Action items

1. We’ll be mailing Vote Forward letters in Lafeyette on Saturday. If you want us to take yours, put them through our mail slot Friday afternoon or evening.
2. We still have some postcards, and Tony the Democrat still has a few campaigns. Stop by and take what you want from the box on our porch.
3. With cards and letters almost over, everyone is transitioning to phone and text banks. For phone banking we suggest Flip The West and Swing Left SF. Judy and Karen are deep in texting land. Contact them if you want help. Judy suggest starting with Flip The West texting and move up from there.
4. Andy is now doing 3 hour shifts with DNC’s Voter Protection Project for Spanish-speaking voters. Emily is with the same project, in English. Lots of people are calling this helpline with voting questions. 90 minutes trainings happen almost every day. [Added Oct 12: Mostly people wanting to know where to vote early in person, how to register, or how to obtain an mail ballot. No lurid tales of voter suppression.]
5. Working from suggestions at the meeting, Raphael Warnock (Georgia Special) is added to the ActBlue site, and the House races are sorted by promise of success.

Propositions

Below are various recommendations on State and Alameda County propositions, including the Wellstone Club’s and my own. There seems to be unanimity on the best-known ones, but not on 21 (Rent Control) and 24 (Online Privacy), both of which I found, personally, difficult and on which I am not completely certain. Judy mentioned disagreeing with Wellstone’s endorsement of 23 (Dialysis). Feel free to add links to other recommendations (e.g., newspapers) in comments to this post. Y’all do know that you can add comments, right?

Please help us get more volunteers into the pipeline by spreading the word about our next call. Feel free to share via email, FB messenger, and trusted FB groups. Please DO NOT share on Twitter or Instagram to avoid trolls. 
Tuesday, October 13
8:00 – 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time
RSVP Required: CLICK HERE

Trouble Registering? Request Zoom Link
at ProtectVoteVols@gmail.com
Here, as promised, is the information on how to sign up nationally, or to volunteer directly with key states.

LINKS FOR NATIONAL SIGNUPS

National Poll Watcher Sign-up Form:
https://go.joebiden.com/page/s/election-day-voter-protection

National Voter Assistance Hotline Sign-up Form:
https://go.joebiden.com/page/s/Voter-Protection-National-Hotline

National Voter Assistance Hotline Training Sign-up Form:
https://www.mobilize.us/2020victoryvp/event/322975/

Poll Watcher Requirements, State-by-state
https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/poll-watcher-qualifications.aspx

Voting Requirements in Each State, State-by-state
https://866ourvote.org
https://iwillvote.com/

STATE PRIORITIES AND LINKS ; if you want to focus on a specific state, pick it out on this list and go for it.

Arizona Priorities and Links
A. Poll Observers.  AZ needs more poll observers for both Early Voting (especially in the last week) and on Election Day. Some counties require poll observers to be registered voters, but others, including the largest county, Maricopa county allows out of state poll observers.

B. Volunteer recruitment phone banks (fully remote): Over the next few weeks Arizona volunteer recruitment phone banks will probably shift into a chase/cure phone bank, to help people whose ballots have been rejected. azdem.org/pollobserver

Arizona Voter Hotline: 1-833-VOTE-4-AZ
URL: www.MissionForArizona.com

Questions?         voterprotection@missionforarizona.comFlorida Priorities and Links
A.   Voter Protection Hotline: Remote volunteers (lawyers and nonlawyers). French, Haitian Creole & Spanish needed.

B.  Poll watcher (inside) or poll observer (outside):  Onsite volunteers. Poll watchers don’t need to be lawyers, but it could be helpful in some cases.

Poll Watcher Training: 
https://www.mobilize.us/flavopro/event/326690/

Ballot Cure Calls: 
https://www.mobilize.us/flavopro/event/329039/

Recruit Poll Watchers: 
https://www.mobilize.us/flavopro/event/324712/Hotline Volunteers
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1TmWgIjtV4sPorC6DN7yfWmYs2zI7jhXp_Me6Oo1hswM/viewform?edit_requested=true

Questions?        
brandon.peters@2020victory.com;
Alexa.kissinger@2020victory.com

Iowa Priorities and Links
A.   Voter Protection Hotline: Remote (lawyers and nonlawyers). 

