Peter —

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, so this week we’re focusing on all that we have to be grateful for this year. And there is plenty. First, we’re thankful for how much we grew. By bringing together three organizations focused on democracy reform, we’ve each found more friends in the fight for a new way of conducting our politics—one that elevates independence, cooperation, and pragmatism over the toxic partisan rancor that keeps us mired in problems and tries to convince us that our fellow Americans are our enemies. They are not.

The midterm elections also gave us a lot to smile about. Six of our endorsed candidates won their elections, and two still-uncalled races are leaning toward the Forward-endorsed candidates as well. Others far overperformed expectations, even though they ultimately lost their races (and gracefully conceded, we should add). Overall, not too shabby for our first time out of the gate. Of the 10 voting reform ballot initiatives that Forward supported across the country, eight have passed, including the first step toward statewide ranked-choice voting in Nevada. It’s really happening, folks.

Best of all, the future is bright for Forward. A recent survey by Students for Open Primaries found that a supermajority of young people (65%) consider themselves independent and unaffiliated with either of the two major political parties. Nearly 70% of young people feel that neither the Republican nor Democratic parties represent them, and a full 80% believe elected leaders are more loyal to their party than to their constituents. Eighty-five percent of young voters think we need to reform the way we elect our leaders in America today and support a move to nonpartisan open primaries. They’re speaking our love language.❤️

• Ranked-choice voting advocates have reasons to be thankful —The Fulcrum
• Charita Goshay: Let’s be grateful democracy’s still on the menu —The Canton Repository
• The rise of the independent voter —Axios
• Perls: What do independent voters think of this election? —Las Cruces Sun News
• Andrew Yang’s Forward Party sees the Mountain West as its natural home —Deseret News

OTHER NEWS & VIEWS

Texas gerrymandering suit rebuffed by SCOTUS
“The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away an appeal by Black and Hispanic voters accusing the Republican-led Texas legislature of intentionally redrawing a state Senate district to diminish their political clout, part of a broader challenge to congressional and state legislative maps in the state. The justices declined to review a ruling by a three-judge federal district court panel denying an injunction against the reconfigured state Senate district sought by the challengers. The plaintiffs have argued that the district’s redrawn boundaries resulted from intentional racial discrimination against them in violation of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law.” —Reuters

Seligman: Don’t let fearmongering spark a constitutional crisis
“Overstating the legal consequences of the Supreme Court’s decision in Moore v. Harper for presidential elections is a case study in the dangers of legal misinformation—and this time, unlike most others, the misinformation is coming from the left. … Although it’s obviously unconstitutional for a state legislature to appoint electors after Election Day in an attempt to reverse the results of a presidential election, it’s much less clear that a state legislature won’t try. … The battle for the minds of Americans who don’t know the details of arcane constitutional doctrine will be much harder to win if those who attempt to overturn the 2024 election can point to their political opponents’ uninformed hyperventilating from just two years prior and say: See, you already said we have this power.” —Matthew Seligman in Politico

Vance: It’s time to break through the calcified two-party system
“Rigid tribal partisanship drives politics now. Outside the few remaining competitive legislative seats, the outcome is predetermined by partisanship. Campaigning is almost a waste of time. … The marketplace of ideas is very, very narrow. Are we all OK with that, or might it be time to seriously talk about an alternative to our two-party system?” —Chris Vance in The Seattle Times

Want to see RCV in action?
From Daniel Nichanian, editor-in-chief of Bolts, via Twitter: Alaska Public Media is devoting hours this evening to covering the live tabulation of ranked-choice voting for all Alaska elections (Senate, House, legislative seats) where it’s needed, with a live feed of each race being resolved one by one. Check it out!

Americans everywhere want a better system. Forward is the only party working to put it on the ballot for them. Thank you for being a part of our movement and for helping us build that better future from the ground up. Wishing you and yours a safe, restful, and happy Thanksgiving!

All the best,
The Forward Party Team

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