Chop Wood, Carry Water 10/21

Voting is our superpower

Oct 21, 2024

Hi, all, and happy Monday!

The very first text I saw this morning, sent at 4:13 AM, was from a friend saying “OMG the stress of how tight this race is!” I’d just woken up and glanced at my phone—her text was the first thing I saw. I knew immediately that new polls had dropped. And of course they had. “It’s neck and neck!” Sigh.

What do you think I wrote back to her?

“Ignore the polls.”

That was it. I should have added “and do the work,” but frankly it was too early.

But really, folks. That’s our job right now. NOT to read highly weaponized and incomplete polls. Ignore them! Do the work!

The closer we get to Election Day the more we’re going to hear that we’re losing. This is just what they do. And by “they” I mean the press, the pundits, the polls—all of it. I’m not sure why, and the reasons are likely not super important. The fact remains that this happens every time. And every time, we fall for it.

And this is reasonable! We’re used to believing experts, and the experts are seemingly unanimous. When everyone who should know is telling you the same thing it’s hard to resist the temptation to believe them.

But I’m telling you to resist it.

Look at what we’re seeing on the ground, folks. The early voting lines. The absolutely jaw-dropping amount of volunteering. The tens of thousand of postcards, the busloads of canvassers, the millions of dollars raised. The ENERGY. We are not crazy. It is happening. Countless patriotic Americans are working tirelessly to save this country. They—and you!—are traveling to swing states. They—and you!—are poll watching. You are talking to friends and family. You are knocking doors in red districts. You are stepping WAY outside of your comfort zones.

We are winning this thing. Stop listening to the noise. Keep focussing on the actions. You’re going to feel crazy, exhausted, stressed, and baffled by how close things seem for the next two weeks.

Then you’re going to see that they weren’t so close after all. I am betting my reputation on it.

Keep. Doing. The. Work. We’ve got this.

Extra Credit ✅

Let’s write to the DOJ about Elon Musk’s egregious election interference.

Send your letter—which will be more effective if you personalize it—using this portal. In the drop-down menu choose “Messages to the Attorney General.” And make sure you review and then hit submit! It’s a two step process. Otherwise your letter won’t go through.

I said:

Elon Musk said on Saturday that America Pac, the Donald Trump-allied political action committee he founded, will give $1M every day until the presidential election to someone who signs his petition, which appears to be a way to incentivize Republicans in battleground states to register to vote.
Several legal experts have said the petition may violate federal election laws that prohibit paying or offering to pay for someone to register to vote.
But there’s more. According to Talking Points Memo, Musk’s PAC has “set up fake sites impersonating the Harris campaign using fake policy positions and then sending out text messages also impersonating the campaign which aim to drive voters to the fake site.”
This is also illegal.
The DOJ needs to act, and it needs to do so now. We are two weeks from Election Day. This is election interference and it cannot be tolerated. Please take action right away. Thanks.

Get Smart! 📚

Join Heather Cox Richardson and Red Wine & Blue on Monday, October 21 at 7:00 Eastern

It’s two weeks until the most important election of our lifetime and we’re all feeling the pressure. No one eases our anxieties and puts things into perspective like Heather Cox Richardson. Join RWB to hear from Heather as she shares the historical perspective on this election, what to expect over the next few weeks, and what we can all do right now to defeat extremism and protect democracy in November.

Writers and Readers For Kamala!

Are you a lover of writing or simply love reading? Join the Writers AND Readers for Harris-Walz call Tuesday, October 22nd at 7:00 p.m. ET to hear from your favorite writers, including: Hank Green, Joyce Carol Oates, JJ Abrams, Sunny Hostin, George Saunders, Tara Westover, Neal Katyal, Anne Lamott, and others.

Writers across various genres and disciplines will discuss their love for writing, why they support Vice President Harris for president, and why it's so important for readers to get involved in this final stretch on this special night.

Don't miss it. Bring your friends, family, and any bookworms with you, too. See you on Tuesday, October 22nd at 7:00 p.m. ET!

RSVP BY CLICKING HERE

Spread the Word! 📣

The Harris/Walz campaign Voter Protection program is mobilizing, training, and deploying thousands of volunteers across the country. Please share the following volunteer opportunities with people in your lives—they include observing the polls during Early Vote or on Election Day, staffing hotlines to educate voters about ways to cast their ballots, and monitoring ballot counting.

