Voting rights are the mother of all rights. This is the frontline where we fight fascism and authoritarians. The League of Women Voters is leading and you can join/support them. There is something for everyone to do. https://www.lwv.org/
I joined the League in my area and after many years of being an election judge, I have completed the training to be a deputy registrar and may now register voters at times other than the elections. (In my state, with proper identification, a voter may register on election day!!) I'm also working on their VOTE411 website for the upcoming elections. This is my 'one thing', I can't do everything, but I can do this thing! Thanks for elevating this Gina!
Theresa, Thank you for saying that! We need more lawsuits than ever before! The orgs’ resources are stretched further than ever before. It’s up to US to fund them!
FYI - 4/1/25 The Brennan Center filed The League of Women Voters vs Trump
Allison, you’re a voting hero! Thank you for looking it up. There’s so much LWV does to educate and empower voters in every community, everyone can play a part.
Thank you for sharing this! I've been a poll worker but really was horrified last election by my fellow poll workers spouting conspiracy theories - not in the early voting days, but in one polling place on Election Day - I reported it, but it really soured my experience and I was hoping to do more. This is a path to help me do that and I really appreciate it!
I see an opportunity here. Instead of just playing defense and pointing out constitutional violations, maybe the winning message for Democrats is actually “we care about election integrity more than Republicans do, and here’s how we’re going to secure our elections properly.” Democrats have a setup to own the election integrity narrative instead of ceding it to Trump and his allies.
When you look at what’s happening inside the Republican party right now, there are existential fractures on the very question of legal integrity and the value of skepticism. Trump has been calling his own supporters “stupid” and disowning people who want accountability on issues related to the Epstein case, creating this weird dynamic where people who have leaned toward Trump only because of his anti-“Deep State” rhetoric are being told to shut up and trust authority by the guy who built his brand on distrust of institutions.
Democrats could position themselves as the party that actually listens to skeptics and takes their concerns seriously, even if they don’t ultimately cede any ground to unfounded concerns. Instead of dismissing people who have questions about election security, Democrats can say “we hear you, we understand why you might be skeptical, and here’s how we’re going to address those concerns through transparency and actual improvements rather than performative gestures.” This doesn’t mean accepting conspiracy theories, but it does mean engaging with the underlying anxieties in a way that gives skeptics less room to be skeptical.
Democrats should champion federal funding to make passports available to every American voter completely free of charge, with accessible outreach programs to help people get them. If Republicans want to require proof of citizenship to vote, fine, let’s make sure every single eligible American has easy access to that documentation, regardless of their finances or geography. Set up mobile passport services, partner with community organizations, make it as simple as possible for people to get the documents they need. Once that infrastructure exists, it becomes much harder for states to use documentation requirements as a barrier to voting.
Call their bluff on voter suppression laws. It might turn out that without the hurdles of access to documentation, that it’s Republicans who are inherently less open to proving to the government who they are at the ballot box. Republicans can’t argue against making it easier for citizens to prove their citizenship, and Democrats get to be the party that’s actually solving the practical barriers these laws create.
Democrats should also champion federal legislation that prohibits any laws restricting voting access until adequate resources have been provided to ensure no significant number of eligible voters will be disenfranchised. Focus the messaging on disenfranchised eligible voters who have been denied a vote and how those numbers are higher than any documented cases of non-eligible voters casting a ballot in past elections. An eligible voter denied a ballot is just as corrupting for the election as any non-eligible voter who is allowed to vote. But unlike non-eligible voters who do vote, the eligible voters who are denied ballots actually exist in significant numbers each election.
Republicans have spent years claiming they’re the party of election security while actually undermining confidence in our systems and trying to manipulate access after the fact. Democrats can counter by saying “fine, you want election integrity? Let’s actually do it right.” This means launching a comprehensive campaign that not only includes real education about how our elections are already incredibly secure, featuring testimonials and expert opinions from Republican election officials like those Colorado clerks who refused to give access to the machines, but also testimonials of voters who have been denied a voice by Republican voter suppression laws. When Republican election administrators are telling people the system works and Trump appointees are the ones trying to circumvent proper procedures, that’s powerful messaging that cuts across party lines.
We would end up with a system that’s both more secure and more accessible, which is exactly what actual election integrity should look like, not these backdoor attempts to manipulate voter rolls and access machines outside of legal channels.
