thisfinecrew | Entries tagged with state and local elections

This week, impeachment efforts continue to move forward. Trump's policy on Syria is incoherent and inconsistent but consistently genocidal. And we might finally find out what's in those tax returns.

Do let us know what you've been up to. It's always good to hear from you!

New Actions

TODAY! #Impeachnow: In-person Actions And Events
Need To Stock Up On Spices?

Ongoing Actions

Postcards to Voters is focusing on 2019 elections. State legislatures in Virgina, Kentucky, and Louisiana are on the ballot. (Hat-tip to

teaotter)
Fandom Auction: Marvel Trumps Hate 2019
Use #Nogoatsnoregistries To Push Back Against Calls For Institutions, Registries
Planned Parenthood Has Been Forced Out Of The Title X Program
Take The Senate (Fund)
Action: Comment Against Snap Rule Change
Some gun control resources (in a previous check in post)
Help Sleeping Giants contact firms profiting off of concentration camps
Suggested Things To Do For/About U.S. Concentration Camps
More Organizations To Support Helping Kids In Concentration Camps
Acting Locally To Help Immigrants And Refugees

So, what have you all been up to in the last week or are planning to get involved in next week?

Poll #22759 The Week

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 5

View Respondents

This week, I...

View Answers

called my one senator
2 (40.0%)

called my other senator
1 (20.0%)

called my representative
2 (40.0%)

called my governor
0 (0.0%)

called my state reps
0 (0.0%)

sent a postcard/email/letter/fax
2 (40.0%)

attended a town hall
0 (0.0%)

donated money to a cause
1 (20.0%)

attended an in-person activist group
0 (0.0%)

participated in phone/online training
0 (0.0%)

went to a protest
1 (20.0%)

signed up for alerts
0 (0.0%)

worked for a campaign
1 (20.0%)

did textbanking/phonebanking
0 (0.0%)

took care of myself
1 (20.0%)

not a US citizen but worked in solidarity in my own community
1 (20.0%)

did something else
1 (20.0%)

committed to action in the coming week
2 (40.0%)

tassosss

Hey folks, quiet on the comm, but lots happening out there. Impeachment proceedings continue, climate strikes took place, and the Supreme Court's new term starts this week.

Let us know what you've been up to. It's always good to hear from you!

New Actions/Info

Postcards to Voters is focusing on 2019 elections. State legislatures in Virgina, Kentucky, and Louisiana are on the ballot. Hattip to

teaotter

Ongoing Actions

Fandom Auction: Marvel Trumps Hate 2019
Use #Nogoatsnoregistries To Push Back Against Calls For Institutions, Registries
Planned Parenthood Has Been Forced Out Of The Title X Program
Take The Senate (Fund)
Some gun control resources (in a previous check in post)
Help Sleeping Giants contact firms profiting off of concentration camps
Suggested Things To Do For/About U.S. Concentration Camps
More Organizations To Support Helping Kids In Concentration Camps
Acting Locally To Help Immigrants And Refugees

So, what have you all been up to in the last week or are planning to get involved in next week?

Poll #22713 Thi week

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 7

View Respondents

View Answers

called my one senator
2 (40.0%)

called my other senator
1 (20.0%)

called my representative
3 (60.0%)

called my governor
0 (0.0%)

called my state reps
0 (0.0%)

sent a postcard/email/letter/fax
3 (60.0%)

attended a town hall
0 (0.0%)

donated money to a cause
3 (60.0%)

attended an in-person activist group
0 (0.0%)

participated in phone/online training
0 (0.0%)

View Answers

went to a protest
1 (25.0%)

signed up for alerts
0 (0.0%)

worked for a campaign
1 (25.0%)

did textbanking/phonebanking
0 (0.0%)

took care of myself
2 (50.0%)

not a US citizen but worked in solidarity in my own community
2 (50.0%)

did something else
0 (0.0%)

committed to action in the coming week
1 (25.0%)

rydra_wong

Run-off on Dec 4th, early voting's already started, excellent Tweet full of actions you can take (including text-banking):

https://twitter.com/Barrow4Georgia/status/1066732748998615040

Given what Kemp managed to do as Secretary of State, getting a champion of voting rights in there could be of crucial importance in future elections.

sathari

For any eligible Georgia voters (or anyone who knows one): early voting in the runoff elections (for Secretary of State and Public Service Commissioner; the Democratic candidates are John Barrow and Lindy Miller, respectively) STARTS TOMORROW, 11/26/18 and ends on Friday, 11/30/18, after which you'll have to wait until 12/4/18 to vote. Get thee to the ballot box, go! :D

tanaqui

Election day is almost upon us! And there's encouraging news about how some of the elections on the various slates are tightening to within the margin of error.

