For those wanting to know what they can do, while sitting at home, about voting in TN, I have a suggestion: 😀
Preface: You probably think “everyone I know votes—those OTHER people are the problem.”
Nope! We KNOW that only 1/2 of eligible voters vote in the US. Worse in TN.
In fact, just assume the opposite is true: “I KNOW a lot of these people!”
Your job: identify them & assist.
So, make a list today. Push yourself to identify 25 people. Colleagues, college friends, your hairdresser, nieces & nephews, the friendly barista at the drive-thru.
Call or text or ask in person (that barista might be your only in-person contact these days! 😂) &
ask if they have 2 min to “check their status” on #GoVoteTn
They need to enter their DOB & social to make SURE they are registered— and haven’t been PURGED! TN excels at purging.
If not in the system, help them register right then! It takes 2 min, and we only have 36 more days to do B4 reaching registration cut-off. The electorate is FROZEN on Oct 5th. No new additions. 😡
If all has gone well so far, great!
But we are just getting started.
We need a plan: Voting absentee or voting early? Ask them. Have them commit NOW. Why, you ask?
If voting absentee, you need to help them apply for an absentee ballot right now! Thousands of requests already in!
Go to county website & pull up application to print off & mail in.
But, what if your voter doesn’t have a printer? A common problem!
The stupid TN law says that you can’t give them or send them one off your own printer, but you do what you think is right. #GoodTrouble
Or call county election commission & they will mail one to the voter. 😳
BTW, this is the time when you think about that niece who may be voting for the 1st time. If 1st time, TN law says she can’t use an absentee ballot.
BUT, if she goes to 1417 Murfreesboro Pike to the elections office in Nashville, she can show her ID & be eligible! Drive her.
Maybe your voter is vague about when they are going to vote, if not absentee. That’s when you are REALLY a superhero! Maybe you’re voting early too!
On our 14 days of early vote, you can go to ANY of the locations (13 in Davidson co), not your assigned Election Day precinct.
So you can make it a voting event!!! A socially-distanced, mask-wearing event where you gather in the parking lot & all go in together!!
Maybe you all go out for an outdoor celebratory cocktail afterwards to celebrate doing your civic duty! 🇺🇸🥂🍺
.@VoteEarlyTN will have more on this right after Labor Day (fun in store!), but do your groundwork now. Have your 25 people all squared away, registered, w/ a plan & ready to vote!
And then, make a list of 25 more & do it again.
I’m serious. This is what it takes.
I promise you will be surprised about what you learn and how much you are able to help.
For must people, voting is a vague concept, something they WANT to do, but have no real idea where to start.
For the sake of our democracy, help them. 🇺🇸
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Point #1: There was never a case filed on the division of the congressional district. What was needed was PROOF that CD5 was being divided because of RACE, not POLITICS. John Ryder locked that down. Told GOP to not put ANYTHING in writing. Phone calls only...
2/
So if you can't PROVE it was due to race, then it must be politics, & that's legal & constitutional--even though it sucks.
And the attack on Nashville continued this legislative session, as we are well aware.
It's all bad, but PROOF is needed that race drove it.
3/
2) “Chief Justice Roberts Jr. filed a brief explaining why the WI case differed from the one from PA in which the justices deadlocked over whether the state’s Supreme Court could extend the deadline for mailed ballots by three days.”
3) “While one case granted authority of state courts to apply their own constitutions to election regs, this case involves federal intrusion on state lawmaking.
Different bodies of law & different precedents require that we allow modification of election rules in PA but not WI.”
4) And yet...
“Cases from North Carolina & Pennsylvania are pending before the court, the latter a 2nd attempt after a 4-to-4 deadlock last week. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was confirmed & sworn in to the SCOTUS on Monday night, could cast the decisive vote in that case.”
...the ballot either won’t arrive to the voter in time or won’t arrive back to the election commission in time for the vote to be counted. It MUST arrive thru the mail/UPS/FedEx/DHL by the time the polls close.
The USPS advises that mailing next week...
...even if your ballot is in-hand now, is also not guaranteed.
So if you are sitting on a ballot right now, I would not mail it later than today.
Starting tomorrow, Nashville ballots should be...
1) taken to the post office at 901 Broadway & they will deliver directly....
1) Context for the first day of Early Vote in Davidson Co.
Hint: It's really gooooooood news, y'all!
Ok, so Day 1 of EV in 2016 was 12,303.
Today, Day 1 of EV was 12,899.
At first glance, one might say, well, good, but only 596 more.
HOWEVER, this does NOT include absentees.
2) Usually, they announce absentees as they are coming in, but not today.
We will have the absentee number tomorrow am, but according to reporting by @MariahTimms, @DavidsonVotes had received 18,298 absentee ballots as of last Saturday. WOW!!!!
3) So, minimum # of votes IN is over 30,000. It's probably much higher.
In 2016, absentees only accounted for 2.2% of total votes cast.
THIS year, we have almost universal eligibility for absentees & in the Aug federal primary, absentees accounted for 27% of the total vote.
1) Advising GOP legislature what to vote for/against & convincing Governor to leave “all things voting related” up to you.
2) Telling counties EXPLICITLY what they can/cannot do when it comes to suppressing the vote...but leaving it up to them to figure out when voting expands.
3) Suing—multiple times—to ensure that Tennesseans don’t have better access to our ballot. Mostly losing in state & federal courts, so how’s that working out for you this year?
4)Testifying b4 US Senate against drop boxes & about how COVID isn’t an excuse for absentee voting.