One year ago, an organized crowd of hundreds of rabid right-wing radicals violently stormed the U.S. Capitol in a naked power grab to overturn the results of the November 2020 presidential election. Their insurrection was a blatant attack on our nation’s democratic process, and an attempt to negate the legitimate votes of millions of people. Millions of us watched live television coverage of their rampage in shock and horror while on pandemic lockdown. Fortunately, they did not succeed (…this time around.)

The political forces behind last year’s insurrection on January 6^th have not given up their efforts. They have been working diligently since then, primarily in state capitals and county seats, to fundamentally restructure elections so as to a) shut out certain voters, b) cast aside results they don’t like, and c) create bizarre legislative districts that will bias election results in partisan ways. We cannot let them succeed.

This coming Thursday January 6^th, on the one-year anniversary of the Capitol Insurrection, millions of everyday people across the US will be gathering in their own communities to hold “democracy vigils”. Participants will collectively affirm “never again!”, and commit to each other to not stand idly by while others attack and undermine the democratic process. Information on all these events can be found here, and a social media toolkit is available here.

Here in New York, several evens are being planned for that day. The main one is an online remembrance and call to action that will take place during the early evening starting at 6:30 p.m. Sign up here to get all the relevant information, and/or check out this Facebook event listing.

This online event is being jointly organized by the Let New York Vote and Fair Elections for New York campaigns. Both coalitions have long been champions for democracy reforms that a) protect and expand voting rights, b) keep the election process non-partisan, c) curtail the influence of special interest and “dark” money in election campaigns, and d) prohibit gerrymandered legislative districts that skew election results in partisan ways. They’ll be sharing information with us about bills in Congress such as the For the People Act, John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and other proposals that will protect and improve democracy in the US, and what we can do as everyday people to help push them forward.

Three other in-person events will be taking place on January 6^th during the mid-day in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island:

• Two Accountability Rallies are happening simultaneously starting at 12 noon outside the district offices of Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (NY-4). One year ago, she voted to reject the Electoral College results and instead sided with the insurrectionists. Her Brooklyn office is at 7716 Third Ave. in Bay Ridge. Her Staten Island office is at 1911 Richmond Ave. in Bull’s Head. These rallies are being organized by local groups in both parts of her district. More info can be found here (Brooklyn) and here (Staten Island.)
• A demonstration calling out the coup planners and leaders will be held starting at 1 p.m. on the steps of the main branch of the New York Public Library at 42^nd St. and 5^th Avenue in midtown Manhattan. More info can be found here.

The fight for health care for all and health care justice across the U.S. fundamentally hinges on protecting and improving our democracy. Without it, we have no chances to achieve these goals. We urge all who strive for them to join in one or more of the events laid out above.

Since our nation’s founding, democracy has always been a work-in-progress with both major failings and significant breakthroughs. The improvements and expansions have always been driven by everyday people leading those efforts, and not the comfortable and entrenched political status quo of the day. Our job now is to rise to the occasion now and stand up to protect democracy and push for needed democracy reforms.