So I was supposed to post the phone bank targets for this GOTV series. The idea is that we need to urge people to vote the whole ticket, not just top of the ticket. I was going to choose some states and congressional districts to do that. Post an infographic with DEC mailing addresses for people averse to calling and a fundraising page for people who didn't want to call or print and send flyers.
But that will have to start next weekend because we have something else that's quite urgent I want us to act on.
In light of the Republican election fraud situation originally reported by the L.A. Times, and Strategic Allied Consulting's operations to "register voters" in key swing states (Florida, Nevada, Colorado, North Carolina and Virginia), I feel it's imperative that we urge registered voters in these states to check the details of their registration immediately. There's not much time and so I've chosen this activity over calling for the GOTV series this week.
Here's the plan.
BACKGROUND AND EXPLANATION
Basically, Strategic Allied Consulting, a Republican firm with a history of election/voter fraud in the past, was hired by the national republican party to register voters in key swing states: Florida, Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin and Ohio.
The RNC would send money to the State parties who would then disburse the funds to Strategic Allied.
Well, in Florida, the Palm Beach County Supervisor of elections noticed some suspicious registration forms. They looked like they'd been written by the same person and had other irregularities. She turned them over and subsequently 10 other Florida counties have flagged some suspicious registrations: Lee, Bay, Clay, Santa Rosa, Escambia, and Okaloosa counties have also identified problematic voter registration forms turned in by the Florida GOP. Pasco County, Miami-Dade and Duval county officials have discovered possibly fraudulent forms as well. An investigation is underway.
Of course the Florida GOP "fired" this "vendor" and the RNC is distancing itself from them as well. (Imagine that!).
So far, Strategic Allied Consulting was operational in all but Wisconsin and Ohio where there had not yet started their "work".
THE ACTION
I created a radio-ready PSA in English. (If you speak Spanish, Haitian Creole or Mandarin, please message me).
It's free and downloadable here. Download it, especially if you're in a swing state targeted by Strategic Allied, burn it to a CD and take the CD to your local radio stations who, by law, must set aside airtime for PSAs. Or if you prefer, call the county SOE office or a radio station and speak with a manager. You can send them this download link. It's a non-partisan message urging all registered voters to double check their registrations for accuracy. There is no charge for the download or for any aspect of the use of the recording. I am also willing to make changes as requested, for no charge. (File size is ~11MB. It's a 30 second radio spot in CD quality .wav format. All broadcast rights are cleared. My contact phone number, for interested parties here or at radio stations or SOE offices, is my business phone number: 877-460-7700).
Transcript of PSA:
Attention Democrats, Independent and Republicans. Due to a current investigation involving recent allegations that some voter registration data may have been altered, you are urged to check your registration data to make sure that your name, address and polling location are accurately recorded. It's easy to do. Go to canivote.org. That's canivote.org or call your county supervisor of elections. Make sure your voice will be heard. Check your registration status today.
I will be swinging by the National Association of Secretaries of State early this coming week, since I'm here in DC. Ands since Florida is my home state, I'll also be directly calling the SOE's of each of the counties in Florida who have been effected by this issue and the Florida State Elections Office to try to get wider coverage of this PSA in the state as quickly as possible.
I'd like to make sure that voters in these states are made aware that they need to check their registration data to be on the safe side. The logical solution is for these states to sanction and run a PSA. I'll be working toward this in the coming week but in the meantime, we can work on a grassroots level on a county by county basis.
Democracy matters and we have a responsibility to stand up to those who would usurp it. I don't know why I'm surprised by this. The fervent way the GOP accuses the left of voter and registration fraud should have tipped me off. But still, I guess I have to admit, I'm a bit shocked. I think the thing that really gets me is the coordinated effort the GOP has taken, this season especially, to squash democracy. This, to me, means that they understand that their views cannot win on their own merit. So they resort to trying to keep citizens from exercising the right to vote. This is an incredible thing and if your think about it too long, it's scary as hell. Rather than modify their own ideology to more closely reflect the populace, they act like fascists and plow ahead with their own regressive plans and use trickery and legalities to try to prevent the populace from having a voice.
Folks, we MUST defeat them. They're dangerous and if they ever gain power I have no doubt that they will do whatever they can to legally remove our right to vote.
For ya'll who know me, ya'll know my language in this diary has been mild. Trust me when I say, I'm white-hot angry about this and it's an act of sheer will for me not to do my normal "thang". Hell, I feel like I need a Key & Peele Anger Translator. I actually considered doing a "Key & Peele" version of the PSA but Samuel L. Jackson was not available.
The guy standing. That would be me.