Georgia Poll Watching: Now that early voting in Georgia has begun, there is a critical need for more poll watchers on-the-ground in Georgia as soon as possible. Please share the links to the Poll Watcher Training (live training OR on-demand training) with people in your networks, particularly those in-state in Georgia, who are interested and available to volunteer.
Volunteer in a Battleground State: The DNC’s National Volunteer Interest Form is for people who are available to volunteer in-person in any of our battleground states. To be connected to any battleground team, sign up here.
Volunteer on the National Voter Assistance Hotline: If you are interested in signing up to support the National Voter Assistance Hotline, please sign up here. To volunteer on the hotline, you must be 18 years of age or older, have access to a laptop or desktop computer, and be located within the United States.

Give 💰!

All In for North Carolina: the last election fundraising needs

All In for North Carolina (AINC) has created a last fundraiser to make sure 380,000 Democratic voters in the 25 Western NC counties under the Hurricane Helene emergency declaration – 13% of our expected voters! - know how to vote and get encouraged to do so.

This is a combined operation by five community organizations with door-knocking, phone-calling, texting and digital communications. Two other organizations will reach out to 35,000 public university students whose schools are disrupted by the continuing disaster.

It’s the grand finale, it’s one last push, it’s now or never: Finish 2024 Strong NC. Please give.

Win Races—Write Postcards! 🗳

PostcardsToVoters.org has added MICHIGAN back into its line-up! Two state-wide candidates for Michigan Supreme Court on one postcard, to retain Justice Kyra Harris Bolden and elect Kimberly Thomas, are running to keep the majority on the MI Supreme Court. On the ballot, there is no D or R for these races, so our cards will be important for Democrats to clarify the right choice. These postcards will also help get Democrats out for Rep. Elissa Slotkin for Senate and Harris-Walz.

We are still working on big lists for Congressional candidates Laura Gillen for NY, Will Rollins for CA, Rep. Chris Deluzio for PA, and for Senator Sherrod Brown for Ohio.

Only 13 days left to write and mail! WE NEED MORE HELP!! The more writers, the more postcards! POSTCARDS WORK!

Win Races—Write Letters!

Y’all there are 8 days left to write Vote Forward letters and they still have tens of thousands to give out! They have invited me to start a personal dashboard, on which I’ve set a goal of 500 letters written. Now I get to invite you to join my team! Won’t you, please?

Please, please can we all adopt 5 or 50 more letters?

Win Races—CALL!

Through October 28, Women for Biden Harris will host nightly phone banking sessions featuring special guests. Together, we’ll make calls that will shape our future and that of our friends, families, and neighbors.

It only takes an 1.5 hours to make 30+ calls to battleground states. YOU could be the voice that gets an undecided voter to the polls.

If you’re new to phone banking, don’t worry—each session includes training and support.

SIGN UP HERE

Win Races—Ballot Cure in PA!

Ballot curing for Pennsylvania is critical! There are only 15 states with signature cure processes. A reader shared a phonebanking opportunity to help PA voters cure their ballot. She says that voters are receptive to help !

Win Races—Do Voter Protection!

Team Harris-Walz needs more people on their voter protection calls. You’ll be calling voters in battleground states with potential issues with their registration or ballots to ensure their votes are fairly counted! Time is running out for these likely Democratic voters to fix these issues and vote. You can sign up here. Training always provided.

Win Races—Register Voters in PA!

To try and make the most of the last day of voter registration in PA, Rust Belt Rising has added one last phone bank—TODAY!

If you are able, please join them tonight at 5pm eastern (4pm central) to register as many PA voters as we can:

Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻

[To: all 3 reps] [H/T Mother Jones] [Text SIGN PLZBIG to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]

I just learned from reporting in Mother Jones that the Crime Victims Fund, the pot of money created by a 40-year-old piece of landmark legislation called the Victims of Crime Act, has been running dangerously low for several years, mostly due to changes in prosecutorial priorities at the Department of Justice. The result? Lifesaving services for survivors have been struggling to stay afloat: the hotlines they call in crisis, the shelters they flee to, and the advocates accompanying them to court and help them heal.

And all this has been happening against the backdrop of increased rates of intimate partner violence since the start of the pandemic; the Dobbs decision, which has made it harder for pregnant survivors to leave abusers; and a housing crisis that makes it harder for them to flee.

As Judge Shelley Santry, a family court judge in Louisville, Kentucky, told Mother Jones’s reporter, "The consequence may be death."

The situation is bleak. But legislation in Congress, the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2024 (H.R.8061/S 4514), could help stabilize the Crime Victims Fund if passed. So please do that!

These services can help save lives, provided they are adequately funded. Please co-sponsor and push to immediately pass the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2024. Thanks.

OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.

Talk soon.

Jess

Chop Wood, Carry Water