FYI - this is important - Speaker Pelosi and House D leaders are considering cutting short the Aug recess and coming back into session to deal with the unfolding crisis at the U.S. Postal Service. (Meanwhile McConnell recessed the Senate with no action) politico.com/news/2020/08/1… Pelosi, Schumer & other leaders sent important letter to DeJoy last night demanding answers in 7 days to grave questions about sweeping changes he’s making at postal facilities – which are slowing the mail & therefore jeopardize integrity of the election: bit.ly/2CAOJDO

Outrage about Trump’s attack on the USPS is not enough. Here are concrete steps each of us can take to protect our vote and save our democracy. Thread 1/10 Call your senators at 202-224-3121 and tell them they need to get back to work and provide emergency funding for USPS and for states to conduct safe and fair elections — money that was allocated by the House THREE months ago.

TOMORROW: Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on 5th Circuit nominee Cory Wilson. As I said in my letter to senators, Wilson is a far-right firebrand whose record shows he's more suited to serve as a Fox News commentator than federal judge.

Here's why we must #StopWilson: Wilson has repeatedly attacked the Affordable Care Act, which has provided health care coverage to tens of millions of people.

He’s referred to the ACA as “perverse,” “illegitimate,” and “a freedom-infringing mess.” He also opposed Medicaid expansion in Mississippi. #StopWilson

BREAKING: Trump will nominate Justin Walker to the DC Circuit. He was just confirmed to the district court in October.

Walker was rated Not Qualified. He had never tried a case. He's intensely opposed to the ACA. Another anti-health care nominee during a pandemic. It's SHAMEFUL. Remember last month when McConnell flew down to Kentucky with Kavanaugh for the investiture of a new federal judge? That was Justin Walker. That’s how new he is to the bench.

Now Trump wants to reward this unqualified judge with a LIFETIME seat on nation's second highest court.

BREAKING: @civilrightsorg, @LawyersComm, @MALDEF, and @NAACP_LDF urge Congress and ALL state election officials to adopt key policies to ensure both the public’s safety and the orderly conduct of the 2020 primary and general elections in light of the current #COVID19 threat. Election officials must take steps so that remaining primaries & the election in November occur without causing undue risk to public health or disenfranchising any eligible voter.

These recommendations must be adopted to ensure voting in America remains fair, accessible & safe:

BREAKING: @civilrightsorg’s sister org just released a major new voting rights report. The analysis found 1,688 polling place closures in areas with a history of voting discrimination that were formerly covered by Section 5 of the VRA. democracydiverted.org #DemocracyDiverted @civilrightsorg The report also analyzes polling place reductions in the years between the 2014 and 2018 midterm elections. It found 1,173 fewer polling places in 2018 – despite a significant increase in voter turnout. #DemocracyDiverted

Important: The #2020Census is one of the most urgent civil rights issues facing the country — and right now, every person in America has the opportunity to help ensure the count is fair and accurate for all communities. This thread explains how (plus some background). 1/ The Census Bureau has invited the public to comment on the #2020Census, including the questions that will appear on the form. That means the American people can speak directly to the Trump administration about its misguided actions to undermine the integrity of the 2020 count. 2/

Five years ago, five justices on the Supreme Court invalidated key provisions of the Voting Rights Act that for decades protected voters in states with pernicious histories of voting discrimination. Don't forget what happened in the immediate aftermath of this appalling decision:

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Within 24 hours of the decision, the conservative justices prompted a deluge of voter suppression legislation. Texas and Alabama announced plans to plow ahead with restrictive and previously blocked voter-ID laws. Weeks later, N.C. passed its monster voter suppression law.

BREAKING: DOJ docs prove that Kobach and Bannon are behind Census citizenship Q. Kobach emails say he talked to Sec Ross “at the direction of Steve Bannon.” In email, Kobach proposes specific language for the citizenship Q, says it’s essential” and “needs to be added to census.”

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Also in these docs is internal memo from@Chief Scientist at Census Bureau to Sec Ross from Jan 2018: adding citizenship Q “is v costly, harms the quality of census count, and would use substantially less accurate citizenship status data than are available from admin sources.”

For more than 3 decades, we've enacted sentencing policies that are racially and ethnically biased and have contributed to incarceration on a scale that exists nowhere else in the world. Decades of past experience have shown that we cannot punish ourselves out of this crisis. 1/

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Unfortunately, the Trump administration is using the same broken playbook on criminal justice. They're seeking a decidedly punitive approach to America’s drug problem – one that seeks to increase already disproportionate sentences for drug offenses & employ the death penalty. 2/