Of course people like Tina Peters will move goalposts and will never be satisfied until only people who look like her are eligible to vote. I’m not saying we play to her values. I’m saying we target the vast number of Republicans who do have rational questions about whether it’s possible at all for someone to cast an invalid vote. Education and financial resources seem like the only way to neutralize what has become a significant political vulnerability for Democrats, unfairly or not. And the current message of “trust us, people who shouldn’t vote don’t vote” isn’t working.
You have some really great ideas here, especially listening to people's anxieties about voter fraud and then saying this is our plan to address those concerns. I also really like the idea of launching a campaign to educate Americans about the election process and how it IS secure already.
Great ideas Timothy. Have you sent this narrative to the DNC? Or perhaps to Kamala Harris' office, Tim Walz, Beto O'Rourke? These folks that are out there on the front lines fighting. Maybe this fresh perspective is exactly what they need to spur them on.
Thank you, Florence! No, I haven't done anything with these thoughts yet, just recently came up with most of them while reading this article. Currently feeling I'm at the limit of my time and attention by writing these pieces in the hour of quiet I have before the rest of my household wakes up, then the rest of the day is devoted to survival and meeting basic needs. But I do keep thinking about how this energy can be used in a more effective way. Just had a work meeting yesterday in which my supervisor was saying we might be laid off soon from the job I've had for 13 years... so maybe my opportunity to pivot into a more meaningful career could be coming sooner than I expected! 😂 To be honest, I'd welcome the opportunity to devote my time to projects that matter.
Can we (meaning you) write up a list of ideas & suggestions that you have come up with (you have proposed several great ideas) and then have all the Governerds sign on to endorse and give their support (and anyone else who wants to sign) and present the ideas to the DNC/Democratic/Independent Reps and Senators? Rather than just one person presenting ideas, you'd show that you have the buy-in of a larger group of people.
Ya know… Something like this isn’t all that crazy of an idea. My background is in video production and editing, and the feedback I have been getting today has me thinking that perhaps when I find the time, I need to start creating some short videos that lay out a vision in a simple way, and perhaps that could be a vehicle for spreading the word on this and other political strategies. Perhaps with a Substack account dedicated to brainstorming ideas for how the Democratic party–or any politician, really, since we need better ideas among conservatives too–can better lead a way out of Trumpism. Thank you, Allison!
@Timothy, another internet voice here chiming in to say I think this is such a fresh perspective & I’d love to back it & organize behind it in the way that @Allison lays out! I’m a mission driven marketer & if you need any help or a sounding board I’d be happy to lend a hand 🙏
This!! I hate championing more work on your back, but I also see your background for this - AND these ARE YOUR ideas. Even if we move forward in any way with your ideas, then we need to make sure you get the credit!
Also @amandakgordon : I love the idea of a governerd movement! This has been stewing in the back of my mind too. Well, more like - what not to do! We have seen some pretty powerful ads/messages, and this is not the time to blow grabbing attention.
We have SO many avenues here! We could do messages by state, by city….
I think the ads where one person says a thing, and the next mimics it or carries it forward and it goes on thru 10 people is not the most effective now. BUT I do see visions where a group gathers for a short statement in one city - say Austin (oooh -in front of capitol), then dallas, houston, San Antonio, el paso and/ or a few more rural like Uvalde, and then all in chorus ‘texas strong’ (or whatever ).
Another add with the same group add the end group slogan to another state ‘texas strong’ > ‘Oklahoma proud’ > one more, but especially focus on republican states.
EVERY single time Im in a small group or bigger group, i find a very blue or very disillusioned person thinking they are the only ones in their group or neighborhood who think that way.
Dont even make it be partisan. Election integrity is for everyone !
Timothy, These are such great ideas &, in my opinion, low hanging fruit for the Dems. Please consider sharing these ideas with the DNC, any Dem. reps. & Senators in your state or that would be open to receiving them. I, too, believe the Dems should position themselves to listen to people and communicate this well across the board.
Yes!! This, this, and this! Call their bluff. We’ll find out real quickly how righteous their stated goals are. Timothy, please share this more widely. Maybe Sharon can help with connections to have your ideas heard.
Great ideas! Maybe Sharon could partner with you and use her staff to move your ideas into the right hands for consideration to get the ball rolling, ASAP!
I LOVE the idea of easy access to IDs and Passports!!
I have 2 family members who hold a ‘Record of birth’ as they were born in a nunnery and do not have technically legal birth certificates. I have been after them to get this rectified, but one is blasé and the other is scared.
Normal, predictable human emotions! Now, let's say that Republicans pushing a Voter ID law could not get it enacted until your relatives' situation was remedied for them... I think we'd either get some action or, more likely, a change of strategy away from mandating IDs, because the goal was never to make our elections more secure; it's been to make people feel blasé or scared about casting a ballot. But in the meantime, Democrats stepping in to take that burden off of their plate would probably earn some points.
Agreed - i have called it voter intimidation tactics- same idea.
After this morning’s SCOTUS ruling, or should I say that this one more can of gasoline added to the raging bonfire, if people refuse to stop and see what is burning - the systematic stripping of check and balances being burned to ashes, I think we are toast! Burned toast! I keep returning to the percentage of people who just don’t vote and the percentage of people who vote voted democratic for Joe Biden in the first term that seemed to not show up at the polls for the second term , and pray that that is not foreshadowing for the amount of work that this is going to take to extinguish the fire.
I live in Central Texas, and I see time and time again the outpouring of generosity, concern, and love that is poured out during our ice storms and our floods . Contrasting the voting from the flurry of activity surrounding our disasters, and I wonder if people look at what’s going on with our government at the state and federal levels and feel detached from it personally thinking that it doesn’t have much effect on us.
Then I look at the amount of people who say they don’t watch the news anymore because it’s negative and stressful and add in the amount of people that I know that say they don’t pay attention to politics because they think it’s bunk or fake versus the amount of keyboard warriors that we see on social media every day that are downright belligerent because it’s easy to hide behind a keyboard, and I kind of wonder what manifested these two social opposite behaviors. Is it really the billion dollar propaganda?
I know that I’m getting into the philosophy and psychology of things, but fundamentally I sometimes wonder if we are fighting the wrong battles in our big war.
When and if you have time, I’d love to hear your thoughts
This narcissistic ignoramus will never let go of his rampant voter fraud fantasies or accept the fact that he lost to old Joe Biden. One just hopes that there is some sort of faint red line SCOTUS will not cross in this latest attempt of the executive branch to grab powers reserved to Congress and the states. But this: “Tina is an innocent Political Prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished in the form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment,” Trump said on social media. He claimed she was a “hostage” and ordered the DOJ to “take all necessary action” to secure her release.“ It just shows how much he has completely perverted American values, that he can say this about a convicted criminal like Peters while rounding up immigrants and sending them to horrible foreign prisons or even worse, right here on American soil, holding them in conditions without adequate food, space, access to hygiene and subject to abuse like being forced to kneel with their hands shackled behind them to eat like dogs.
This is so on brand for the 2025 version of the Republican party, I don't even know what to say. Just like how Trump is pressuring Texas to hurry up and gerrymander some more so they don't lose the House next year. If you have to manipulate elections to ensure your chosen people win, they didn't actually win. You're just a cheater and your policies are unpopular but you love power too much to give it up.
And I can 100% see certain people in my state saying let me hand that info over. They talk about how they don't like big government, but they'll sure bend over to it if it benefits them.
Seriously. I just don’t know what to do with this information anymore. Everyday is worse than the next and there seems to be nothing we can do but to call and write people who then do nothing.
Voting rights are the mother of all rights. This is the frontline where we fight fascism and authoritarians. The League of Women Voters is leading and you can join/support them. There is something for everyone to do. https://www.lwv.org/
I joined the League in my area and after many years of being an election judge, I have completed the training to be a deputy registrar and may now register voters at times other than the elections. (In my state, with proper identification, a voter may register on election day!!) I'm also working on their VOTE411 website for the upcoming elections. This is my 'one thing', I can't do everything, but I can do this thing! Thanks for elevating this Gina!
Tori Jo, You are making a Huge impact!!!
Yes! I also support the attorneys who keep working to slow this down- ACLU and Marc Elias among others.
Theresa, Thank you for saying that! We need more lawsuits than ever before! The orgs’ resources are stretched further than ever before. It’s up to US to fund them!
FYI - 4/1/25 The Brennan Center filed The League of Women Voters vs Trump
https://www.google.com/search?q=league+of+women+voters+vs+trump&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
Thank you for sharing this! I’m going to join the San Diego group. I’ve been looking for a way to get involved. This seems like a great step.
Jessie, they will be so grateful to have you. Thank YOU for serving your community and protecting their rights.
Thanks for sharing that Gina! I used the link to look up groups in my area. I'm going to join! I'd love to help register voters.
Allison, you’re a voting hero! Thank you for looking it up. There’s so much LWV does to educate and empower voters in every community, everyone can play a part.
Thank you for sharing this! I've been a poll worker but really was horrified last election by my fellow poll workers spouting conspiracy theories - not in the early voting days, but in one polling place on Election Day - I reported it, but it really soured my experience and I was hoping to do more. This is a path to help me do that and I really appreciate it!
Sarah, One of the LWV volunteer positions is Election Observer. It sounds perfect for you.
Joining LWV has been on my to do list for a while. I have now joined! Thank you for the reminder why....
I see an opportunity here. Instead of just playing defense and pointing out constitutional violations, maybe the winning message for Democrats is actually “we care about election integrity more than Republicans do, and here’s how we’re going to secure our elections properly.” Democrats have a setup to own the election integrity narrative instead of ceding it to Trump and his allies.
When you look at what’s happening inside the Republican party right now, there are existential fractures on the very question of legal integrity and the value of skepticism. Trump has been calling his own supporters “stupid” and disowning people who want accountability on issues related to the Epstein case, creating this weird dynamic where people who have leaned toward Trump only because of his anti-“Deep State” rhetoric are being told to shut up and trust authority by the guy who built his brand on distrust of institutions.
Democrats could position themselves as the party that actually listens to skeptics and takes their concerns seriously, even if they don’t ultimately cede any ground to unfounded concerns. Instead of dismissing people who have questions about election security, Democrats can say “we hear you, we understand why you might be skeptical, and here’s how we’re going to address those concerns through transparency and actual improvements rather than performative gestures.” This doesn’t mean accepting conspiracy theories, but it does mean engaging with the underlying anxieties in a way that gives skeptics less room to be skeptical.
Democrats should champion federal funding to make passports available to every American voter completely free of charge, with accessible outreach programs to help people get them. If Republicans want to require proof of citizenship to vote, fine, let’s make sure every single eligible American has easy access to that documentation, regardless of their finances or geography. Set up mobile passport services, partner with community organizations, make it as simple as possible for people to get the documents they need. Once that infrastructure exists, it becomes much harder for states to use documentation requirements as a barrier to voting.
Call their bluff on voter suppression laws. It might turn out that without the hurdles of access to documentation, that it’s Republicans who are inherently less open to proving to the government who they are at the ballot box. Republicans can’t argue against making it easier for citizens to prove their citizenship, and Democrats get to be the party that’s actually solving the practical barriers these laws create.
Democrats should also champion federal legislation that prohibits any laws restricting voting access until adequate resources have been provided to ensure no significant number of eligible voters will be disenfranchised. Focus the messaging on disenfranchised eligible voters who have been denied a vote and how those numbers are higher than any documented cases of non-eligible voters casting a ballot in past elections. An eligible voter denied a ballot is just as corrupting for the election as any non-eligible voter who is allowed to vote. But unlike non-eligible voters who do vote, the eligible voters who are denied ballots actually exist in significant numbers each election.
Republicans have spent years claiming they’re the party of election security while actually undermining confidence in our systems and trying to manipulate access after the fact. Democrats can counter by saying “fine, you want election integrity? Let’s actually do it right.” This means launching a comprehensive campaign that not only includes real education about how our elections are already incredibly secure, featuring testimonials and expert opinions from Republican election officials like those Colorado clerks who refused to give access to the machines, but also testimonials of voters who have been denied a voice by Republican voter suppression laws. When Republican election administrators are telling people the system works and Trump appointees are the ones trying to circumvent proper procedures, that’s powerful messaging that cuts across party lines.
We would end up with a system that’s both more secure and more accessible, which is exactly what actual election integrity should look like, not these backdoor attempts to manipulate voter rolls and access machines outside of legal channels.
Of course people like Tina Peters will move goalposts and will never be satisfied until only people who look like her are eligible to vote. I’m not saying we play to her values. I’m saying we target the vast number of Republicans who do have rational questions about whether it’s possible at all for someone to cast an invalid vote. Education and financial resources seem like the only way to neutralize what has become a significant political vulnerability for Democrats, unfairly or not. And the current message of “trust us, people who shouldn’t vote don’t vote” isn’t working.
You have some really great ideas here, especially listening to people's anxieties about voter fraud and then saying this is our plan to address those concerns. I also really like the idea of launching a campaign to educate Americans about the election process and how it IS secure already.
Great ideas Timothy. Have you sent this narrative to the DNC? Or perhaps to Kamala Harris' office, Tim Walz, Beto O'Rourke? These folks that are out there on the front lines fighting. Maybe this fresh perspective is exactly what they need to spur them on.
Thank you, Florence! No, I haven't done anything with these thoughts yet, just recently came up with most of them while reading this article. Currently feeling I'm at the limit of my time and attention by writing these pieces in the hour of quiet I have before the rest of my household wakes up, then the rest of the day is devoted to survival and meeting basic needs. But I do keep thinking about how this energy can be used in a more effective way. Just had a work meeting yesterday in which my supervisor was saying we might be laid off soon from the job I've had for 13 years... so maybe my opportunity to pivot into a more meaningful career could be coming sooner than I expected! 😂 To be honest, I'd welcome the opportunity to devote my time to projects that matter.
Can we (meaning you) write up a list of ideas & suggestions that you have come up with (you have proposed several great ideas) and then have all the Governerds sign on to endorse and give their support (and anyone else who wants to sign) and present the ideas to the DNC/Democratic/Independent Reps and Senators? Rather than just one person presenting ideas, you'd show that you have the buy-in of a larger group of people.
Ya know… Something like this isn’t all that crazy of an idea. My background is in video production and editing, and the feedback I have been getting today has me thinking that perhaps when I find the time, I need to start creating some short videos that lay out a vision in a simple way, and perhaps that could be a vehicle for spreading the word on this and other political strategies. Perhaps with a Substack account dedicated to brainstorming ideas for how the Democratic party–or any politician, really, since we need better ideas among conservatives too–can better lead a way out of Trumpism. Thank you, Allison!
@Timothy, another internet voice here chiming in to say I think this is such a fresh perspective & I’d love to back it & organize behind it in the way that @Allison lays out! I’m a mission driven marketer & if you need any help or a sounding board I’d be happy to lend a hand 🙏
Amanda, YES please. Just sent you a message. Let’s talk! 🙂
This!! I hate championing more work on your back, but I also see your background for this - AND these ARE YOUR ideas. Even if we move forward in any way with your ideas, then we need to make sure you get the credit!
Also @amandakgordon : I love the idea of a governerd movement! This has been stewing in the back of my mind too. Well, more like - what not to do! We have seen some pretty powerful ads/messages, and this is not the time to blow grabbing attention.
We have SO many avenues here! We could do messages by state, by city….
I think the ads where one person says a thing, and the next mimics it or carries it forward and it goes on thru 10 people is not the most effective now. BUT I do see visions where a group gathers for a short statement in one city - say Austin (oooh -in front of capitol), then dallas, houston, San Antonio, el paso and/ or a few more rural like Uvalde, and then all in chorus ‘texas strong’ (or whatever ).
Another add with the same group add the end group slogan to another state ‘texas strong’ > ‘Oklahoma proud’ > one more, but especially focus on republican states.
EVERY single time Im in a small group or bigger group, i find a very blue or very disillusioned person thinking they are the only ones in their group or neighborhood who think that way.
Dont even make it be partisan. Election integrity is for everyone !
Anyway , just my 5 second brain blitz
Timothy, These are such great ideas &, in my opinion, low hanging fruit for the Dems. Please consider sharing these ideas with the DNC, any Dem. reps. & Senators in your state or that would be open to receiving them. I, too, believe the Dems should position themselves to listen to people and communicate this well across the board.
Thank you for sharing this great insight.
Another well worded, insightful commentary!
Yes!! This, this, and this! Call their bluff. We’ll find out real quickly how righteous their stated goals are. Timothy, please share this more widely. Maybe Sharon can help with connections to have your ideas heard.