We also have a post where you can wave your hipster credentials and tell us about how you knew candidates "before they were famous".

So time for the final push! We've had plenty of suggestions for last-minute donations and actions, as well as a few things to keep going with once the results are in. As well as voting yourself (if you haven't done so already), we also have suggestions for effective ways to encourage the people you know to vote.

(We'll be making a couple of posts on Tuesday as well, so you can let us know how things are going where you are on the day.)

Upcoming Elections - Encouraging others to vote
New this week: Useful Twitter Links
Excellent thread on effective voter contact
Encourage your friends to vote with VoteWithMe app
Motivote sort of "gamifies" the midterm voting process (you sign up at the site and as you complete various actions to prepare to vote, you're entered to win prizes.)
Here Comes The General
Find a DNC event near you and phonebank with MomsRising
Get out the vote with letter writing and texting, focus on local elections
Volunteer to help elect Democrats
GOTV Resources from Organising for Action

Upcoming Election - Information to share with other voters
Lyft are going to be providing half-price or free rides to the polls on Nov 6 for those in need
Useful How-to Guide For Voters
Link(Spam): US Voter Information
BallotReady.org lets you research all races in your location
Voto Latino partners with Lyft to enable Dodge City voters to get to the polls
Register or check your voter registration

Upcoming Elections - Where to donate
New this week: Getcha Last Donations In
GiveSmart Women (slate number 4!)
Maximize your donating efficiency with SCIENCE! (yes, it's another slate)
More Slates!
And Now There's Give Smart 3!Matching Donations for the Great Slate
If you fancy some long shots in your rage-donating
For Your Rage-donations
District funds for the mid-terms
Support progressive Congressional candidates in competitive rural districts
Information on State Primary Dates and list of pro-NRA Republicans who are vulnerable

Other Actions - New
Boycotting Fox: Call To Boycott Companies That Advertise On Fox, We Got A List and Petition
Defunding Steve King: Angry? Bored? Can You Phone Or Tweet Or E-mail?, The Campaign To Get Support Pulled From Steve King Is Working!!!, And Now The Pac and Steve King Boycott Update

If you're looking for actions not related to the elections, take a look at past check-in posts where we have suggestions specifically for immigration (and also here) and for other issues

( Housekeeping )

So, what have you all been up to in the last week or are planning to get involved in next week?

Poll #20670 The Week

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 21

View Respondents

This week, I...

View Answers

called my one senator
2 (9.5%)

called my other senator
2 (9.5%)

called my representative
1 (4.8%)

called my governor
0 (0.0%)

called my state reps
1 (4.8%)

sent a postcard/email/letter/fax
7 (33.3%)

attended a town hall
0 (0.0%)

donated money to a cause
12 (57.1%)

attended an in-person activist group
1 (4.8%)

participated in phone/online training
5 (23.8%)

went to a protest
0 (0.0%)

signed up for alerts
3 (14.3%)

worked for a campaign
5 (23.8%)

VOTED!
12 (57.1%)

took care of myself
10 (47.6%)

not a US citizen but worked in solidarity in my own community
2 (9.5%)

did something else
8 (38.1%)

committed to action in the coming week
6 (28.6%)

sathari

With all of the come-from-behind dark-horse candidates, who are (in some cases only just) getting national attention, I was wondering if anyone (else) had any stories of liking (or even just knowing about) these candidates "before they were cool." Whether it's someone you knew/knew of from, say, local politics before they moved up, or, hey, you just got on the right email list somehow (no kidding, this happened to me with Andrew Gillum, and I have never lived in Florida!), I'm wondering if anyone else had the fun of seeing a candidate they'd known and loved for a while come into their own.

rydra_wong

As things come down to the wire --

H/t to

jjhunter for the heads-up -- two more GiveSmart slates (trying to flip state legislatures):

GiveSmart NY
GiveSmart 6: Run for Something and Future Now

The various GiveSmart slates have collectively raised $750,000 and they're hoping to hit $1 million before this is done.