B.  Poll watcher (inside) or poll observer (outside): Onsite. Poll watchers don’t need to be lawyers, but it could be helpful in some cases.

C. Volunteer Recruitment Phone Banking: Remote (lawyers and nonlawyers)

Iowa Voter Protection Sign-up Form 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0ZrPrmdSP8_Dsxj03xw6q8HtV6pJTZnn8O2_hHWxGqbSwyg/viewform?gxids=7757

Iowa Volunteer Recruitment Phone Bank:
https://www.mobilize.us/ia2020victoryvp/event/326551/

Poll Watching in Iowa (in-person on Election Day): 
https://www.mobilize.us/ia2020victoryvp/event/337934/

Voter Assistance Iowa Hotline (remote): 
https://www.mobilize.us/ia2020victoryvp/event/324306/

Iowa Chase and Cure Opportunities (remote): 
https://www.mobilize.us/ia2020victoryvp/event/335607/

Iowa Canvassing Board Monitor (in-person): https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe2JkrTLbh72aa003jWUsCE-fQwlsRMYZvzMpqWkucmPCB31g/viewform

Questions?    dlakin@iowademocrats.org

Maine Priorities and Links
A. Poll Watching and Vote Count Monitoring (onsite): Volunteers are needed to monitor the counting of mail ballots in advance of Election Day (beginning on 10/27) and the casting of absentee ballots in-person at town offices in the 30 days before 11/3. Maine allows out of state poll watchers.

B. Voter Hotline and Mail Ballot Curing: This can be done remotely by anyone. 

Maine Voter Protection Sign-up Form
VoteInMaine.com/act

Questions?         rkessler@mainedems.org

Michigan Priorities and Links
MI Priorities for Volunteers  

A. Early Vote Poll Observers: Early voting started on September 24. Michigan allows  out of state poll observers. sign up at tinyurl.com/earlyvotetraining

B. Election Day Poll Observers: Out of state observers can be poll watchers inside and outside of polling locations on election day. The greatest needs will be in Detroit/Wayne County, Flint, Saginaw, and college towns, Ann Arbor and East Lansing. sign up for training at tinyurl.com/EDayOOSTraining

C. Voter protection volunteers: www.michigandems.com/voterpro

Questions?         meki.bracken@gmail.com

Minnesota Priorities and Links
Issues/Priorities Needs:
A. Poll challengers (inside: must be a MN resident)
B. Outside observers/rovers (does not need to be a MN resident)
C. Canvassing Boards (county canvasses meet on either Nov. 12 or Nov. 13)

Minnesota Voter Protection Sign-up Form 
dfl.org/voterprotection

Questions?  rhaider@dfl.org

North Carolina Priorities and Links
A. Chase/Cure phone bank/hotline: www.tinyurl.com/NCchasecure  Help people whose absentee ballots have been rejected. Doesn’t require a lawyer, but you need to be able to work through a lot of rules (long script) with individuals so that their ballot isn’t rejected again.  

B. Poll observers for early voting and election day: www.tinyurl.com/pollobservers They expect lots of intimidation and really need people on the ground. Anyone from any state can be an outside poll watcher.  Need to be a NC voter to be a poll watcher inside the polls.

C. NC Voter Assistance Hotline: www.tinyurl.com/NCDemVoterHotline  Anyone from any state can do hotline calls. Note: If you have language skills to offer to NC, here is the link: tinyurl.com/hotlinelang

Questions? medha.gargeya@2020victory.com
Pennsylvania Priorities and Links
A. Volunteer Recruitment Phone-banking: www.mobilize.us/padems/event/307537/

B. Poll Observer: www.mobilize.us/pavotepro/event/319170/

C. Vote-Early Monitor: www.mobilize.us/pavotepro/event/317130/  For the first time, all PA voters will soon have the option to vote early in person at their county elections office by requesting, completing, and submitting a mail-in ballot. 

D. Canvass Observer: www.padems.com/votepro  The canvass is generally not open to the public, so voters count on select volunteer canvass observers like you to monitor the process and ensure all eligible votes are counted. Canvass Observers assist elections officials by watching for and reporting issues at their canvass site, stand up for voters if their mail votes are challenged, and report key information to our team.

