Nov 1, 2024
Blessed are the Poll Workers!
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Blessed are the Poll Workers!
Should pride month be extended to July
Yes
No
In MAGA world, the expression "vote fraud" is not about fraud – it's about legal voters voting who aren't MAGA.
Let's be clear about what Trump is really up to. This gift article is a column by Jamelle Bouie from the New York Times.
The Real Reason Trump Never Stops Talking About Voter Fraud
Donald Trump knew as well as anyone that he had lost the 2020 presidential election fair and square. He knew there was no conspiracy to commit voter fraud — no mysterious mail ballots, no “illegal” voting, no suspicious activity in key swing states. When he told his supporters that the election had been “rigged,” he was lying. His monthslong effort to “stop the steal,” culminating in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, was an exercise in deception. And we know it was an exercise in deception because Trump’s aides and allies said so. On the record. Under oath.
When Trump doesn't get what he wants, he lies and yells a lot. Right out of the Goebbels playbook.
There are two possible public Trump reactions to election results: 1} WE WON or 2) IT WAS STOLEN. He's not just a sore loser, he's intentionally trying to undermine elections.
As he often does, President Trump washed away all doubt when, in a recent interview with Kristen Welker of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he raged against supposed fraud. “The election was rigged,” he said of the 2020 contest. “It was a dirty election. And it’s happening again in California.” American elections, Trump continued, are “like a third-world country.” Recall that last year, Trump targeted Los Angeles with National Guard troops and agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. And consider the regularity with which the president says things like, “if you import people from Third World Countries, you quickly become a Third World Country.” The logic is straightforward. A city of immigrants, like Los Angeles, must also be a city of voter fraud, even if those immigrants are legal voters, entitled to participate in the political process. “Voter fraud” is not about fraud. It is about who votes and how. It is about the breadth and scope of the political community. It is, as with most MAGA obsessions, about who can call themselves Americans — entitled to govern as equals — and who are mere subjects. Trump’s obsession with voter fraud is just another expression of the reactionary populist belief that the people who inhabit a place are not equivalent to the people, who are entitled to rule.
Trump's whining and yelling about "Third World Countries" is just code for racism. From Trump's perspective, you're not a real American unless you're white and preferably male.
We should treat this contretemps in Los Angeles, as silly as it is, as a dress rehearsal for what will probably happen in November, if and when Republicans lose control of Congress. Any result short of victory for Trump and his allies will be denounced as “fraud.” Not because there is anything wrong with the system, but be because, as they see it, this is their country and theirs alone.
Contrary to what the doomers and Chicken Littles say, there are things we can do. The first thing is to ignore those doomers and Chicken Littles, they are probably MAGA AI bots anyway. But also...
Vote early AND in person. Almost every state now has early voting, take advantage of it. Trump flunkies currently run the USPS. The flow of mail can be manipulated. Even in better times, things can get lost in the mail. Natural disasters can disrupt or delay service. When you personally see your ballot inserted into a ballot box or vote counter, you can be sure you've voted.
Volunteer to be a poll worker. The hours are terrible but you do get paid in most jurisdictions. Contact your board of elections or county clerk. Some places allow high school juniors and seniors to serve as poll workers. We need honest and impartial individuals running elections at the local level.
Let local officials know you want no interference in elections from the feds. Elections are a state and local responsibility and ICE or other federal intimidation have no business in them.
A regular reminder that authoritarian Viktor Orbán was booted out of office in April's Hungarian election despite his attempts at extreme gerrymandering and control of most of the media. His control of the electoral system could not prevent opposition leader Péter Magyar from winning a supermajority in parliament.
Double check to make sure you are registered. If you have moved since the last election or will move before the next one, you must register at your new address – even if you just move across the street. Voter registration is totally geographic, don't give some MAGA official a technical reason to prevent you from voting.
Experts say these poll workers could sow distrust in democracy and bolster court cases challenging the election. ProPublica and Wisconsin Wa
“They knew I was a poll site worker and still came in."
Jacob Knutson at Democracy Docket:
Two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents confronted a poll worker at a voting site in Syracuse, New York, as she was helping carry out the state’s recent primary elections. The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) told Democracy Docket it’s reviewing a report on the alarming incident, which again raises the specter of federal agents interfering in active elections. PaigeLynne Gonyea, who was working at a voting site at a public library Tuesday, said on social media that the agents came to warn her to remove a social media account that they claimed broke federal law by threatening federal law enforcement agents. In fact, Gonyea appears to have only shared information about an ICE agent involved in a fatal Minnesota shooting that had been previously published online and reported in the press.
The incident comes as prominent figures on the far right have called on President Donald Trump to deploy ICE agents and troops to polling places in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections as part of a clear effort to intimidate voters and election workers. Federal and state laws largely bar the deployment of law enforcement to polling places. However, the Trump administration has never definitively ruled out the tactic, while senior Department of Justice officials — including acting Attorney General Todd Blanche — have endorsed it.
[...] “BREAKING: The ICE agent who shot and killed Renee Good in broad daylight has been identified as Jonathan Ross by the Minnesota Star Tribune. I think today is a great day for Jonathan to be indicted!” her post read. If she didn’t remove her account, Gonyea could face “both federal and state prosecution,” according to a document she received during the confrontation. She said the agents asked her to sign the document to acknowledge she received the warning, but she refused.
New York State poll worker Paigelynne Gonyea was intimidated by terrorist ICE agents over her post revealing the name of the ICE goon who shot Renee Nicole Good: Jonathan Ross. They demanded the post be removed from social media, and she rightly didn’t bend the knee.
The midterms WILL happen.
I can’t believe I still have to say that, but I do.
So let me say it again.
There WILL be midterms.
And Democrats are working around the clock to make sure they are as fair and free as they possibly can be — given that Republicans are trying to make it harder and harder to vote every single day, and they weren’t exactly fair or free with the voter suppression and disenfranchisement already in place.
But your expertise is probably not in election law, and you’re probably not in the room when our incredible Dems, on elections task forces across various offices, are running their drills.
That’s okay. They have that part handled, we have different jobs.
And one of the most important one is becoming a poll worker.
Poll workers who care about fair and free elections are how we keep our democracy intact.
Trump and Republicans know this, which is why they keep attacking these civilian volunteers.
Poll workers are your neighbors, your colleagues, and hopefully you.
You can become a poll worker to help keep this election season safe and it is the absolute best way for a regular American, who isn’t a government official, to do so.
Poll workers are needed for early voting, on Election Day and for tabulation.
You get a small stipend, so it’s great for anyone who is out of work or working part time. And it is the most hands on way to protect democracy.
Most poll workers are older women, so the younger you are, the better. We need to show that democracy includes everyone. In Georgia and Idaho, you can become a poll worker at 16. And most states have youth programs.
But no matter where you are, if your state uses volunteers, you can be a poll worker as soon as you register to vote.
Signing up is really easy, just go to Power To The Polls.
Republicans are trying to recruit their own poll workers who don’t want to make elections fair or free, so we gotta take this seriously.
And if you can’t sign up, send this to someone who can.
We all keep talking about protecting democracy, but this is a tangible action many of us can take.
Remember, your voice is your superpower, and becoming a poll worker is absolutely using that voice.
Pennsylvania still needs poll workers, especially in Allegheny County! 💛🖤 Visit weall.vote/recruit to become a poll worker in your community.
Voted! Here's a crappy picture of Forte after we left the polls
Huge thank you to our local poll workers, who were both helpful and respectful. And also to all poll workers who help the American people make their voices heard.
Anyway, time to go watch V for Vendetta and try not to freak out as the results come in.