The Great Slate (Congressional candidates) has some matching funding going on at the moment (or did 11 hours ago, anyway).

Donate Save America (targeted for maximum efficiency!) is also shooting for $1 million.

GrabYourBallot (tight House and Senate races and governorships) is at over $200,000.

If you have particular favorite candidates or slates you'd like to promote, I suggest linking in comments!

rydra_wong

ActBlue: GiveSmart Women -- donate here!

data for politics #32: Give Smart 4, Eight Progressive Women in Pivotal Races

They've raised over half a million dollars for the three previous slates already!

Article: Common Dreams: In Just Three Days, 'Genius' Fundraising Campaign by Progressive Group Pours $500,000 Into Overlooked State-Level Democratic Campaigns

rydra_wong

Hat-tip to

jjhunter:

Since they've already raised nearly $500,000 for the first two slates, we now have slate 3:

ActBlue: Give Smart 3 -- six pivotal candidates in downballot races in North Carolina, Ohio and Michigan

Data For Progress: data for politics #31: Give Smart 3, LaunchProgress -- you can read about the candidates individually here

(My post about the first two slates is here.)

rydra_wong

This time, a deliberate, data-driven attempt to flip state legislatures:

The Intercept: Small Donors Suddenly Pour In to Flip Eight State-Level Seats — and Legislatures

Remember, state governments control drawing of districts and writing of voting rules, as well as having power over things like abortion restrictions, should Roe v. Wade be overturned.

Data for Politics: Give Smart -- with details of the individual candidates and who they're opposing

Most memorable opponent, IMHO, Sylvia Allen: She’s also a creationist who wants to make church attendance mandatory, and when her prison guard son was investigated for bribing inmates for sex she tried to pass a law to make that legal.

Act Blue: Give Smart -- donate here!

And between the time I started to draft this post this morning and posting it this evening:

Data For Politics: data for politics #30: Give Smart 2, EveryDistrict -- -- the first slate took off so well that they teamed with EveryDistrict to fund 8 more candidates who might have a significant impact

Act Blue: Give Smart 2 -- donate to the second slate here

rydra_wong

Via Julia Louise Dreyfus:

The Multiply Your Vote campaign

Has volunteering options including texting and writing letters, for non-phone-capable people (of whom I am one)! Put in your zip code and it'll find opportunities near you.

It's a project from Local Majority, which is focused on flipping state legislatures.

tassosss

Apologies for the late post -- I had guests this weekend. I've been reading the news about Trump's trade threats with China with a little bit of WTF.

New Actions
US State Department Wants to Force Visitors to Hand Over Social Media Information
Immigration notification app: United We Dream

Information
Progressives Win Wisconsin Supreme Court Seat
Run to Win Webinar: How to Work on a Campaign

Ongoing Actions
Call your Reps about the Census
Protect the Americans with Disabilities Act -- Call your senators
Planning Ahead in Case of Mueller Firing
Information and organizing to end police violence
Make a difference in the 2018 Midterms - organization organizing for all levels of elections
District funds for the mid-terms
Support progressive Congressional candidates in competitive rural districts
Information on State Primary Dates and list of pro-NRA Republicans who are vulnerable

( Housekeeping )

So, what have you all been up to in the last week or are planning to get involved in next week?

