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A new study found that Republicans far more likely than Democrats to distrust their neighbors when they lived in an area with political leanings unlike their own.
Politics affects feelings of community attachment, trust in others
A person's political beliefs affect their sense of attachment with their community and trust in others, a Gallup/Knight Foundation survey finds.
The results amplify the growing body of research exploring the interplay of politics and personal identity, with its corrosive effects on an already polarized country as more and more Americans choose to associate as exclusively as possible with people who think as they do.
Alma Couverthie spoke at an April 2019 rally when the Supreme Court was considering whether to require a citizenship question on the 2020 census.
Meet the reformer: Alma Couverthie, a new face for the League of Women Voters
The League of Women Voters, founded a century ago to register 20 million Americans just enfranchised with ratification of the 19th Amendment, is now one of the best-known champions of democracy reforms including expanding voting rights, ending partisan gerrymandering, curbing money in politics and promoting civic engagement. It also advocates on such hot-button domestic issues as health care, the environment and immigration. Since last year, Alma Couverthie has led the league's grassroots advocacy work. Before that she was a field operative for the immigration reform group Community Change and spent two decades as an immigrants' rights and labor organizer. Her responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
What's the tweet-length description of your organization?
The polite, badass ladies empowering voters and defending democracy.
DoSomething
As the largest not-for-profit exclusively for young people and social change, DoSomething's millions of members represent every US area code and 131 countries. Using our digital platform, DoSomething members join our volunteer, social change, and civic action campaigns to make real-world impact on causes they care about. Sorry in advance for the #humblebrag, but here are just a few of our greatest campaigns.
Civic Saturday — Seattle
Organizer: Citizen University
Civic Saturday gathers friends and strangers together to nurture a spirit of shared purpose. At the gathering we connect around the values and practices of being an active citizen, reckon with and reflect on our nation's creed, and build relationships that create new civic traditions that are joyful and communal. What happens at Civic Saturday? We'll gather as friends and strangers to hear poetry, readings of civic texts, sing together with a local musican, share thoughts and ideas, and hear a "civic sermon" from Eric Liu.
Location: Hillman City Collaboratory, 5623 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA
