Dear fellow MoveOn member,
I'm worried. With just over two weeks left until Election Day, Republicans have been playing dirty to try to steal this election and stop the blue wave through voter suppression. And unless we all come together and fight as hard as we can in these final weeks, their despicable plan may just work.
Republicans have seen the polls, and they have seen the resistance in the streets.
They know that Democrats are fired up. They know that the progressive platform is supported by a majority of Americans. They know that the number of registered Republicans is shrinking. Progressives are furious, and Republican ideas are total failures with the American people. So they are resorting to the ugliest trick in the book: voter suppression, especially targeting communities of color who overwhelmingly vote for Democrats.
There's only one way to overcome this assault on voters: by getting everyone eligible out to the polls. That's why MoveOn is running the biggest midterm campaign in its 20-year history and working from all angles to get out the vote. I believe in MoveOn and the work it's doing, which is why I am asking you:
Will you chip in $3 a week so that MoveOn can combat these disgusting Republican voter suppression tactics and help get millions of voters to the polls? (MoveOn will contact you shortly after Election Day to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.)
Yes, I'll chip in weekly to combat these disgusting Republican voter suppression tactics and help get millions of voters to the polls.
No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
The stories of intimidation, scare tactics, and blatantly racist attacks on voters in critical states across the country have been ramping up in recent days.
In Georgia, Secretary of State Brian Kemp (who just so happens to be the Republican candidate for governor running dead-even against progressive champion Stacey Abrams) has held up the voter registrations of 53,000 Georgians—70% people of color—in an effort to keep them from the polls.1 And last week, officials in Georgia stopped a bus carrying a group of Black seniors while it was in transit to an early voting location, claiming that the bus did not have the proper license to drive voters to the polls.2
In North Dakota, where Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp is in the fight of her life to hold on to her seat, Republican state lawmakers passed a law specifically designed to prevent Native Americans from voting—likely because Native Americans helped push Heitkamp to a narrow victory in her last election.3
And in Texas, Republican lawmakers decided at the last minute to switch the voting precinct for half of the students at a historically Black college to prevent them from voting in a Republican-held district, and when a campaign staffer from the Democratic candidate went to the courthouse to challenge the change, he was arrested.4
These stories are enraging, but they also show just how desperate the Republicans are to cling to power. If we can fight back against these disgusting tactics and succeed in taking back power in November, we can start the real work of defending and expanding voting rights, taking on partisan gerrymandering, and putting a stop to Donald Trump and the GOP's horrifying agenda.
And I'm feeling optimistic, because MoveOn has been executing a detailed, massive, effective, and people-powered campaign to win in November and begin the real work of building a brighter future for all Americans.
Here is just some of what MoveOn has planned:
- Thousands of MoveOn members will pound the pavement in critical swing districts. Already, well-organized teams of MoveOn members have been showing up at the campaign offices of MoveOn-endorsed candidates around the country, serving as the volunteer backbone for door knocking and phone banking. We know that direct voter contact like this is the most effective way to get out the vote, and thousands more MoveOn members will be on the streets all the way until polls close on Election Day.
- "Real Voter Voices," a groundbreaking new voter persuasion program propelled by personal videos recorded by MoveOn members, is up and running in 118 races. This innovative program has been proven to be five times more cost-effective at getting out the vote than traditional programs such as TV ads and snail mail, and MoveOn has officially launched social media ads with over 2,000 videos in the 100 congressional races, 10 Senate races, and eight gubernatorial contests. These ads will continue until Election Day, thanks to small-dollar donations from MoveOn members like you.
- MoveOn's Mobile Phone Team is sending millions of texts to voters using MoveOn's texting program, Spoke. Volunteers are helping folks register to vote, sharing information about MoveOn-endorsed candidates, signing up new volunteers, and more. There is overwhelming volunteer demand to participate in this program. So MoveOn has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to scale up its texting technology to double the number of voters they can reach in the final days. To pull this off, MoveOn needs last-minute funds to support programmers, servers, and staff to train all of the last-minute volunteers.
- MoveOn will continue raising money directly for the campaigns that need it most. MoveOn members have come together to donate millions of dollars directly to campaigns, including over $1 million raised for Black women candidates, helping to propel Democrats and progressives to record-breaking fundraising totals—but we're not done yet! MoveOn members will keep donating directly to campaigns until the very end to make sure our candidates have the resources to fight on the ground.
Will you chip in $3 a week to MoveOn and join the fight against voter suppression and stolen elections? (MoveOn will contact you shortly after Election Day to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.)
Yes, I'm fed up with Republican dirty tricks. I'm ready to chip in weekly to fight back!
No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
After we win in November, we will work to pass a new Voting Rights Act that will include automatic voter registration, protect early voting, combat voter ID laws targeting people of color and the poor, and take the redistricting process out of the hands of politicians. Because let's be clear: Voter suppression is nothing new, and in the five years since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, attempts by Republicans to keep voters from the polls have skyrocketed.
But first, we must we succeed in taking back Congress in just over two weeks.
So, please, Eddie, will you chip in $3 a week to help MoveOn fight voter suppression and win? (MoveOn will contact you shortly after Election Day to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.)
Yes, I'll chip in weekly to help fight back against voter suppression and win.
No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.
Thanks for all you do.
–Robert Reich
Sources:
2. "'This is voter suppression': black seniors in Georgia ordered off of bus taking them to vote," Vox, October 17, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/53932?t=10&akid=218990%2E10220574%2EVJ_NjJ
3. "North Dakota Native Americans fight to protect their right to vote after court ruling," ABC News, October 21, 2018
https://act.moveon.org/go/53933?t=12&akid=218990%2E10220574%2EVJ_NjJ
https://act.moveon.org/go/53934?t=14&akid=218990%2E10220574%2EVJ_NjJ
How do MoveOn weekly donations work? Weekly donations are a new type of donation that we're testing during election season! If you sign up to make a weekly donation through MoveOn, your weekly contribution will be billed once per month to your credit card, today and on the same day of every month going forward. To determine your monthly contribution amount, we will multiply the weekly amount of your donation by 4.34—the average number of weeks per month. You can cancel, modify, or request a full or partial refund of your recurring donation at any time. If you sign up to make a weekly donation, we will contact you by email shortly after Election Day to see if you want to modify or cancel your donation.
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This email was sent to Eddie Alfaro on October 21st, 2018. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.
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