Questions?         Stephen.Dee@2020victory.com

South Carolina Links
Voter Protection Volunteers
https://bit.ly/VoProVolunteer
Hotline:
https://www.mobilize.us/scdp/event/323053/

Poll Watchers: 
https://www.mobilize.us/scdp/event/321864/ (Tuesdays)
https://www.mobilize.us/scdp/event/321866/ (Thursdays)
https://www.mobilize.us/scdp/event/321870/ (Saturdays)

Boiler Room:
https://www.mobilize.us/scdp/event/323434/

Hotline number: 1-855-785-0222

Questions?  shaundra@scdp.org

Texas Priorities and Links
A. Poll watchers – must be registered voter in the county. Need them for 254 counties. There will be 3 weeks of early voting this year, so they need watchers in each polling place for all three weeks, in addition to election day. There will be a 1-hour on-demand training and constant support. 

B. Phone banking to help recruit in-state poll watchers. Anyone from any state can participate in phone banking to identify and recruit poll watchers.

C. Long term projects – if you have a generous amount of time, they have many projects they could plug you into, especially if you have legal background.  Does not require Texas residency.

Voter Protection for Non-lawyers: Txdem.co/voprovol

Voter Protection for lawyers: TXdem.co/tdla

Questions?         Rmeyerhoff@txdemocrats.org

Wisconsin Links
 Poll Observer Save the Date:
tinyurl.com/wisdemspolls

Protection Recruitment:
bit.ly/wivotersupport

Full Time Assistance:
https://tinyurl.com/WIVoProNonstop

Poll Observer Save the Date:
tinyurl.com/wisdemspolls

Weekend of Action Voter Protection Recruitment (With Special Guest): https://www.mobilize.us/dpw/event/337852/

Poll Worker Info Session (For Wisconsin Residents Only):
https://www.mobilize.us/dpw/event/317342/

Questions: ellen.campbell@2020victory.com

I should mention that there are also two county-wide propositions, both maintain or increase taxes.

An infallible rule is that any measure opposed by the XYZ Taxpayers’ Association should be voted for.

Just to start off what will probably be a spirited discussion, here’s my take on the propositions.

Let’s start with the State ones, and the subset that are easy.

Prop. 15: partial repeal of Prop. 13. Yes. Opponents say this is just the beginning of chipping away at Prop. 13. Inshallah!

Prop. 16: Affirmative Action. Yes.

Prop. 17: Restore more felon voting rights. Yes.

Prop. 18: 17 year olds allowed to vote in primary if 18 by election. Yes. But please don’t deceive yourself that this is the answer to poor voting rates among youth. I doubt if any race will be decided by these votes in the next century.

Prop. 19: More special privileges under Prop. 13 for existing homeowners. No. Let’s not vote ourselves more gimmicks to keep our own property taxes low. I am also very skeptical of analysis that governments will get more tax money in the long run.

Prop. 20: Re-grow the carceral state. No. Brought to you by the prison guards union.

Prop. 22: Uber and Lyft special pleading. No. I dislike their business model of looking for under-regulated high tech services and exploiting loopholes until lawmakers catch up. I like Berkeley’s proposed surcharge on their rides even more.

Prop. 23: Something about kidneys. No. I didn’t bother to learn about whether dialysis clinics should have physicians, or whatever this is about. Something this detailed has no business being an initiative.

Prop. 25: Cash bail. Yes. Brought to you by the bail bond industry, with the hope you will vote against it from ballot fatigue.

I found these ones more difficult.

Prop. 14: Stem cell research. No? The Federal government is going back into stem cell research. Do we still need a California plan?

Prop. 21: More rent control. Tepid Yes. I think Naomi is No. These specific additions seem OK to me. A 15-year window is more than long enough to understand the market for a new property. On the other hand, I don’t want vote in a way that may perpetuate the idea that rent control offers a solution to the Bay Area’s housing supply problem. For that reason, I’m a hard No on Berkeley’s drastic Prop. MM.

Prop. 24: OK, I am embarrassed, as a software guy, to say I haven’t researched this enough to make up my mind. I think more people I respect are on the Yes side (e.g., Ro Khanna), but there are groups recommending No who are also good, e.g., state ACLU. Maybe the fact the California Republican Party is a No means I should be a Yes.

