Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

Jack be nimble, jack be quick, hurry up and indict this prick.

Joe Lieberman disappointingly reemerged to remind us that he’s still alive.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Republican speaker of the house Mike Johnson: the bland and smiling face of evil.

Trump’s legal defense is going to be a dumpster fire inside a clown car on a derailing train.

Historically it was a little unusual for the president to be an incoherent babbling moron.

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

… looking like a winsome Bee Gee who has stumbled into teaching geography

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”

Polls are now a reliable indicator of what corporate Republicans want us to think.

It’s the corruption, stupid.

Don’t expect peaches from an apple tree.

I’m pretty sure there’s only one Jack Smith.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

He imagines himself as The Big Bad, Who Is Universally Feared… instead of The Big Jagoff, Who Is Universally Mocked.

Democrats have delivered the Square Deal, the New Deal, the Fair Deal, and now… the Big Joe Biden Deal.

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Ohio Issue 1 Results: Polls Closing at 7:30 pm

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Ohio Voters had their last chance to cast their votes today – hopefully NO on Ohio Issue 1 – with polls closing at 7:30 pm Eastern time.

GOOD REASONS TO VOTE NO ON ISSUE 1.  I can’t see a single reason to vote Yes unless you’re an authoritarian prick.

Here’s what it does:

  • Require 60% of voters to pass a new constitutional amendment, instead of a simple majority of 50% plus one.
  • Require citizens who want to place an amendment on the ballot to collect signatures from at least 5% of voters from the last gubernatorial election in all 88 counties, instead of the current 44.
  • Eliminate a 10-day cure period that allows citizens to replace any signatures deemed faulty by the secretary of state’s office.

Come on, Ohio!   Results:

Columbus Dispatch

Ohio Live Results

Ohio Secretary of State live results

Are there folks on twitter to follow who particularly know Ohio?

 

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Pins and Needles: Democracy On The Line Today – with Ohio Issue 1

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This probably isn’t news to anyone who reads Balloon Juice, but everything is on the line in Ohio today.  No matter how the vote on Issue 1 comes out, this is a big Joe Biden deal, and we are going to learn a lot about how much people are paying attention.  And by people, I mean “normies”.

Polls close at 7:30 tonight.  I’ll have a post up for the Ohio results, which I imagine will start coming in pretty much right away.  Ohio peeps, is that correct?  By what time do we expect to know the results?

(Columbus Dispatch)

Ohio Voters will decide TODAY Aug. 8 special election whether they support Issue 1, a measure which would:

  • Require 60% of voters to pass a new constitutional amendment, instead of a simple majority of 50% plus one.
  • Require citizens who want to place an amendment on the ballot to collect signatures from at least 5% of voters from the last gubernatorial election in all 88 counties, instead of the current 44.
  • Eliminate a 10-day cure period that allows citizens to replace any signatures deemed faulty by the secretary of state’s office.

One look at the three changes and it seems obvious that this is not good for democracy.

I have high hopes for Ohio, but when the day for voting comes, it really hits home that you’ve done all you can and now you just have to wait to see how it turns out.  It’s a hard day.

Open thread.

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Within the Margin of Effort – 28 Pairs of Boots On the Ground in GA (We Have an Angel!)

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I’m pretty sure we are all tired, I know I am.

And half of us are probably eating ramen noodles because we dug deep for this election.

But GA is most definitely within the margin of effort.  So can we do this one more time?

We funded 27 pairs of boots on the ground for AZ before Nov 8.

After helping drive voter turnout in Arizona, Worker Power – a project associated with Unite Here labor union – is heading back to Georgia for the second time to get out the vote.

Here’s a link to an article about the Worker Action contribution in turning AZ blue in 2020.

This group knows how to turn people out for elections, and it’s hard to imagine that they didn’t also have a huge impact in AZ again this year.  And they know GA, because they were in GA for the runoffs in 2021.

Every $1,000 we can raise will fund one person on the ground for the GA runoff – for a week!

Do we have it in us to fund another 27 pairs of boots on the ground for Raphael Warnock?

They are serious, they have thought this through, and they have a plan.

Come with Worker Power to the 2022 Georgia Runoffs!

Reverend Senator Raphael Warnock is running to keep the seat we helped him win in 2020. Let’s go push him over the top and win the Senate!