Poll #19776 This week I

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 5

View Respondents

did a thing

View Answers

called my one senator
1 (33.3%)

called my other senator
1 (33.3%)

called my representative
1 (33.3%)

called my governor
1 (33.3%)

called my state reps
1 (33.3%)

sent a postcard/email/letter/fax
2 (66.7%)

attended a town hall
0 (0.0%)

donated money to a cause
2 (66.7%)

attended an in-person activist group
1 (33.3%)

participated in phone/online training
0 (0.0%)

View Answers

went to a protest
0 (0.0%)

signed up for alerts
1 (33.3%)

took care of myself
2 (66.7%)

not a US citizen but worked in solidarity in my own community
0 (0.0%)

did something else
2 (66.7%)

committed to action in the coming week
1 (33.3%)

tanaqui

State Primary Elections are another (important) opportunity to vote:

These primaries are used by political parties to determine candidates who will run for all partisan offices in their states on the general election ballot on Nov. 6, 2018. These include legislative seats in 46 states along with U.S. senators and representatives, governors and statewide officials.

Find out when your state is holding its primary elections in 2018 at:
http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/2018-state-primary-election-dates.aspx#Dates

Also, a handy compilation of "the 23 most vulnerable House Republicans (R+3 or less) who have an "A" rating from the NRA": https://mobile.twitter.com/TopherSpiro/status/977622008337960961?p=v

tanaqui

While we're all celebrating the wonderful result in Alabama, it's worth noting that the (narrow) result was achieved despite confirmed reports of many different attempts at voter suppression.

Various commentators are suggesting the Republicans will only intensify their efforts to suppress votes for their opponents in future races. So it seems a good time to gather together links for a number of organisations who are working to combat voter suppression, improve voter education and get out the vote:

The League of Women Voters

Vote Latino

ACLU (They have a match funding donation drive on right now.)

NAACP

NAACP Legal Defense Fund (Note: this is a separate charity from the NAACP and handles the most prominent cases. They also have a match funding donation drive on at the moment)

VoteRiders

SecondChancesFL -- a campaign to get a voting rights amendment onto the November 2018 ballot which would restore voting rights to 1.6 million felons, many of them people of color, in Florida. They need enough signatures in the next 50 days to get the measure onto the ballot.

If you know of any other resources, please link them in the comments!

rydra_wong

So the RNC have thrown their financial weight behind Roy Moore again, because he might be a child abuser but at least he's not a Democrat:

New York Times: Roy Moore Gets Trump Endorsement and R.N.C. Funding for Senate Race

US people can donate to his opponent Doug Jones here.

teaotter

Democrats won two formerly Republican state seats tonight: Florida State Senate 40 and New Hampshire Rockingham 4. That makes EIGHT flipped special election seats since the November election -- while the Republicans have yet to flip a single contested seat.

I want to give a shout out to Postcards to Voters, a grassroots organization that sends hand-written postcards to potential progressive voters in competitive districts like these. I was part of the postcard campaign for both of these candidates, and I'm thrilled to see our GOTV efforts pay off.

GO TEAM BLUE!!

rydra_wong

Holy shit:

The Guardian: Republican candidate charged with assault after 'body-slamming' Guardian reporter

"Allegedly", while a legal requirement at this point, means that, among other things, the Fox News team also present wrote this about Gianforte's alleged attack on Ben Jacobs:

Jacobs persisted with his question. Gianforte told him to talk to his press guy, Shane Scanlon.

At that point, Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter. As Gianforte moved on top of Jacobs, he began yelling something to the effect of, "I'm sick and tired of this!"

Jacobs scrambled to his knees and said something about his glasses being broken. He asked Faith, Keith and myself for our names. In shock, we did not answer. Jacobs then said he wanted the police called and went to leave. Gianforte looked at the three of us and repeatedly apologized. At that point, I told him and Scanlon, who was now present, that we needed a moment. The men then left.

To be clear, at no point did any of us who witnessed this assault see Jacobs show any form of physical aggression toward Gianforte, who left the area after giving statements to local sheriff's deputies.

Oh, and it was all caught on audio tape.

Fox News: Key Montana newspapers pull Gianforte endorsement after incident

Here's

colorblue's post on the Montana election -- the polls close today so I'm guessing it's too late to donate to Gianforte's opponent (ETA: see comment, no it's not too late, you can donate now and apparently he currently has 5X matching), but you never know:

Action: Montana Special Election

Note: Given the extreme bizarreness and how incredibly close to the special election it was, I'm sure there will be alt-right conspiracy theories about how Gianforte was deliberately provoked by a sinister foreign journalist from some sort of commie foreign paper.

