CBS News Covers The Fairness Project Campaign to Protect Ballot Measures Ahead of 2022 Midterms
ICYMI: CBS News Covers The Fairness Project Campaign to Protect Ballot Measures Ahead of 2022 Midterms
Kelly Hall, Executive Director of The Fairness Project, joins CBS News to discuss new direct democracy campaign
Washington, DC– Kelly Hall, the Executive Director of the Fairness Project spoke with CBS News about its Ballot Measure Rescue Campaign, a $5 million effort to fight back against state legislative attempts to shut down people-powered ballot measures that have been critical to improving the lives of millions.
“Ballot measures are often an aspect of our democracy that don’t get nearly as much attention as candidate politics, but they are one of the most powerful tools we have to make change around the country,” said Kelly Hall, Executive Director of The Fairness Project. “And because they’re so powerful, because citizens can bring issues like minimum wage and Medicaid expansion directly to the ballot box, we’re seeing hugely suppressive efforts to try and make it harder for people to vote directly on issues that matter to them.”
Through the Ballot Measure Rescue Campaign, The Fairness Project is partnering with 12 national and local organizations to form a strategic, multi-state coalition to fight back using litigation, legislative advocacy, and proactive ballot measures.
In 2021 alone, at least 87 bills were introduced that would burden or harm the ballot measure process. Of those 87 pieces of legislation, 20 bills passed that make the ballot process more difficult.
BMRC is a campaign of The Fairness Project, which has won 20 of its last 21 campaigns. Since 2016, The Fairness Project has carved a path for progress through partisan gridlock by using ballot measures to raise wages, expand Medicaid, stop predatory payday lenders, and secure more paid time off. Now, they’re going on offense to protect the ballot measure process itself because it’s one of the few ways everyday people have been able to win in recent years.
Watch Kelly Hall’s full interview with Tanya Rivero HERE.
###