Join Zoom Meeting

4:30–5:30 (as usual)

Meeting ID: 870 2012 2059
Passcode: 808014
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,87020122059#,,,,,,0#,,808014# US (San Jose)
+13462487799,,87020122059#,,,,,,0#,,808014# US (Houston)

I am in the process of changing the donations page to six House races that didn’t look competitive until recently. These are all uphill races, but they are possible in a landslide. We really are building a Blue Wave. These are races where I am worried the Democrat needs more money, but on just that criterion I could have picked four times as many. I restricted myself to a list of the most reprehensible Republicans.

CO-03 (Diane Mitsch Busch over Lauren Boebert) Boebert is the Q-Anon nut who loves her Second Amendment and hates her mask. She might quit Congress when Nancy Pelosi tells her that guns are prohibited and masks are required on the House floor, but better not to send her in the first place.

NY-01 (Nancy Goroff over Lee Zeldin) Zeldin yields to no one in Islamophobia and connection to Israel’s right-wing. Time to put an end to bigotry.

OH-01 (Kate Schroder over Steve Chabot) Chabot has been a mediocrity even by GOP Standards (anti-evolution, anti-climate change, fanatical on abortion), but COVID–19 has truly given him an opportunity to come into his own, fulminating against China all the way into summer instead of doing anything here to stop it.

SC-02 (Adair Ford Boroughs over Joe Wilson) You remember Joe Wilson, right? He is the man who yelled “You lie!” at President Obama, back when the GOP was cool with disrespecting the President. Need I say more?

TX-02 (Sima Ladjevardian over Dan Crenshaw) Crenshaw got off to a promising start with a feel-good Saturday Night Live appearance, but since then he has gone Full Trump. There is often an undertone of violence towards Dems in his recent statements. Let’s help him get a new career as Fox TV Action Hero.

VA-05 (Cameron Webb over Bob Good) Good is bad. He upset the Republican incumbent in the primary with a message that a Republican Representative should lose because he officiated a gay wedding. Because of covid, he was able win a drive-by convention instead of a full primary. His opponent is an M.D. Has this district absorbed enough D.C. exurbanites to flip?

A post on Steven Vincent Benét and the Democrats’ longstanding reluctance to manipulate the courts.

Even today, while Blue Dog Democrat Joe Manchin is finally hopping mad over the hasty Barrett nomination, our own Dianne Feinstein is pooh-poohing the idea of court packing. It’s also become obvious that conservative Supreme Court justices pay attention to the timing of their replacements, and liberals do not. The only recent conservative justice to leave the bench under a Democratic President was Antonin Scalia, whose departure was unscheduled. (Last before him was the retirement of moderate-right Byron “Whizzer” White, in 1993.)

The connection to Benét is his famous short story “The Devil and Daniel Webster“, which he subsequently rewrote as a play and opera libretto. To summarize the plot, New Hampshire farmer Jabez Stone sells his soul to the Devil in return for years of good luck. Eventually Mr. Scratch returns to collect. Stone hires famed attorney Daniel Webster to try to save himself from Hell. Webster insists successfully that Stone is entitled to a trial, but the Devil in return picks the judge and jury. The judge is John Hathorne, who presided enthusiastically over some of the Salem Witch Trials. The jurors include the pirate Blackbeard and other malefactors.

Nevertheless, with his stirring advocacy (“You were men, once!”), Webster wins an acquittal, and moreover forces the Devil to agree never to bother a New Hampshireman again.

The Democratic leadership are all dreaming of their success as the modern-day Daniel Webster (who opposed the Democratic Party his entire career), who gets votes from Roberts, Gorsuch, the potential new Justice Barrett, perhaps even roué Brett Boofanaugh. Watch me salvage Obamacare, or even Roe! The conservative justices are not monolithic: Gorsuch appears to be the most sympathetic to Native Americans, including all the liberals, in at least a generation. But on cases that tilt the political playing field in the Republicans’ favor, they have never shown mercy. Bush v. Gore. Citizens United. Shelby County (Voting Rights Act). Voter ID cases. Cases on loosening rules for the 2020 pandemic. Not a single conservative defection.

