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A NOTE FROM FRED
The 2020 election was “the most secure in American history,” according to a statement issued by officials in the Trump Administration after the election. And, there’s never been a shred of evidence to back up Trump’s blatantly false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
Nevertheless, Trump’s nonstop, groundless, demagogic attacks on the honesty of the 2020 presidential election has created the most serious threat to the integrity of our national elections that we have seen.
Trump’s Big Lie about 2020 has triggered the enactment of a wave of voter suppression and election sabotage laws in GOP-controlled state legislatures that started in 2021 and continues today. The laws have opened the door to partisan election officials rigging the results of future elections, including the 2024 presidential race.
Impartial election officials are critical to protecting the integrity and credibility of our elections. However, state and local election officials around the country are being subjected to threats, harassment, and intimidation by Trump followers.
An investigation by Reuters “documented more than 900 threatening and hostile messages to election administrators and staff in 17 states, almost all alluding to former President Donald Trump’s false claims of a stolen election.”
And a new survey by the Brennan Center of local election officials found that one in six “have experienced threats,” and more than half “are concerned about the safety of their colleagues in future elections.” The Brennan Center found that nearly two-thirds of the election officials surveyed “believe that false information is making their jobs more dangerous, and almost all blame social media for spreading it.”
The Brennan Center found that nearly three times as many local election officials are “very worried about interference by political leaders in how they and fellow local election officials do their jobs going forward as they say they were before 2020.” And, the survey found that 20 percent “plan to leave their jobs before the next presidential election in 2024, with a third citing political leaders’ dishonest attacks on our election systems as one of their top reasons.”
Meanwhile, Trump followers are working to infiltrate Secretary of State and other state-level election administration offices, to place themselves in position to do whatever it takes to make sure Trump and his supported candidates win future elections.
And, campaign money is pouring into Secretary of State races which are seen by Trump followers as prime places for rigging elections.
The Brennan Center found that, in key battleground states, contributions in Secretary of State races “are three times higher than they were at this point in the 2018 cycle and eight times higher than 2014.” Contributions were “particularly high” in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, and Michigan.
The report found that these races are attracting a growing number of out-of-state contributors, likely reflecting a broader effort by Trump followers to seize control of these electorally important positions.
A dangerous attack on our elections is underway. It is being driven by Trump’s lies, by his followers’ belief in the lies, by the efforts of Trump acolytes to take partisan control of state election administration, and by Republican officeholders pursuing political advantage no matter the consequences for the American people.
At a time when the murdering invader Vladimir Putin is conducting a war to destroy Ukraine and its democracy, we have our own nonmilitary political war being led by Trump against our democracy.
It is a battle for the heart and soul of our democracy that must be won.
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THIS IS HOW VOTER SUPPRESSION WORKS
“Alabama is the perfect example. When they passed their photo ID [voting] law, simultaneously, they closed every department of motor vehicles in the Black Belt counties. So at the same time that they were requiring you to get a photo ID they literally closed down the places in the Black community where you could get a photo ID.”
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VOTING RIGHTS & ELECTIONS UNDER FIRE
Supreme Court Stays Out Of Key State Rulings On Partisan Gerrymandering, For Now
The Court declined challenges by GOP-aligned groups to intervene in disputes in North Carolina and Pennsylvania – “a relief to voting rights advocates but likely only a temporary reprieve, as four of the court’s conservative justices indicated their desire to intervene,” via National Public Radio.
Another Scheme To Curtail Voting Rights
“Get to know the ‘independent state legislature doctrine’ which intrigues Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch,” via Washington Monthly.
One In Five U.S. Election Workers May Quit Amid Threats, Politics
“The percentage of local election officials saying they are ‘very worried’ about political leaders interfering in future elections has nearly tripled since before 2020,” via Reuters. Full report from the Brennan Center.
Election Officials Deserve Our Immediate Protection, opinion via The Hill.
Billionaire-Backed Group Enlists Trump-Supporting Citizens To Hunt For Voter Fraud Using Discredited Techniques
The foundation, led by a former Trump campaign official, “has dismissed objections from election officials that its methodology is flawed and its actions may be illegal,” via ProPublica.
Colorado County Clerk Is Indicted For Election Tampering And Misconduct, via National Public Radio.
Florida Republicans Are Creating An Office Of Election Crimes As Trump’s False Fraud Claims Continue To Spread
“It’s part of a pattern of Republicans across the US baselessly perpetuating fears about election fraud in the wake of Trump’s loss,” via Buzzfeed News.
Arizona Republicans Continue Pushing Voting Restrictions, Risking Backfire
Close to 100 voting bills have been introduced in the Arizona legislature, “part of a nationwide push by far-right Republican-controlled legislatures to pass restrictive voting laws,” via National Public Radio.
Here’s What The March 1 Primary Taught Us About Texas’ New Voting Law, via KUT Public Radio, Austin.
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🚨 WARNING OF THE WEEK 🚨
Trump Muses On War With Russia And Praises Kim Jong Un
“Trump all but said he planned to run for the presidency again — and that he wasn’t going anywhere. ‘I wonder who that might be,’ he jokingly said of the 2024 nominee, as the crowd broke out in ‘Trump!’ chants.”
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TRUMPWATCH
Inside The Jan. 6 Committee’s Effort To Trace Every Dollar Raised And Spent Based On Trump’s False Election Claims
The committee is “scrutinizing whether the Trump campaign, its affiliated super PACs, the RNC, and protest rally organizers knowingly used false claims to dupe donors,” via The Washington Post.
Trump Just Endorsed an Oath Keeper’s Plan to Seize Control of the Republican Party, via ProPublica.
Russia’s Invasion Puts A New Light On Trump’s Ukraine Pressure Campaign, via National Public Radio.
Why Did Mark Meadows Register To Vote At An Address Where He Did Not Reside? via The New Yorker.
The Roger Stone Tapes
“Previously unseen documentary footage shows the longtime Trump adviser working to overturn the 2020 election and, after the Jan. 6 riot, secure pardons for the former president’s supporters,” via The Washington Post.
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WE HAVE OLIGARCHS, TOO
Turning The Focus On America’s Oligarchs
“The push to expose hidden flows of Russian money has renewed calls to illuminate darker corners of American finance and politics, [including] the fortunes that exploit U.S. campaign finance law to bankroll the manipulation of democracy, without fingerprints.”
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MONEY, MIDTERMS, & MORE
Dark-Money Groups Fighting Biden’s Supreme Court Pick Also Funded Big Lie, Capitol Riot, via Salon.
Think Congress Is Too Partisan Now? Primaries Could Magnify Division As The Number Of Swing Districts Shrinks, via USA Today.
The Democratic Party’s Emerging Priority: Save The Governors
“Party leaders, deep-pocketed donors, and leading super PACS were already planning to prioritize November’s gubernatorial contests, which have long been an afterthought on national election maps,” via Politico.
GOP Vies To Keep Statehouse Control In 2022 In These ’24 Battlegrounds, via Politico.
All But One House Republican Who Voted To Impeach Trump Faces A Trump-Endorsed Challenger
“That means primary voters in nearly all of these districts will be able to choose whether they want to punish disloyalty to Trump and move the GOP into even closer alignment with Trumpism,” via FiveThirtyEight.
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