Vote NOW… By Hand… On Paper… Be a Poll Worker… And PROTECT THIS ELECTION!!!

-by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman

The Armageddon Election of 2020 is officially underway.

Ballots are in the mail. Vote centers are opening.

Wherever you can, cast your ballot NOW.

Then become a poll worker and/or an  Election Protection volunteer. Do NOT wait until November 3rd, or even late October.

In many states (including California, Nevada and others) if you are a registered voter, you are entitled to get a ballot in the mail. If you don’t, check your registration (on line, or call the election board) and get one sent as soon as possible.

If your ballot does arrive in the mail, check all the boxes on the envelope, see that your signature matches your best ID, that your name and address are perfect, and that required documents are copied and included. Call the election board and/or an Election Protection group to go over the details, and to find out if you can walk in your ballot.

Many sports arenas will be used right up to and/or including election day. Go there if you can.

Wear your mask and social distance.

Bring your envelope and all your ID. Bring (or BE) an election protectionist. Some polling centers offer a choice between voting on paper or by machine. ALWAYS insist on paper. Avoid touchscreen machines at all costs. Also avoid provisional ballots if you can.

Some precincts will offer computerized marking devices. But mark your ballot by hand if you can.

Some may let you personally insert your finished ballot into the digital scanning device that will count them all. DO IT!

If you can’t go in personally, some states may let your ballot be walked in by a family member or an authorized citizen (be careful: requirements vary, and “vote harvesting” is illegal).

If you mail in your ballot, or drop it in a collection box (if there are any), do it NOW.  Make sure that collection box is an authorized receptacle, and not a fake right-wind trash can designed to divert and destroy your vote.

If your ballot gets in early enough, some election workers may actually call you to come in and “cure” errors you might have made on the envelope.

At least a million votes were not counted in 2018 because they came in late. Nearly all 2020 voting will be done on paper ballots and fed into digital scanners.

Even in big numbers, the digital images they create can be read almost immediately, once the last ballot is scanned (the ballots themselves stay for recounts).

Some supervisors will senselessly trash the images once they’re counted, and even these relatively simple machines can be hacked.

But if the scanners are used properly, and are NOT connected to the internet (there’s no reason to connect them), the 2020 threat of long vote-count delays and sinister electronic theft will be far less than with hackable touchscreens.

Meanwhile, Trump’s sabotage is already obvious at the postal service, and in key states like Texas, Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

Trump could still send in troops to destroy ballots, scanners, and more. He will trash any outcome he dislikes.

In the tradition of Hitler’s Brown Shirts and the KKK supported by Trump’s father, armed militias are already preparing to intimidate voters and otherwise assault the democratic process. We must plan for that.

But we can’t let them distract us from FIRST demanding a fair election with a clear mandate.

If you marched for George Floyd, march NOW into your local voting center. Be a poll worker and/or poll monitor to protect and properly certify the votes-- and voters-- as they come to the precincts. The hours are long, but the pay can be good. (Ohio is offering lawyers CLE credit).

Spend at least a few late hours, in teams-- for as long as it takes-- to scan the ballots and/or memory cards that come in on Election Night.

Be there to help process and protect mailed-in and provisional ballots in the following days when Trump claims victory.

Election Protectionists must guarantee that the whole world is watching.

To keep current, join our Monday Grassroots Emergency Election Protection calls.

2020 is already bringing vastly expanded paper balloting, enhanced early and mail-in voting, and a generational shift in poll workers.

But saving our democracy and our ability to survive on this planet demands a protected election and a well-prepared aftermath.

That means ALL OF US!!