DENVER - Colorado is one of four states where AARP launched its "You've Earned a Say" campaign on Monday. At town hall meetings, including one in Denver, the group released a new study about the importance of Medicare and Social Security to retirees, and began a nationwide effort to solicit comments from people from all ages about the programs.
The campaign is based on AARP's view that Congress doesn't have a clear picture of how many people rely on these programs to keep them out of poverty.
Morie Smile, AARP Colorado communications director, says the discussion needs to shift from the cost of the programs, to their value.
"That's not to say that one turns a blind eye to what's happening with the budget. But when you figure that Social Security pumps over $8 billion into Colorado's economy, we have to figure out how we can maintain those figures."
Almost 700,000 Coloradans receive Social Security, and for about one-third of them, it's their only retirement income. There are 600,000 on Medicare.
AARP has set up a website, EarnedaSay.org, to collect opinions and post information. It is also planning more community conversations and bus tours, nationwide.
At Monday's town hall in Denver, Keith Kelly shared his frustration about the gridlock in Congress.
"Too often in today's political environment, we're reduced to non-constructive dialogue from our parties. And by having a forum like this, it allows people like me to get up and listen and learn. And that's why I'm here."
The campaign launch coincides with a new AARP national survey of people over age 18. It says across all political persuasions, 98 percent think Social Security and Medicare are important to people's health in retirement. Somehow, the message isn't getting across to elected officials, says AARP national board president Lee Hammond.
"A lot of the work that's being done, a lot of the so-called plans that are being developed, are being done behind closed doors; people don't know what they are. Our concern is that, if you're going to be affected by this, you need to know what it is and how it affects you. And we really haven't had that from Congress."
Hammond says AARP will work with two national think tanks, one conservative and one liberal, to analyze every plan proposed in Congress, and will publicize their findings.
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This week, a bipartisan group in Arizona officially launched its campaign to do away with the state's current system of primary elections - which are only open to people in the two major political parties.
The goal is to get a measure on the 2024 ballot to make the state's future primary elections open to all candidates and all voters, regardless of their party affiliation. But first, it needs more than 389,000 signatures by July of next year.
Chuck Coughlin - treasurer for Make Elections Fair AZ - called this week's kickoff "an emotional launching point," for what he describes as their effort to "create fair elections in Arizona."
"Our election process has been hijacked by two extreme parties," said Coughlin. "The two parties have become much more extreme over time in their views of how elections are run, because it attracts money and influence. A majority of people have chosen to disassociate themselves from those two parties."
He said Independent and unaffiliated voters now comprise the largest registered voter bloc in Arizona, at 35% of the electorate.
Coughlin said changing the system would, in his words, "reinvigorate competition, so ideas and change can fuel American democracy again."
Former Phoenix Mayor Paul Johnson is now on the Make Elections Fair AZ executive committee.
He said the current, partisan primary system can be "easily manipulated," and lead to a disproportionate advantage for groups with extreme viewpoints.
Johnson also said he sees the current system as discriminatory toward Independent and unaffiliated candidates.
"It actually discriminates directly against voters," said Johnson. "It requires them to file a special card to be able to vote in one of the two primaries, which Democratic and Republican voters don't have to do. And then, in presidential primaries, they are outright excluded - even though their taxpayers' dollars are utilized to be able to subsidize it."
Johnson is referring to the card people can fill out stating "no party preference" that allows them to vote in an Arizona primary.
Supporters of closed primaries say they're an important part of keeping political parties healthy and relevant.
Disclosure: Make Elections Fair AZ contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement. If you would like to help support news in the public interest,
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Recent polling from The New York Times and Siena College found President Biden trailing former President Donald Trump in five of the six most crucial battleground states, one of which is Arizona.
In the Grand Canyon state Trump leads Biden by five-percentage points.
Elaine Kamarck, director of the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institute, said the question is - if polls are showing Biden slipping, compounded with his unfavorable approval rating, does that mean voters won't vote for him and other Democrats in the upcoming election?
She said it isn't a simple answer.
"Maybe there is just no relationship between the president's popularity and down ballot voting," said Kamarck. "That voters vote on very different things and maybe because we have a 'president-centric' kind of culture, maybe we just get that wrong all the time."
While The New York Times/Siena College poll comprised just over 3,600 registered voters among all six states, Kamarck said other state-based polls - which struck fear in many Democrats - are composed only of about six hundred participants, which she says likely aren't grasping the entirety of voter's preferences and true attitudes.
Kamarck said looking at the special elections in 2021, the midterms in 2022, and the most recent set of elections this year, President Biden's unpopularity does not have much to do with democratic votes.
She contended that Democrats "over performed expectations," in all three years and increased their margins.
She argued that abortion is a huge motivator for democratic voters. Arizona is among one of several states looking at a possible proposed abortion rights measure on next year's ballot, which could boost Democrat's chances.
"Where the right to choose is front and center on the agenda, abortion is an incredibly powerful motivator," said Kamarck. "I think in my lifetime in politics which has been pretty long, it is probably the biggest push I've ever seen, really."
Arizona for Abortion Access is supported by a coalition of reproductive rights advocates who are currently working on getting the close to 400,000 signatures from Arizona voters by July of next year.
Currently, abortions are legal in Arizona up to 15 weeks with no exceptions for rape or incest. The law does have an exception to save the life of a pregnant mother.
Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.
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In just over a week on Nov. 29, state lawmakers will return to Atlanta to decide on Georgia's new congressional voting district maps. Grassroots organizations focused on voting access are stressing the importance of the process.
In October, a federal judge ruled the state's 2021 maps diluted the voting power of Black residents and violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
April Albright, national legal director for Black Voters Matter, emphasized the decision is crucial in promoting equity for often overlooked communities.
"Our communities don't get that infrastructure," Albright observed. "We see it in our education and we see it in our roads, and we see it in economic opportunities in the form of opportunity districts, where the state makes a decision about how much money they're going to provide as subsidy to invite industries to come and create businesses."
The judge's ruling called for lawmakers to create an extra congressional district in west-metro Atlanta with a majority-Black population. It also calls for two new majority-Black Senate districts in south-metro Atlanta, two majority-Black House districts in south-metro Atlanta, and two in and around Macon-Bibb.
Albright pointed out the significant population shifts in the South over the past decade, which highlight the need for people to have the option to vote for candidates who truly represent their beliefs. As voting districts are being updated and challenged throughout the South, she stressed the importance of safeguarding democracy.
"We've got to keep our eyes on the prize," Albright urged. "We've got to understand the power of the 'drip, drip,' organizing all year around issues that matter to us. And if we do that, then it doesn't matter what the courts will do. We know that we can still bring the changes that we want."
Census figures show Georgia's population has surged by more than 1 million since 2010, with significant increases in Black, Hispanic, and Asian residents, particularly in Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties.
The ruling in Georgia comes after a historic decision in Alabama to create two majority and near-majority Black voting districts.
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