We will have our work cut out for us, because Georgia Republicans reacted to our 2020 victory in the Georgia runoffs by changing the law to make it harder for us to win: instead of six weeks, the runoff will now occur in half the time, and organizers will need to ensure that voters turn out again less than 30 days after Election Day, on December 6!

We are still finalizing plans, but canvassers will fly to Georgia on Monday, November 14. We will be working through the election (with one day per week off) through election day on December 6. Canvassers will be returning on either Wednesday, December 7 or Thursday December 8.

Experience: since time is short and training is difficult, Georgia participants must have previous canvass experience and, generally, a recommendation from a partner organization.

Because the timeline is so short, we will need to canvass after it becomes dark around 5pm. We will follow 2022 safety protocols, including ensuring canvassers are in close proximity to one another after dark and canvassing any areas of particular concern during daylight hours.

Even with this rigorous schedule, we will only have 17 full days of voter contact. For this reason, we cannot allow for any special circumstances: every participant needs to commit to the full schedule.

More details that tell me they have this planned out and know exactly what they are doing:

  • Schedule: canvassers will work 8 hours every day except Friday for the duration of our stay in Georgia
  • Pay: Canvassers will be paid $25/hr for 5 days. Overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours in a single week.
  • Food: Everyone will receive $200/week for food. Paid meal break schedule TBD.
  • Drivers: All drivers will receive their own rental car; not everyone will be expected to drive.
  • Thanksgiving: Members of our canvass team will get a ticket home or for a loved one to come to Georgia.
  • If you travel home, you must depart on Wednesday and return on Friday.
  • You may choose to forgo a plane ticket and receive $375.
  • You may work on Wed and/or Fri and be paid for working those days.

14 people each week for 2 weeks of voter contact could be the difference between winning and losing.

Let’s win this!

Update:  I just received email from a Balloon Juice Angel offering a $1,000 match up to $50 per person.  We met that match!

Update 2: I just received email from a second Balloon Juice Angel with another $1,000 match, same rules.

.

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Postcard Patriots – Write Postcards for House Campaigns (Open Thread)

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Postcard Patriots has a new postcard campaign.

Postcard designs by MazeDancer!

Download designs, print and write postcards.

PostCardPatriots.com is back with their Hold the House! Postcard Campaign

Postcard Patriots Postcard Writing Campaign Postcard Patriots Postcard Writing Campaign 1 Postcard Patriots Postcard Writing Campaign 2 Postcard Patriots Postcard Writing Campaign 3

Write postcards for these house races:

Yadiro Caraveo, Susan Wild, and Emilia Sykes, and more.

Sign up here.

Writing postcards can make a difference!

MazeDancer:

The GOP only has to flip 6 seats to take control of the House. Democracy is more than in peril, it is teetering on the edge.

That’s why, this year, PostCard Patriots is determined to help “Hold the House!”

Born in 2018, at Balloon-Juice, PostCard Patriots has helped Dems every two years since. We even have addresses for sending PostCards to 3 of the BJ Purple District Candidates: Yadiro Caraveo, Susan Wild, and Emilia Sykes.

If you have any questions, let us know in the comments.

I will also put up a post for Postcards to Voters later this week.  Sooner if one of the postcard writers (hint-hint) wants to write something up for me.

 

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Volunteer for Wisconsin (thru Voces de la Frontera) from the Comfort of Your Own Home!

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Raise your hand if you want to see Ron Johnson elected for another term in the Senate.

Bueller?  Bueller?

That’s what I thought!

Volunteer for Wisconsin (thru Voces de la Frontera) from the Comfort of Your Own Home!
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 14: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) questions U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. Blinken was questioned about the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S. withdraw from Afghanistan. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

 

We have two ways opportunites for you to help bring home wins in Wisconsin.

Participate in the Voces de la Frontera Relational Voter Program

Participate in a Balloon Juice phone bank through Voces de la Frontera

Voces de la Frontera Relational Voter Program

Voces de la Frontera Action would like to invite interested members of the Balloon Juice community to participate in our Relational Voter Program (RVP) for the fall election and beyond.  The only requirement is that you have to have family, friends, or other folks in Wisconsin who you can contact and urge to register and vote for Tony Evers, Mandela Barnes, and Josh Kaul (for Attorney General).  There’s no limit to the number of people you contact and you can do all of this in your free time, from home.

