When states had the opportunity to expand Medicaid benefits by accepting national funds through Obamacare, several tea party governors resisted. So New Mexico MoveOn member Robbyne Jones created a MoveOn Petition calling on Governor Susana Martinez to carry out the Medicaid expansion. Meanwhile, in Michigan and Ohio, Fran Brennan and Dan Heck from Working America started petitions calling on Governors Rick Snyder and John Kasich to accept the funding.
Over the past decade, enrollment at for-profit colleges has grown exponentially. Mississippi is host to dozens of for-profit colleges. While they are regulated by the state, enforcement is uneven, and standards across schools are inconsistent. To bring attention to this issue, Whitney Barkley started a MoveOn Petition demanding that the Mississippi Legislature tighten regulations on private colleges.
In early February, the Atlanta City Council met to decide on whether to allocate $2.5 million to improving the city’s bike lanes. In order to show widespread support for the bike improvements, local resident Jonathan Bautista started a MoveOn Petition calling on the City Council to approve the funding.
Recently, several states’ Departments of Transportation announced that they would not grant driver’s licenses or state ID cards to young immigrants who qualify for work permits under President Obama’s new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. In response, Matt Hildreth started a MoveOn Petition to the Iowa DOT Director asking him to reverse the decision.
In the race for New York State Senate between Democrat Cecilia Tkaczyk and Republican George Amedore, with hundreds of ballots left to be counted, the final margin of 37 votes allowed a NY state judge to certify Amedore as the winner. By failing to count the remaining ballots and failing to address technical problems, voters were disenfranchised by the Board of Elections’ improper guidance. In response, Carole Furman and Barbara Bravo started a MoveOn Petition demanding every vote to be counted.
The Michigan Legislature was considering a bill that would change the current law that prohibits people with concealed-weapons permits from carrying guns in churches, bars, schools, sports arenas, and other public places. So Reverend Eric A. Stone started a MoveOn Petition calling on the Michigan Legislature to keep gun-free zones in Michigan.
When Clear Channel-owned billboards stating “Voter Fraud is a Felony” appeared in African-American and Latino neighborhoods in Cleveland, it was clear they were designed to intimidate minority voters from casting legal votes. In response, voting rights groups demanded that Clear Channel take them down immediately. Rashad Robinson of the organization Color of Change started a MoveOn Petition.
When University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe announced that the university press would be phased out starting in July to save a $400,000 yearly subsidy, thousands of people protested by writing letters to Wolfe and signing Ned Stuckey-French’s MoveOn Petition.
When the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed House Bill 934, a voter ID restriction, the legislation guaranteed many eligible voters would be turned away at the polls. A Pittsburgh teacher, Steven Signer, a Pittsburgh teacher, started a MoveOn Petition opposing the law.
St. Mark’s Bookstore, a legendary progressive bookstore and community institution in Lower Manhattan, was at risk of going out of business when their lease was up and they couldn’t afford their rent, which was set before the downturn. Their allies in the community started a MoveOn Petition that went viral, attracting the attention of local media and the New York Times.