ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) - August 2026
At the Drinks & Dialogue event at Crisis Brewing last week, with the League of Women Voters of Washington County, Dara Gaines, Ph.D., spoke to about 35 League and community members about community organizing. Gaines is the Field Director for the Protect AR Rights ballot initiative campaign, as well as a political science professor at the University of Arkansas.
When we invited Gaines to come speak to us, we knew that the ballot initiative to enshrine direct democracy into the Arkansas Constitution had achieved enough signatures to qualify for the November election. So, we were expecting a completely different discussion than what we got. We were expecting information and encouragement about educating voters about the ballot measure and why people would want to vote for it.
Dr. Dara Gaines speaks to League and Community members.
However, the Secretary of State of Arkansas, Cole Jester, disqualified the ballot initiative for a number of reasons, the first being that the ballot title name that was approved was not word for word correct on the signature pages.
As we know from experience, whenever there is an issue like this, the entities involved are not at liberty to discuss it because there is often pending litigation. So, Gaines talked to us about a topic that we at the League really love: community organizing.
Gaines first spoke about how people in the nonprofit world are used to hearing about giving their time, talent, and treasure. But she also said there are many nonprofit organizations already doing the work, and there is no need to reinvent the wheel. She recommended that activists and volunteers “Believe and trust people who say they know what they’re doing and help them get the resources that they need. Spend time making connections so that we can work together.”
Of the treasure portion of “time, talent, and treasure,” she said, “Put your money where your mouth is. Support these organizations.” Gaines mentioned donating to Good Change, an organization that rounds up everyday bank charges to donate to nonprofits or “people-powered campaigns.”
Gaines said her grandmother always used to tell her to, “Sleep in front of your own doorstep.” In this context, “What are we doing to make sure we are out there and expanding our networks?”
Gaines echoed a similar point as U of A Chancellor Charles Robinson, in his recent visit to Drinks & Dialogue related to Arkansas’s abysmal voter engagement. The question of how likely are people to turn out, or show up to vote? That can be answered with the question: “How much joy does it bring you to participate in an election? If I feel like an idiot at the polls, then I’m not going to want to be there.”
It’s our job to bring joy into civic engagement, so that we are all excited about knowing what and who is on our ballots, and we can’t wait to go vote.
Gaines also referenced something called the D-factor. Personality psychology websites define it as:
A tendency to pursue self-interest while disregarding, accepting, or intentionally harming others, supported by beliefs that justify the behavior.
While she didn’t expound on the meaning of that or provide context, other than expressing the need to help people find joy in the process, it’s easy to see how politics and government elections can lend themselves easily to people with these tendencies:
Utility Maximization: The intense drive to maximize your own personal benefit or power.
Disregard for Others: Willingness to ignore, accept, or cause harm and unfair outcomes for other people.
Moral Justification: Holding beliefs and cynical worldviews that excuse harmful behavior, so the person feels no guilt.
But the question for League members that remains is: How do we get people to be excited to vote? How do we convince people who aren’t here at our events that they want to vote? How do we bring joy into voter engagement?
Dr. Gaines and other NAACP Members
Gaines shared with us that she is active in the Northwest Arkansas chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She assured the mostly white audience that the NAACP works for civil rights for all people, so don’t be shy about attending meetings.
The NWA NAACP meets in person on the second Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at Welcome Health on 1100 N. Woolsey Ave., in Fayetteville, and via Zoom. The link is updated monthly via the organization’s LinkTree Account. Our Washington County League Communications Committee moved its meeting time up so that they can also start to attend NAACP meetings. We hope to see you there.
