Matt Davis, LCV Vice President of Civic Engagement.

Watch the ad and learn more about the progress of our nonpartisan vote-by-mail campaign here.

3) LCV’s Chispa Joins Latino Victory Fund and Latina Celebrities to Launch #VoteLikeAMadre

On September 1, LCV’s Chispa and Latino Victory Fund launched the #VoteLikeAMadre campaign, encouraging Latinx moms in battleground states like Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Nevada to vote for candidates who support action on climate change. Celebrity madres Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, and Zoe Saldana are active supporters of the campaign.

The campaign asks Latinx mothers to #VoteLikeAMadre by taking the following three actions: Make a pinky promise to their kids that they will vote for climate champions, share their promise on social media with the hashtag #VoteLikeAMadre, and make a plan to vote. Bold, immediate action is required to address climate change, and madres are leading the way in their communities by committing to elect officials who will fight the climate crisis and protect their childrens’ future.

You can check out all the buzz around #VoteLikeAMadre by following ChispaLCV’s Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Related: LCV Senior Vice President for Community and Civic Engagement and Chispa Founder Jennifer Allen Aroz was recently interviewed in the National Journal about how the issue of climate is helping to turn out Latinx voters in the final stretch of the election.

4) South Carolina Takes a Step Closer to Clean Energy for All

On September 23, the South Carolina legislature held elections for the state’s Public Service Commission (PSC), which decides everything from the state’s energy rates, to policies regarding shutoff moratoriums during a pandemic and economic crisis, to providing critical oversight of utility monopolies. With four of the seven commission seats open this year,the General Assembly just selected four new, qualified commissioners to make that policy a reality. With these new commission members in place, the PSC is in its strongest position ever to make major clean energy advancements for South Carolina.

LCV’s state affiliate, Conservation Voters of South Carolina (CVSC) worked for over a year elevating the importance of the PSC elections. They spread the word to find the most qualified individuals to apply and worked with all four chosen candidates to help them prepare for the vetting and selection process. CVSC also hosted an event to educate lawmakers on the need for effective commissioners and organized a grassroots campaign to push lawmakers to appoint the best regulators.. “With this new Commission, we’re confident that South Carolina is on its way to a cleaner future,” said Natalie Olson, Campaigns Director of CVSC.

Related: LCV’s state affiliate, Illinois Environmental Council (IEC), just launched a Clean Energy For All campaign video which focuses on how IEC’s Listen, Lead, Share campaign video which focuses on how IEC’s Listen, Lead, Share program and the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition’s intentional power-sharing with community-based partner organizations developed a bold policy vision to address climate change centered around racial equity and economic justice. Check it out here.

5) LCV Victory Fund’s ClimateVote2020 Makes Headlines in The Washington Post

LCV Victory Fund’s ambitious and record-breaking campaign is making headlines once again, this time in The Washington Post. The Post’s article, titled “Top green group aims record $100 million at defeating Trump and Republicans,” discusses the ClimateVote2020 campaign’s plans to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House, flip the Senate to a pro-environment majority, and protect the pro-climate action majority in the House.

The article quotes Pete Maysmith, Senior Vice President of Campaigns at LCV Victory Fund, who said this about the enormous support that ClimateVote2020 has received: “A lot of people realize how high the stakes are. Whether it’s wildfires blanketing the West with smoke, whether it’s the hurricanes hitting the Gulf Coast, the flooding inundating the Midwest, the time is now to act on climate change.”

But that change cannot come unless Donald Trump — dubbed “Dirtiest of All Time” by LCV Victory Fund — is defeated and Mitch McConnell loses control of the Senate. The ClimateVote2020 campaign is harnessing this country’s best opportunity for change — the 2020 elections — to elect leaders who will fight for climate solutions that confront the toxic legacy of environmental injustice and sustain a habitable planet for future generations.

To learn more about our ClimateVote2020 campaign, click here. To read the full The Washington Post article, click here.

 

Want even more news? Check out LCV’s latest news here.