Great ideas! Maybe Sharon could partner with you and use her staff to move your ideas into the right hands for consideration to get the ball rolling, ASAP!
I LOVE the idea of easy access to IDs and Passports!!
I have 2 family members who hold a ‘Record of birth’ as they were born in a nunnery and do not have technically legal birth certificates. I have been after them to get this rectified, but one is blasé and the other is scared.
Normal, predictable human emotions! Now, let's say that Republicans pushing a Voter ID law could not get it enacted until your relatives' situation was remedied for them... I think we'd either get some action or, more likely, a change of strategy away from mandating IDs, because the goal was never to make our elections more secure; it's been to make people feel blasé or scared about casting a ballot. But in the meantime, Democrats stepping in to take that burden off of their plate would probably earn some points.
Agreed - i have called it voter intimidation tactics- same idea.
After this morning’s SCOTUS ruling, or should I say that this one more can of gasoline added to the raging bonfire, if people refuse to stop and see what is burning - the systematic stripping of check and balances being burned to ashes, I think we are toast! Burned toast! I keep returning to the percentage of people who just don’t vote and the percentage of people who vote voted democratic for Joe Biden in the first term that seemed to not show up at the polls for the second term , and pray that that is not foreshadowing for the amount of work that this is going to take to extinguish the fire.
I live in Central Texas, and I see time and time again the outpouring of generosity, concern, and love that is poured out during our ice storms and our floods . Contrasting the voting from the flurry of activity surrounding our disasters, and I wonder if people look at what’s going on with our government at the state and federal levels and feel detached from it personally thinking that it doesn’t have much effect on us.
Then I look at the amount of people who say they don’t watch the news anymore because it’s negative and stressful and add in the amount of people that I know that say they don’t pay attention to politics because they think it’s bunk or fake versus the amount of keyboard warriors that we see on social media every day that are downright belligerent because it’s easy to hide behind a keyboard, and I kind of wonder what manifested these two social opposite behaviors. Is it really the billion dollar propaganda?
I know that I’m getting into the philosophy and psychology of things, but fundamentally I sometimes wonder if we are fighting the wrong battles in our big war.
When and if you have time, I’d love to hear your thoughts
This narcissistic ignoramus will never let go of his rampant voter fraud fantasies or accept the fact that he lost to old Joe Biden. One just hopes that there is some sort of faint red line SCOTUS will not cross in this latest attempt of the executive branch to grab powers reserved to Congress and the states. But this: “Tina is an innocent Political Prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished in the form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment,” Trump said on social media. He claimed she was a “hostage” and ordered the DOJ to “take all necessary action” to secure her release.“ It just shows how much he has completely perverted American values, that he can say this about a convicted criminal like Peters while rounding up immigrants and sending them to horrible foreign prisons or even worse, right here on American soil, holding them in conditions without adequate food, space, access to hygiene and subject to abuse like being forced to kneel with their hands shackled behind them to eat like dogs.
It seems with these people that it’s never about the constitution, the rule of law or morality.
In my opinion, it is only about three things: greed, power, and control.
This is so on brand for the 2025 version of the Republican party, I don't even know what to say. Just like how Trump is pressuring Texas to hurry up and gerrymander some more so they don't lose the House next year. If you have to manipulate elections to ensure your chosen people win, they didn't actually win. You're just a cheater and your policies are unpopular but you love power too much to give it up.
States rights only matter when those states want to take rights away from people. When states want to uphold rights the GOP is oh no how dare you?
And I can 100% see certain people in my state saying let me hand that info over. They talk about how they don't like big government, but they'll sure bend over to it if it benefits them.
But hey, what about states rights? Oh yeah, not when it includes voting, or any other thing the administration wants to meddle in.
When election security is dismantled, democracy is dismantled.
K.
Seriously. I just don’t know what to do with this information anymore. Everyday is worse than the next and there seems to be nothing we can do but to call and write people who then do nothing.
Once again, DT thinks he’s a king. The amount of time & money he & his minions spend on these lawsuits must be staggering.
This is terrifying to me. If they are able to find ways to do this, our democratic and free elections are gone baby gone. How do we stand up to this?!
Thank you for pointing that out, Mary. Except, it doesn’t “seem.” It is a provable fact.