For context: the Guardian is an extremely reputable, deeply earnest, moderately left-of-centre (by UK standards) newspaper. Think New York Times crossed with Slate and far, far less money, perhaps? Its capacity for sinister scheming is minimal.

teaotter

Democracy in Color and the American Majority Project Research Institute just released their roadmap for retaking the House and state legislatures through mobilizing progressive voters in key states.

Their report focuses on the 17 states and 13 congressional districts that Democrats won or lost by single-digit percentages in 2016. Their perspective is that rather than trying to persuade white swing voters, we should work on getting minorities and other progressives who don't vote (yet) to actually get to the polls.

They link to a number of local and state organizations that have proven success in registering and mobilizing new voters, and want to expand those and start similar organizations in other states that need them.

There's a great overview article about it at The Nation.

tassosss

from

resonant : original post here

Anybody out there in Georgia's 6th Congressional District? There's a special election coming up for the House of Representatives -- the seat's open because Tom Price resigned to be part of the Trump Administration. Putting a non-Republican in that seat would be a serious public service.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia%27s_6th_congressional_district_special_election,_2017

Not registered? You can register online until Monday, March 20.

https://swingleft.org/register-to-vote

Please take two minutes to register, and put April 18 on your calendar. This is how change happens: one tiny action at a time.

executrix

League of Conservation voters petition asking Army Corps of Engineers to do a full environmental impact study before DAPL goes through:

https://secure3.convio.net/lcv/site/Advocacy;jsessionid=00000000.app326b?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3725&autologin=true&NONCE_TOKEN=665B91EC22EC0872DA54C381FA4475B5

The Army Corps is accepting public comments until February 20.

Want to know where your local Democratic Party office is?

Association of State Democratic Chairs, www.asdc.democrats.org/state-parties

They have a page on the site where if you belong to (or can subvert) a relevant organization, they'll send a trainer. They want six weeks' notice though.

#Knockeverydoor: https://www.knockeverydoor.org, nationwide volunteer canvassing to mobilize communities against Trump

Movement2017, www.movementvote.org collects donations for Resistance groups and local voter organizing groups.

Flippable: http://www.flippable.org focuses on 23 elections and special elections in 2017 that could be close, and could go anti-Trump with enough organizing effort. One of them is the New Jersey gubernatorial, whoo-hoo!

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Page Summary

tanaqui - Weekly Check In October 13
tassosss - Weekly Check in October 5
rydra_wong - Secretary of State election in Georgia -- actions
sathari - GEORGIA: EARLY RUNOFF VOTING STARTS TOMORROW
tanaqui - Weekly Check In November 4
sathari - Early Adopters?
rydra_wong - Getcha last donations in
rydra_wong - GiveSmart Women (slate number 4!)
rydra_wong - And now there's Give Smart 3!
rydra_wong - More slates!
rydra_wong - Volunteering without phoning!
tassosss - Weekly Check in April 8
tanaqui - 2018 State Primary Election Dates
tanaqui - Organisations fighting voter suppression
rydra_wong - Alabama
teaotter - Good news: Two more state seats flip red to blue!
rydra_wong - Republican candidate in Montana charged with assault after allegedly attacking reporter
teaotter - Organizing: mobilizing progressive voters in key states
tassosss - Georgia Special Election in April 18
executrix - DAPL, Organizing Tools

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Never Give Up, Never Surrender

Links and Positive Action for the next Four Years

Entries tagged with state and local elections

Weekly Check In October 13

Weekly Check in October 5

Secretary of State election in Georgia -- actions

GEORGIA: EARLY RUNOFF VOTING STARTS TOMORROW

Weekly Check In November 4

Early Adopters?

Getcha last donations in

GiveSmart Women (slate number 4!)

And now there's Give Smart 3!

More slates!

Volunteering without phoning!

Weekly Check in April 8

2018 State Primary Election Dates

Organisations fighting voter suppression

Alabama

Good news: Two more state seats flip red to blue!

Republican candidate in Montana charged with assault after allegedly attacking reporter

Organizing: mobilizing progressive voters in key states

Georgia Special Election in April 18

DAPL, Organizing Tools

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June 2025

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