Be sure to read last minute Election News as well as Post-Election actions coming up. Please take the Election Defense Pledge. This will make sure that you are notified in the event there is a need for a Nationwide Rapid Response if the Trump Administration makes a move to prevent the certification of the election results or makes some other move to take over our government.
DURING OR AFTER THE ELECTIONS:
Voting during the elections will be safe in Vermont. Defenses are in place to make sure ballots and votes are secure.
Trump is setting the stage to contest the results of the Midterms.
The Trump Administration is trying various methods to take control of the Midterm Elections. There is literally a legion of Congressmembers, Lawyers, and Pro-Democracy Organizations that are prepared to counter these actions. They have been preparing for months. So far, they have been successful in defeating these attempts by the Administration, with the exception of some gerrymandering map changes. The courts have ruled against the Administration time after time.
The Trump Administration DOJ is sending “Election Observers” to Burlington. Why? What will they be doing? It is part of 1000 Election Observers being sent to polling locations across the country. They are looking for any excuse to sow doubt about the integrity of the Elections.
If the Administration should decide to take some action in violation of court orders or Constitutional protections, that is when we have to be ready to act. We cannot know when this might happen or exactly what form it may take. But Indivisible and other organizations are preparing plans for various scenarios.
We need to do two things in advance:
ONE: We need to be able to notify people and send them a CALL TO ACTION with very short lead time. That is why we are asking you to sign up for Rapid Response notifications through the No Kings Election Defense Pledge. Locally, we at Indivisible Champlain Islands will also be communicating with you via email. So, I am asking you to please check your emails from ICI frequently. Especially on Nov. 3 and Nov. 4.
TWO: We need to spread the word to as many people as possible that Trump and his DOJ will be using lies, misinformation and spurious lawsuits and subpoenas to try to convince people that there is some emergency, and they need to intervene in, or take over, the elections. This will not work, if people already know that it is a ploy, and not the truth. Don’t be silent. Warn people that they will try this. Ask people to join our group or sign the NO Kings Election Defense Pledge.
Also on the radar is interference from the tech giants. We have just seen Meta interfere in the Lula campaign in Brazil by blocking accounts of supporters. We saw Meta block the NO Kings account on Instagram for 4.5 hours DURING the No Kings:Vote Early event. We just saw Meta block the “Latinos con Angie” account in Florida DURING the campaign rally with Angie Nixon and AOC this week. I had originally noticed that within hours of Trump’s inauguration, all 3 (FB, X, Instagram) platforms demonstrated some form of blocking of pro-democracy accounts. I assumed it was their way to prove their power and fealty to Trump. Now we see them starting to use it. So be prepared for interference with your Social Media connections and be flexible.
I am also including here, the message that was sent by our friends at Camel’s Hump Indivisible to their members yesterday, on the same topic. They also asked their members to sign the Pledge.
They give a clear explanation of the need to prepare for a rapid nationwide mobilization if Trump attempts to complete a “self-coup” (also called an “auto-coup”). That is a coup, or illegal take-over, of a government by the leader in power, in order to obtain total control, or to remain in power.
This might occur during or right after the election. Or it might occur sometime between the election and Jan. 3, when the new Congress is seated and takes over from this GOP-controlled Congress. Remember, even though the election is in two days, the current Congress stays in power until Jan. 3, 2027. At that time the current House of Representatives ceases to exist, and the Senate swears in new members. (All House members serve a term of 2 years. Therefore, all members of the House have to be elected every two years. In the Senate, only 1/3 of the members are up for election every two years, because they serve for 6 years.)
The result is that we will still be under the control of Trump and the current Congress for 2 months following the election. They could try to pass laws or execute legal action to take over the government during that time. They could also try to appoint new, younger, Supreme Court Justices, if Thomas or Alito agree to step down. It would be up to us to stop such actions.
So please check your email frequently on Tuesday and over the next 2 months. This is how we will keep you informed and how we will call you to action, if necessary.
————————————————————
Here is the message from Camel’s Hump Indivisible to their members:
| An Important Note From Our Protecting Democracy Committee |
| What if they refuse to acknowledge the election results? Many have asked what our plans are in case of election chaos. We hope the election goes smoothly, but what if it doesn’t? What we can tell you is that Vermont’s Indivisible groups, national Indivisible and other organizing groups like the ACLU, the May Day Coalition and 50501 are not sitting on their hands waiting to see what happens. They are strategizing actions to take under a wide variety of scenarios. What all of these strategies require is a nimble response by massive numbers of people. They cannot tell us their precise plans because we don’t know exactly what will happen and where. And they don’t want to tip their hand. But what is clear is that we need to be ready to act when the call comes. Next week will be historic. The vote totals need to be huge. This might be the referendum we have been waiting for. And the real test will be post-election:· What if they refuse to acknowledge the results?· Are we…are you ready?· Are you ready to march in the streets?· Are you ready to jump on a bus to New York, or Boston, or DC for mass protests?· Can you commit to NO WORK, NO SCHOOL, NO SHOPPING for days or longer? Not everyone will be able to do everything, but we all need to do something. And we all need to make our own plans to be ready. What we have learned is that our democracy is fragile. We are now at an inflection point. If we truly want democracy in this country, we must be willing to stand up for it. What that looks like is mass nonviolent action on an unprecedented scale. Our commitment to you is that we will monitor the calls for action. Expect us to reach out to you with an urgent call to action next week…or the following week…or sometime soon. The election itself is just one step. What happens after could be even more significant. Next week, if you haven’t done so already, vote like your country depends on it. Because it does. Make your own plans about what you need to do to prepare for mass action. And look for communications from us to let you know what the plan is. We won’t let you down. |
VOTE!
You still have a couple of days left to make a difference. Make sure your vote counts. Vote now or on Election Day, but be sure you vote.
Make some time to work on a phone bank. You can help cure ballots for people who have been unjustly purged from voter rolls or who made a technical error on their mail in ballot. You can encourage “sometimes” voters to make sure this is one of those times! You have never done phone banking? Now’s the time! They will show you how. See opportunities in our newsletter.
The voters will determine if there is a “Blue Wave”. But there are literally so many Senate races that are now “toss up” or “lean left”, that we could possibly end up with 55+ seats in the Senate. Or not. It all depends on who actually comes out to vote. It depends on us.
“Now’s the time, and sharp’s the action!”
Marilyn Lagrow
“Of the People, By the People, For the People”
Indivisible Champlain Islands