The Delegation

This is the final episode exploring Voter Suppression/Election Integrity.  There’s a clear divide between how states and the federal government want to approach election integrity and battle lines are clearly drawn between political parties. 

For his final episode, Sohan wanted to talk about what is happening in his home state of Texas regarding election integrity. Over the past several months, Texas has made national headlines for introducing new legislation focused on Election Integrity and how the Democrats and Republicans are at odds.

Special Guest: Hannah Horick, a Communication and Development Coordinator for a domestic and sexual violence response agency in West Texas and President of Texas Young Democrats.

Jordan takes a look back at Season 1 of The Delegation. Backdropped by a new presidential administration and in the midst of a global pandemic, our first season has chronicled a wide range of issues.

We’ve chatted with a diverse array of current college students and recent college graduates across the country and across the aisle about their lived experiences and perceptions of our government in an effort to demonstrate how young people can wield our collective power to drive change.

Thank you to all listeners and participants! Feel free to share an episode and pay it forward.

The 2020 Presidential Election brought out historic voting numbers. One state in particular is Deep South Georgia, which surprised the nation by voting blue. Now, the state among many others seems to be on a push to purge those same voters from having a say in their Democracy.

Today, we talk to André Fields from Fair Fight, a national voting rights organization rooted in Georgia led by Stacey Abrams. Find out what Fair Fight did to transform elections across the nation and organize against voter suppression.

Featured Guest: André Fields, Political Director of Fair Fight

Resources:

• https://fairfight.com/

On its 90th anniversary, we talk to college students Bianca Herrera and Jake Turner about their perceptions of the American Dream and whether or not it still exists in today’s society. 

While we are backdropped by a country that has seen stark rises in income inequality, less opportunity for economic mobility, and a rising awareness of social justice issues, the American Dream means something different to each person you ask, as Bianca and Jake will also tell you.

So, is the American Dream still alive?

Technology is playing an increasingly important role in elections, particularly how potential candidates equip themselves with the knowledge and know-how to reach potential voters in their districts. 

Today, we talk to Becca Blais from BlueBonnet Data, a national nonprofit that recruits, trains, and organizes people for down-ballot campaigns, and find out what BlueBonnet Data is doing to transform elections and cut down on voter suppression.

Featured Guest: Becca Blais, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Bluebonnet Data

Note: Correction ~70% of Blue Bonnet fellows have never volunteered for a campaign before; after the fellowship, 90% plan to volunteer for political campaigns in the future.

Resources:

• https://www.bluebonnetdata.org

In response to the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery in 2020, Illinois lawmakers passed landmark criminal justice reform legislation referred to as the SAFE-T Act in February of 2021. 

Today, we will talk to two Chicago-based attorneys about the recent bill dubbed the SAFE-T Act, signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker on February 22, 2021, and how this Act will bring significant and historic changes to the criminal justice system in Illinois. 

Featured Guests: Attorney Antonio Lee, an Assistant State's Attorney at Cook County State's Attorney's Office in Chicago, and Attorney Chelsey Robinson, a Chicago-based attorney focused on criminal defense and family law. 

Resources: 

Illinois General Assembly: https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=3653&GAID=15&DocTypeID=HB&SessionID=108&GA=101 

The Institute for Illinois' Fiscal Sustainability: https://www.civicfed.org/iifs/blog/summary-provisions-illinois-house-bill-3653-criminal-justice-omnibus-bill 

The Delegation Investigates is a series led by college student guest hosts who will be talking to experts on a topic they are passionate about.

This episode, our first host , Sohan Gade a second year at Davidson College talks to a group of high school students Avani Singireddy, Elizabeth Swaine, and Austen Wyche of the Alabama State Board of Students Against Voter Suppression.  These voters have a voice and are mobilizing to drive change. 

We received overwhelming feedback from our listeners after our episode — Immigration: The Pathway to Citizenship — who wanted to know more about how they can get involved and how to better support undocumented students. 

In this bonus episode, host Jordan Fierst sits down with the co-advisors of DREAM Action NIU, Sandy López and Lizbeth Román. The pair discuss a range of topics from why they engage in this advocacy; the hurdles that undocumented students often encounter, especially when it comes to pursuing and financing higher education; how to support undocumented students; what DREAM Action NIU is up to, and how YOU can be an ally and get involved today. 

Featured Guests: Sandy López and Lizbeth Román, Co-Advisors of DREAM Action at Northern Illinois University, a student-led organization. 

Resources: 

https://www.niu.edu/undocumented/dream-action/index.shtml

Sign up here to participate in The Delegation and learn more about it here. To get the latest from Votable, subscribe to our mailing list. 

Introducing our new spin-off series called The Delegation Investigates. Each series will be led by college student guest hosts who will be talking to experts on a topic they are passionate about. We will give YOU a broader range of voices to hear from and hope you feel inspired by this series.

Our first host is, Sohan Gade, second year at Davidson College majoring in Political Science Major with a minor in Computer Science. Sohan is also a Delegation Alum, featured on Episode 1: Covid Relief. This first mini-season of The Delegation Investigates will focus on Voter Suppression.

Voting and voting suppression is not new. It has been going on for hundreds of years. In this episode, Sohan chats with Whitney Waite, Votable’s co-founder, on voter suppression and gives us a brief history of Voter Suppression in America.

Thursday, April 29th, marked President Joe Biden's 100th day in office. The first 100 days have come to serve as a benchmark of a President’s ability to get stuff done in the next four years.

To mark this important milestone, we’re changing things up a little bit by holding our very first ever panel discussion with former Delegation participants as well as brand new students. It’s a little less scripted and a little more raw. And the perspectives range from liberal to conservative, this is a must listen episode.