Pancakes & Policy: March 1st
Hot off the griddle! Welcome to Pancakes & Policy, Be The Ones’ new weekly newsletter - your Saturday morning dose of democracy. Quick, digestible, and stacked with what you need to know about what's happening in the South Carolina State House.
📌 Want to dive deeper into our priorities and plans? Read more here
Grab a fork, let's dig in.🍴
📣 TWO ACTIONS TO TAKE RIGHT NOW
🥞 Sign Up: Spring Into Action Advocacy Training Series
Wednesday’s in March @ 7pm I Starts This Week!
Chose One or Join All - More Info and Register Here!
March is here, and it’s time to level up our advocacy game! Join us for short, action-packed, interactive virtual trainings every Wednesday this month covering:
- Navigating legislative tools
- Mid-session check-in & state of democracy policy
- Impact primary election legislation could have on all of us
- What happens after a bill you care about passes (or doesn’t…)
🥞 Take this 60-second Survey: We’re cooking up more advocacy trainings and we want your input. What trainings, resources, and events would help you most? Tap here for survey
📆 WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK
🗳 A quiet week in the State House for democracy and voting rights policy…but a BIG week in Irmo!
None of our priority democracy bills made moves last week (good news? bad news? maybe both?). We spent the week continuing to grow our coalition against H.3459 and other democracy legislation.
🎉 Meanwhile, Irmo just made history!
On Wednesday, the Town of Irmo became the first municipality in SC to pass a resolution supporting Instant Runoff Voting (a.k.a. Ranked Choice Voting)! It's a huge step toward giving voters more choice and stronger voice at the ballot box. It also sends a clear message to state legislators: SC voters want RCV!
🗳 While Irmo’s resolution is a step forward, the push for Ranked Choice Voting doesn’t stop at the local level. There’s an active House bill, H.3589, that would allow towns & municipalities across the state the option to use this voting system. It’s awaiting a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee, and we’ll keep you updated!
👀 WHAT'S COMING UP THIS WEEK
🗓 Two House Bills Move to Full Judiciary Committee Hearings (March 4th):
H.3556 amends authority of State Executive Committee of a political party to hear certain primary protests & contests
H.3557 shortens candidate filing period & changes filing fee structures
🗳 Democracy Bills on Deck: no hearings scheduled for this week (yet) for other voting rights bills, but things can change fast - we’ll keep you posted.
🔜 WHAT TO EXPECT FROM US NEXT SATURDAY
✅ Updates on bill progress & any new filings
✅ Short video explainers on the SAVE Act(s) - yes, plural....stay tuned
✅ Another update on our Democracy Bill Tracker - your go-to resource for tracking voting rights legislation in SC
🍯 EXTRA SERVING
🏆 Your Vote Could Win You $50 (but probably not an Oscar!): Did you know the Academy Awards (the Oscars) use Ranked Choice Voting to determine winners - including the coveted Best Picture? Pretty cool, right? And just like the Oscars, we’re handing out (cash) awards! Click here to test your RCV skills in our Ballots & Blockbusters Best Picture Vote and a chance of winning $50 - just for participating! Deadline to participate has now closed
📣 Heard of The Future Caucus? The Future Caucus is a nonpartisan coalition of Gen Z and millennial lawmakers working across party lines to bridge divides and create real solutions for future generations. Thanks to the leadership of Senator Deon Tedder and Representative Brandon Newton, this week South Carolina became the 35th state in the Future Caucus’ national network. Huge shoutout to them for bringing fresh, forward-thinking leadership to the center stage in our state!
🎬 That’s a wrap! (on this week's stack, not democracy)!
Be The Ones is a nonpartisan grassroots organization building healthier communities, a more equitable democracy, and expanding power by removing barriers to local civic participation across the South Carolina.