Friend,

Elections should be about lifting up the candidates with the best ideas
and leadership capacity to move our communities forward, not the ones with
the biggest pocketbook. And yet, last year, billionaires spent $2.6
billion to influence elections nationwide -- drowning out the voices of
everyday voters.(1)

Right now, we have an opportunity to change all in our state by passing
the California Fair Elections Act (SB 42), which would put the question of
repealing the ban on public financing of elections in California on the
November 2026 general election ballot.

[ [link removed] ]Can you take a moment to tell your Assemblymember to vote “YES” on SB
42 and allow a vogte on public financing of California elections?

[ [link removed] ]SIGN NOW

Nationwide, 14 states and 26 municipalities have public financing of
elections. And the real-world application shows that it works. This form
of election financing:

* puts people’s voices ahead of big donors.
* gives every qualified candidate a fair shot -- even against
billionaire‑backed opponents.
* allows officials spend more time serving the public, not chasing Big
Money.

In New York City, public financing allowed Zohran Mamdani to run a
successful primary campaign against billionaire-backed Andrew Cuomo.(2) In
Seattle, voters just re-affirmed their popular Democracy Voucher
program.(3)

Time and again, public financing has led to more participation and created
an even playing field, so passing this legislation should be a no brainer.
But, SB 42 is currently up for a vote in the same committee that killed it
last year

[ [link removed] ]Anti-democracy organizers are hoping they can kill this critical bill
again, but we have an opportunity to make our voices heard. If enough of
us speak out about the importance of public election financing, we can
push this bill out of committee and onto the November 2026 ballot.

Thank you for being in the fight!

–Irene, along with Annie, Angela, Isidra, Cecilia, Jen, and Lindsay (the
Courage team)

[ [link removed] ]SUPPORT OUR WORK

Footnotes:
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2.
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3. [link removed]



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Courage California (formerly Courage Campaign) makes sure our democracy works for ALL of us by fighting corruption in California politics. We believe the solution lies in exposing and solving systemic problems through strategic organizing, enhancing coordination between progressive organizations, and mobilizing civic engagement from our communities, particularly voters of color, young voters, and self-identified progressives.

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