The anti-corruption movement was on fire this year.
From a record-breaking new video that reached millions of Americans to an arrest at the U.S. capitol; a landslide anti-corruption win in NYC to dozens of campaigns emerging for 2020, here's a taste of what we accomplished together, and a peek at what we're planning towards for 2020.
1. Unbreaking America series launched with Jennifer Lawrence and reached millions
In February of 2019, RepresentUs launched the first of a new short film series called Unbreaking America.
In Solving the Corruption Crisis, Academy Award Winning Actor and RepresentUs board member Jennifer Lawrence worked with RepresentUs Co-Founder Josh Silver to break down exactly how the political system is no longer working for the average American and what we can do to fix this massive political breakdown.
The film comes at a time when Americans are more concerned about America's corruption crisis than ever – and the movement to fix it is reaching a tipping point. In 2018, the anti-corruption movement passed more democracy reforms than at any other time in U.S. history.
RepresentUs launched Solving the Corruption Crisis as a starting point for a nationwide campaign to end political corruption in America. In short order, the film reached millions of people across the country, recruited thousands of new volunteers and donors.
Over the next year, RepresentUs will continue the Unbreaking America campaign to engage more than 11 million people, just 3.5% of the U.S. population – marking the beginning of a new era of grassroots power to end corruption in America.
2. We gathered the movement for Unrig Summit in Nashville
In March 2019, we convened the brightest minds from the right and left to fix American politics...and to rock out in Nashville, Tennessee. This was no ordinary conference.
At Unrig Summit 2019 we heard inspiring stories and lessons from 2018’s winning campaigns, learned from anti-corruption experts, and enjoyed world-class entertainment. Over 2,000 people from all 50 states came together to learn the issues, connect with peers, and build their skills.
Read the recap to see what you might have missed, or check out the photos and videos from the summit to relive your favorite moments.
UPDATE: Unrig Summit is now the American Democracy Summit.
3. We launched Democracy911, a 700-mile anti-corruption walk and protest at the U.S. capitol
On August 6th, Renaldo Pearson started Democracy911, a 700-mile walk from Atlanta, Georgia to Washington, D.C. to protest America's corruption crisis.
But Renaldo wasn't just walking: He was demanding real reform. The Democracy911 campaign calls on presidential candidates to pledge to fix democracy first, by passing laws to protect our right to vote, make our elections secure and competitive, and end political corruption.
“Our democracy is facing an existential crisis,” Renaldo said. “Our system of government has been so corrupted by special interests, the influence of the wealthy, and partisan gamesmanship that voters have nearly no impact on the policies our government enacts. Virtually every issue Americans care about is stuck because of our rigged political system.”
The walk began on the 54th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. After more than 1.3 million steps and 48 days in the southern summer heat, Renaldo reached the steps of the U.S. Capitol.
At the Capitol, Renaldo led a sit-in with anti-corruption protesters. Police arrested nine protesters on the steps.
During the walk and the months that followed, major presidential candidates committed to the campaigns ask to Fix Democracy First. You can see all the candidates who've signed on so far on our scorecard page here.
Read about his inspiring journey and the people he met along the way on his live blog.
4. We passed Ranked Choice Voting in NYC along with over 20 other victories
Election day 2019 brought a massive breakthrough for the anti-corruption movement, with New York City passing Ranked Choice Voting and tripling the number of Americans using the new voting system.
Local chapter Represent NYC worked with our partners at Common Cause NY and Fairvote to pass this game-changing election reform, which won with over 73% of the vote.
Our volunteers attended hearings to push for getting RCV on the ballot, wrote letters to the editor in support of the initiative, knocked on doors, and sent over 600,000 text messages to remind voters to cast their ballots on election day. Check out the full campaign timeline to learn more about the effort to bring Ranked Choice Voting to New York City.
New York City was a highlight of more than 20 other campaign victories this year, including anti-corruption reforms in San Francisco, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Utah, and more. Want more inspiration? Here's the rundown:
- Vote at Home was adopted statewide in Hawaii and Utah
- Dark Money Disclosure passed in New Jersey, San Francisco, and New Mexico
- Automatic Voter Registration passed in Maine and New Mexico
- Anti-gerrymandering efforts, which cleared a major legislative hurdle in Virginia and scored a huge victory in the North Carolina courts
Ranked Choice Voting passed in Easthampton, Massachusetts
These big victories in 2019 are a signal of the road ahead, with campaigns already forming for the 2020 election cycle.
5. Volunteer-led campaigns inspired the movement
Anti-corruption volunteers made huge progress in the fight to stop secret money and lobbyist influence on our political system.
When Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote each other on Twitter suggesting they would work together to stop the revolving door from political office to lobbying, RepresentUs members sprung to action. Over 10,000 RepresentUs members signed on to a petition campaign pushing for them to follow through, and Represent Austin volunteers got a meeting with Ted Cruz's office to hand-deliver the signatures and push the Senator on next steps.
Represent New Jersey’s years-long bipartisan efforts finally paid off this year when Governor Murphy signed the End Dark Money bill. Now, a dark money group is suing to stop the law from going into effect, and Represent New Jersey is fighting to keep the law on the books.
In Pennsylvania, RepresentUs members and our partners at March on Harrisburg have been fighting to stop Pennsylvania's lobbyist gift problem... and after years of protesting, meetings with politicians, and pressure campaigns, politicians have finally drafted a bill to ban lobbyist gifts. RepresentUs members are fighting to get it passed, and have already sent in thousands of letters and placed hundreds of calls to the House Speaker to bring the bill to a vote.
6. Michael Douglas starred in Unbreaking America: Divided We Fall and called out our polarized political system
To close out the year, RepresentUs launched the second short film in our Unbreaking America series on December 9th, 2019—International Anti-Corruption Day.
Academy Award winning actor Michael Douglas and RepresentUs Co-Founder Joshua Graham Lynn star in Unbreaking America: Divided We Fall.
This eye-opening sequel reveals exactly how America’s political system has become more polarized, divided, and gridlocked – and what we can do to fix it.
Douglas breaks down the gridlock and corruption in America’s government and presents a solution: state by state strategy to achieve federal reform.
There's just one catch… the solution relies on people across America working together to pass these laws.
Here's What to Expect in 2020
In 2020, RepresentUs will work with anti-corruption coalitions across the country to fight for more than 30 campaigns. Volunteers are already working around the clock to pressure lawmakers in the upcoming sessions and put big reforms on 2020 ballots.
Here's a sneak peek:
- Massachusetts is well underway to put Ranked Choice Voting on the ballot in 2020, with signature-gathering efforts underway for Voter Choice Massachusetts.
- Alaskans for Better Elections is working to fix our broken elections, with a ballot campaign to end dark money, pass Ranked Choice Voting, and let voters participate in open primaries.
- Arizona's Outlaw Dirty Money campaign would stop secret money in state elections, and is and currently collecting signatures to qualify for the ballot.
- Virginians are fighting back against gerrymandering with the OneVirginia2021 campaign to put anti-gerrymandering on the 2020 ballot.
No matter where you live, you can help these campaigns win – in fact, we'll only win with the support of the entire anti-corruption movement. Whether you have 5 minutes, 5 hours or 5 dollars to offer in support, you can be part of these victories. Here's what you can do:
- Join the Action Brigade, our volunteer network working together across America on the most pressing anti-corruption campaigns, no matter where they are.
- Become a Common Wealth member with a monthly donation of any amount – all Common Wealth donations go directly to anti-corruption campaigns.
- Organize locally by working in your community to build support for anti-corruption victories.