SANTA FE, N.M. – Entre las comunidades rurales trabajadoras de Nuevo México está organizándose un día de acción y resistencia este Primero de Mayo, día de los derechos laborales y la justicia social.
La conmemoración internacional conocida como “May Day”, recibirá un impulso de participación este día, de parte de las familias de la clase trabajadora, que sienten el impacto del actual clima político, tanto a nivel estatal como federal.
Los inmigrantes conforman hasta el 10 por ciento de la población de Nuevo México y se concentran principalmente en la fuerza laboral rural según informa Emmanuelle “Neza” Leal, coordinador de comunicaciones en la organización Somos Un Pueblo Unido. Neza dice que el “May Day” es una oportunidad que estos trabajadores de la Tierra de Encanto muestren su valor y poder, sin importar su estatus migratorio.
“Los inmigrantes son parte esencial de Nuevo México y especialmente de sus comunidades rurales. Así que ese día, ya sabes, nos levantamos para proteger no sólo a nuestras familias, sino al mismo futuro de nuestras comunidades rurales en el estado.”
El “May Day” nació en Chicago, en 1886, donde una huelga general de sindicatos comerciales prepararon el camino para el día laboral de ocho horas. También se le conoce como Día Internacional del Trabajador, en el que se celebran manifestaciones, marchas y demostraciones –y este año incluso con recorridos que saldrán de escuelas y de lugares de trabajo.
Neza Leal dice que estos eventos públicos pueden representar un riesgo de que se persiga a los migrantes indocumentados, aunque muchas comunidades de Nuevo México cuentan con políticas de santuario vigentes, y han prometido no salirse de su ruta para ejecutar las políticas federales de deportación. Leal dice que ni a él ni a su comunidad les desanima esa presión política.
“Los trabajadores inmigrantes de Nuevo México tienen mucha experiencia en la lucha por sus derechos y defendiendo a sus familias. Y así en el “May Day”, nos alzamos con nuestros aliados para decir ‘Ya basta!’”
A la organización Somos Un Pueblo Unido se le unirán la AFL/CIO y otras organizaciones, y Leal dice que espera cifras récord este año en los eventos de todo el país. En Nuevo México se planea conmemorar el “May Day” en Albuquerque, Clovis, Gallup, Hobbs y Santa Fe.
Más información en SomosUnPuebloUnido.org y en ProgressNowNM.org.
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A new report showed turnover among California chief election officials reached 57% in 2022, a record high. It then declined this year to 40%.
Researchers at the University of California-Los Angeles partnered with the Bipartisan Policy Center to analyze the data from 18,000 jurisdictions nationwide.
Rachel Orey, senior associate director of the Elections Project for the Bipartisan Policy Center, said the jobs of election workers have become significantly harder in recent years.
"Today, election officials must manage everything from cybersecurity risks posed by foreign adversaries to people who are doubting the outcome of elections, to information technology, legal disputes, political pressures," Orey outlined.
The turnover rate is defined as the percentage of jurisdictions in a state where the chief local election official changed within the prior four years. It has been an issue in California for decades. The turnover rate stood at 41% back in 2004. But things got much worse after 2020, when election officials became targets of threats and harassment, often spurred by former President Donald Trump's evidence-free claims about a rigged election.
Orey noted she expects this year's presidential election to go smoothly, because dozens of states, including California, have done a lot to "beef up" the elections workforce.
"Sixty-five percent of local election officials have experience running a presidential election," Orey pointed out. "Where there are new officials, we find that they have an average of eight years of experience in an election office. So all in all, we see that election officials are well-prepared to administer the 2024 presidential election."
The report recommended better funding for elections offices, higher salaries and more training in order to attract and retain a highly skilled election workforce.
Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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North Dakota's June 11 primary is inching closer and those running for legislative seats are trying to win over voters, including Native American candidates who are part of a movement energized by newly drawn political boundaries.
The organization North Dakota Native Vote said there are seven candidates with Indigenous roots seeking spots in the Legislature. Most are running in District 9, which was recently updated to reflect representation needs for two Native American tribes.
Natasha Gourd, a board member of North Dakota Native Vote, described them as a good mixture of candidates coming from both reservations in the area, with some running as Democrats and others as Republicans.
"We've seen an upturn in participation and just getting leadership development through Native candidates," Gourd observed.
The election wave comes after the state saw 10 Native candidates in legislative races two years ago. For her group, Gourd acknowledged the boost can be tricky because they cannot endorse everyone running. But she noted having greater assurances the areas will be represented by people from their community -- no matter if they have a different stance on certain issues -- is still a positive.
Gourd added trying to build on the momentum is also important for off-reservation districts.
"What they do at the state level, regardless of Native American people in North Dakota (being part of) federally recognized tribes, it does affect us," Gourd pointed out. "Most Natives in North Dakota do live off the reservation, so it does affect our populations."
Gourd stressed they need more Native voices at the state level speaking out about priorities within education, the housing crisis, energy issues and health care. She hopes the positive trends they're seeing inspire more civic participation among other racial and ethnic groups trying to get a seat at the policy table in North Dakota.
Disclosure: North Dakota Native Vote contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement, Housing/Homelessness, Livable Wages/Working Families, and Native American Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
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A new poll finds a near 20-year low in the number of voters who say they have a high interest in the 2024 election, with a majority saying they hold negative views of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. A group of Arizona elections officials and experts recently gathered to discuss the growing discontent with the state's current electoral landscape.
Stephen Richer, Maricopa County Recorder, said that if politicians are what he calls "single-minded seekers of re-election," he contends the state should change the political incentive structure.
"And if those incentives will change, then maybe we will be talking about more things in the Arizona Voter's Agenda and less things that are currently right now incentivized by what I still believe to be a minority, but a very passionate, very loud, and a minority that is definitely committed to acting on those issues," he said.
Richer added it is important to remember that despite Independent and unaffiliated voters being able to participate in the July 30th statewide primary, they were excluded from the state's March Presidential Preference Election, and that has caught the eye of some in the state. The bipartisan group Make Elections Fair Arizona is pushing for open primaries, but proponents of closed primaries believe they're crucial to maintaining the integrity of party ideals.
Amanda Burke, executive vice president with the non-partisan, nonprofit organization Center for the Future of Arizona, said more than half of unaffiliated voters do not feel they have leaders or candidates running who speak to the issues and causes they care about. She contends that then translates to who decides to show up at the ballot box and vote, and encourages Arizonans to imagine a different primary system if they want different outcomes.
"Otherwise we are going to continue to have some more outcomes in terms of people who are incentivized to speak to a small percentage of their base on either side who are really not representative of the larger views," she explained.
The Grand Canyon State allows voter-initiated amendments to the state constitution, but the Arizona Require Partisan Primary Elections Amendment would add the state's current primary practice to the state constitution, prohibiting future changes without another constitutional amendment. Make Elections Fair Arizona is still collecting signatures to get its measure on the November ballot.
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