Vote Climate U.S. PAC Partners with University of Michigan Students to Help Americans to Vote Climate
PRESS RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information Leave a Comment or PM. Us:
Vote Climate U.S. PAC Website:
https://voteclimatepac.org/
Michigan Political Consulting Website
https://www.mpconsulting.org/
This is a human-interest story, as much as it is a story about the politics of climate change. This is a partnership between a small, underfunded super PAC, attempting Herculean feats on climate change and a consulting firm consisting entirely of undergraduate students from the Michigan Political Consulting (MPC), offering their help pro-bono. If you think it gets better than this, watch while students from the University of Michigan and Vote Climate U.S PAC revolutionize the politics of climate change in 2022, a tough thing to do, especially with an all-volunteer staff and limited funding.
“We’ve never had much serious funding. We’re not a super PAC because we’re funded by some billionaire. I’ve never accepted a dime in compensation, and only ever made contributions to the PAC. But we are going to reclaim the tile of super PAC and redefine it as: the indomitable spirit of the young people, who have the most to lose and have joined our effort to do the impossible: get Americans to vote climate and change the future of the planet,” said Karyn Strickler, President of Vote Climate U.S. PAC.
In every election since 2018, Vote Climate U.S. PAC has developed our national climate change Voter’s Guide, giving every incumbent and challenger for each seat in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate a — Climate Calculation — a score ranging from Climate Hero to Climate Zero, helping Americans to vote climate. It was revolutionary, but we were obscure, we weren’t reaching voters.
In our 2018, inaugural voter’s guide, one graduate student, at American University, Jake Assael, single handedly researched and wrote our voter’s guide, creating nearly 1,000 profiles. In 2020, local Maryland high school interns Maddie Daw and Derya Taspinar, from Bethesda Chevy Chase High School did incredible work to advance the effort. Despite this work, Vote Climate U.S. PAC toiled in virtual obscurity for another election cycle.
Since then, Anoushka Sarin and Aditi Kedari from Mt. Hebron High School made remarkable contributions to our 2022 voter’s guide, as did Rhode Island high school graduate Quinn Jackson. Sam Lichtman, data analyst, helped with meticulous checking of the voter’s guide. Along with Climate Cabinet Action, they all helped to create our national and statewide voter’s guides, past and present.
“On June 23, 2022, Aditya Kulashekar, a student from the University of Michigan, wrote to Vote Climate U.S. PAC offering help. Along with Zach Solomon, V.P. of Research, and Executive Board member of MPC, we’re crafting a team of seven people to help us to research, write and check our national, climate change voter’s guide. Jake Assael, who has since become a co-founder of Vote Climate U.S. PAC, says he’s gratified to know that it may take 7 people to do the work he did in the 2018 election. Still this new partnership with MPC is likely to be a game-changer because it brings the passion of more young people who will live with the consequences of action or inaction on climate change,” said Karyn Strickler, President.
“I believe the Vote Climate U.S. PAC’s voter’s guide can help voters and ultimately force lawmakers to prioritize the existential climate crisis. As someone who will have to live with the consequences of climate malpractice from previous generations, I want to ensure that we vote for candidates who understand the urgency of climate change and are willing to act to provide a better future for the next generations. Ultimately, our work on the voter’s guide has the chance to revolutionize the politics of climate change, once and for all,” said MPC team leader Aditya Kulashekar.
Like most Voter’s Guides, we score incumbents on pivotal climate votes in Congress. But it goes well beyond that to assess a candidate’s position: what do candidates say about the issue; leadership: what do they do; and putting a fee on carbon polluters. We are the only national climate change voter’s guide to also rate challengers. In 2022 for the first time, voters will also be able to see if a candidate supports Roe v. Wade.
On Earth Day, April 22, 2022, Vote Climate U.S. PAC added the most critical, legislators from swing states nationwide to our voter guide, courtesy of Climate Cabinet Action’s Climate Scorecard, whose research is now available on our website under Voter’s Guide State Government.
Coming in October, 2022, the Gubernatorial Voter’s Guide, along with our updated 2022 Congressional Voter’s Guide, will make Vote Climate U.S. PAC the only website in the country to provide a climate change Voter’s Guide for candidates for Statehouses (partial, no indication of support for Roe.), incumbent, challenger, and open-seat candidates for Governors, U.S. House, U.S. Senate and U.S. President (in presidential years) all in one convenient, user friendly site, making it an unprecedented resource. Our Governors, U.S. House and U.S. Senate voter’s guides will also include support for Roe v. Wade. (Always click the green + button to the left of the candidate’s name, for detailed research and sources.)
The following categories from 2020, analyzing the politics of climate change, will also be updated and coming in October, 2022:
· Climate Heroes: Incumbents and Challengers Who Rated 100%
· Climate Zeroes: Incumbents and Challengers Who Rated 0 %
· Best to Worst Individual Incumbents and Challengers
· Overall Average Climate Comparisons by Political Party
· Overall Average Climate Comparisons by Swing Districts
· Overall Average Climate Comparisons by Region and Party.
Current University of Michigan team members include: Gabriel Scheck; Akshitha Ginuga; Akil Kasubhai and Ainsley Barrett. Contact us for the contact information for more of our team members .Other clients of Michigan Political Consulting include, but are not limited to: Brook Lierman, MD Democratic nominee for Comptroller; SELF, Solar Electric Light FU and LPAC, LGBTQ Equality, Women’s Equality and Social Justice.
Authorized by Vote Climate U.S. PAC, Mary Gill Treasurer, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