The RVP works through a phone app that helps you to reach out to your Wisconsin contacts by phone or text message, and record their responses to your appeal.  Recording contact responses is important because looking at the recorded results allows us to track the progress of voter mobilization, and direct resources to the places where they are needed the most.

Jose Rivera, our RVP Volunteer Coordinator, will work with you to download the app to your phone, train you in its use, and provide you with coaching as necessary.

If you’re interested in participating, please join us on a Zoom call at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, September 28, where they will answer questions and provide additional details.  (If you were part of the recent zoom with Voces, you have already metJosè, who is coordinating this program.)

If you are interested in participating, but you do not do zoom calls (I’m looking at you, Omnes!) the training can be done by phone or though a powerpoint presentation.

If you would like more information before you decide, or you just want to learn more about it, join us for a Q & A Balloon Juice post on Monday at 8pm.

Balloon Juice Phone Bank

For the phone bank, you don’t have to live in Wisconsin or even know anyone in Wisconsin.

If you are interested in learning more about the phone banking, that will be covered in the Q & A Balloon Juice post on Monday at 8pm.

Please send email to me (WaterGirl) if you would like to attend the zoom next Wednesday.

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We Have Agency, Pilot Program, 7 States

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Repost from Thursday evening:

The two previous ‘We Have Agency’ posts laid out an idea and asked for volunteers who are interested in participating.  We got something like 50 volunteers.  So great to see!

Both of those posts can be found under this link in the sidebar.  Going forward, all posts related to this project will be available at that link.

We Have Agency, Let’s Use It

Nyms of the people who volunteered a week or two ago are listed in the first comment on this post.

If you are on that list and are still interested in participating, the simplest way to start is for you to send an email to me.  Then I can reply, I’ll have your best email address, I can add you to the list, and we will go from there.

If you are interested but you are not on that list, please chime in with a comment, and then send me an email.

⭐️  ADOPT-A-STATE

We are starting with a pilot program for these seven states.   A proof of concept, if you will.

  • Arizona
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Michigan
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • Texas

Starting with these states will accomplish two things: 1) get a jump-start on action in critical states, and 2) work out the kinks early, before we move forward with a large number of states.

⭐️  WHAT ARE WE ASKING PARTICIPANTS TO DO?

Decide to get involved.   Take action.

We can form a team for each of the 7 high-priority states.

Different people have different skills and interests, so we are not asking every participant to do all of these things.  You can make a difference by choosing to do even one of these things – choose the activities that best suit your strengths and your interests.

Decide to adopt a state.

Nyms with a ? indicate that the person has volunteered for one of the 7 states in the pilot project.

Choose your state(s) carefully.

State teams will allow people who don’t live in states under consideration to play an important role.

If you are going to make contact with elected officials, adopting a state where you live is best – elected officials  will care less about you than they might about one of their own constituents.

But for other research and roles, out-of-state is fine.  Maybe you want the role of compiling your team’s information once it has been gathered – you most certainly don’t have to live in-state in order to do that!

Once you have chosen a state (and hopefully others have chosen your state, too!)

We are asking you to to the following (collectively, within your state team).

  • collect and share information
  • research anti-democratic efforts to limit access to voting in any way
  • research anti-democratic efforts that allow the will of the voters to be overturned
  • research anti-democratic efforts that will serve to intimidate voting officials
  • use social networking if that’s your thin, and be the “eyes and ears” of the project
  • identify elected officials to contact
  • establish contact with elected officials
  • establish contact with state and local Democratic party chapters
  • identify potential organizations to contact
  • establish contacts with other organizations/activists
  • share that information with the blog in whatever way suits you (and we will enter it into a spreadsheet)

This is most definitely not a one-person job, particularly because time is of the essence.

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Voces de la Frontera Action – Ask Them Anything

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Voces de la Frontera is Wisconsin’s leading state-wide immigrant rights organization, and the advocacy arm of the group is Voces de la Frontera Action.

Because they are one of the primary groups we are looking to support this year, we asked them to participate in a Q & A with us on Balloon Juice.

Voces de la Frontera Action

Goal Thermometer

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