Right now, the lily-white Republican Party, counting both its explicitly racist Trump vanguard and its business rump, attracts not more than 45% of the national electorate. Maintaining permanent minority rule is exactly why these Federalist Society judges are on the bench. Preservation of Republican supremacy has moved from the ballot box to the courts, and no amount of eloquence or legal brilliance will fix that. Six new progressive seats on the Supreme Court, on the other hand…

1. The final batch of postcards arrived. Tony the Dem has a good campaign for Jon Ossoff so stop by and get the cards while they are hot — let’s finish them off supporting Jon O. Let me know if you need help with getting addresses etc. We are out of Julie Oliver addresses so this will be our focus and probably our last postcard campaign.
2. We passed $35,000 and are heading to $40,000. Encourage nervous friends to donate instead of complain.
3. Need a buddy? Karen and Judy are busy texting and ready to help. Bill can talk you through phone-bank anxiety. Be ready to switch actions when it is too late to postcard or letter.
4. Finally, reminder about Votefwd from Sally. Look for the campaigns marked with the P inside the circle. Those are the Priority campaigns and go to Dem voters.

For anyone who has time to do something now that they are not writing postcards!

How to Help No Matter How Much Time You Have

1. Make Cure Calls

What You’ll Be Doing: Helping contact voters and walking them through the process to cure their ballots. 

Best for: Anyone with a computer and a phone! 

How: Sign up to make cure calls here

2. Organize a Cure Phone Bank with Your Friends

What You’ll Be Doing: Getting 10+ of your friends together for a virtual cure phonebank, where a trained member of our cure team will come and lead you in making cure calls! 

Best for: Anyone with a lot of like-minded friends who wants to help! 

How: Email ncchasecure@gmail.com with subject “Cure Phone Bank Party”

3. Become a Poll Observer!

What You’ll Be Doing: Being our eyes and ears on the ground during Early Voting and on Election Day. 

Best for: Volunteers on the ground in North Carolina.

How: Sign up here. 

4. Help Staff Our Foreign Language Hotline

What You’ll Be Doing: Staffing our Voter Assistance Hotline for foreign language callers. 

Best for: Anyone fluent in a foreign language! 

Notes: Work can be done staffing the hotline in shifts or on an “on-call” basis. For on-call work, you simply need to be available throughout the day in case a voter calls in a particular language. We know you might have questions about how that works, so just sign up and our hotline team will reach out to explain!

How: Sign up for foreign language hotline here

Want to Take Your Commitment to the Next Level? 

Opportunities for “super volunteers” looking to take on a bigger role in our team 

1. Join Our Cure Team  

What You’ll Be Doing: Leading and training volunteers in virtual phone banks to call disenfranchised voters and help walk them through the process of “curing” their ballot so that it is accepted and counted. 

Best for: Lawyers, law students, or legal professionals with recurring availability. 

Notes: Can be performed remotely, work is on a volunteer basis. 

How: Email ncchasecure@gmail.com with subject “Cure Team.” 

2. Apply to be a Vote Pro Volunteer Fellow

What You’ll Be Doing: Acting as a volunteer fellow, helping our staff to schedule and confirm poll observers, lead phone banks, manage our volunteers, and an assortment of work! 

Best for: Volunteers with 20+ hours per week to give, a strong level of comfort with using technology, and a willingness to take on a major organizing role working closely with our staff. 

Notes: Can be performed remotely, work is on a volunteer basis. 

How: Email othniel.harris@2020victory.com with the subject “Volunteer Fellow Application,” a paragraph about yourself, and a short description of how much availability you have to help and one what timeline.  

Want to Drop Everything for the Next Month and Join Us as a Full Time Volunteer?

Ok, this is a big ask – and honestly probably not right for most people – but if you think you might be up for it … 

1. Apply to be a Vote Pro Volunteer Deputy 

What You’ll Be Doing: Acting as a volunteer deputy to one of our Regional Voter Protection Directors, helping them with all aspects of our program on a full-time basis. 

Best for: Volunteers with a substantial amount of long-term availability (35+ hours per week), a strong level of comfort with using technology, and a willingness to take on a major organizing role working closely with our staff. 

Notes: Can be performed remotely, work is on a volunteer basis. How: Email othniel.harris@2020victory.com with the subject “Volunteer Deputy Application,” a resume, a paragraph about yourself, and a short description of how much availability you have to help and one what timeline.

(I will post a schedule for phonebanks later this week, but thought this looked just as good as phonebanks. But since it was not phonebanks, it might have more appeal to you, especially since every vote that is cured is a vote for a Democratic candidate. It’s like driving someone to the polls, you will have been responsible for a vote.)