Friend, you’re getting this email because I need to know you’re all in to protect our democracy -- both on Election Day, and after.
Right now, we’re just days from an election with huge implications not just for our future -- but for whether we are able to leave a free, fair, and just democracy to the next generation.
You see, Common Cause does not endorse candidates or take sides in elections. We’re only on the side of the people -- and of upholding the idea that voters should be the ones to determine who wins and loses elections, and nobody else.
But no matter your political leanings, right now there are two distinct possibilities (which we are fighting to prevent) that should disquiet every American who loves democracy.
I want to tell you why I’m worried -- but more importantly, I want to tell you what we plan to do about it with your help.
The first bad outcome would be if voter suppression were a decisive, even deciding factor in the outcome of this year’s elections.
You and I both know that there are politicians and partisans who think their path to victory runs through suppressing as many votes as possible -- and letting that strategy be successful would set our democracy back by decades.
So, we’re up against President Trump’s relentless attacks on vote-by-mail, unchecked online disinformation, and old-fashioned voter suppression -- like targeted closures of polling places in majority-Black precincts, or purges of eligible voters from the rolls.
We’ve been fighting back all year -- and with your help, we have mobilized our biggest-ever Election Protection effort. Tens of thousands of volunteers are working at poll sites across the country (practicing social distancing and wearing PPE) -- or at home, where they’re tracking online disinformation and texting voters to help them get their ballots in correctly and on time.
The second, equally concerning possibility, happens after the polls close. Right now, Common Cause is doing all we can to guard against an early, arbitrary shutdown of vote-counting before every ballot (including mail ballots) can be counted.
This is the endgame of President Trump’s repeated, false claims that the election will be illegitimate unless results are declared on Election Night -- which nonpartisan voting experts say is not likely to happen.
Now, he’s riled up his supporters to expect premature results -- and his campaign has set aside $20 million just for voting litigation. So if we don’t take action, there is a real risk of state legislatures -- or the U.S. Supreme Court -- intervening to block all the votes from being counted.
Friend, this outcome would be neither normal nor acceptable in a modern democracy -- and it is going to take all of our utmost effort to make sure it can’t happen.
So, I want you to know that our organizing and litigation teams are preparing to spring into action wherever needed to make sure every vote is counted.
Fortunately, this fight will happen (if it happens) on a state-by-state level, where Common Cause’s presence is strongest. We have active Common Cause state groups in the places most at risk of this kind of meddling -- Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, Georgia, Florida & more -- and we’ve made targeted grassroots investments there to ensure we’re ready for anything.
Why? Because what’s at stake is nothing more than our right to choose our own leaders -- and for each of us to have a say in our future.
Friend, I’m writing not to alarm or discourage you -- because I don’t feel either way right now. I’m writing because I know we can stop any attack on our democracy -- but only if we continue to act with the dedication and intensity that Common Causers like you have shown for this entire unprecedented election year.
In that spirit, one of your fellow supporters has stepped up and agreed to match any and all donations that come in between now and the end of the month.
That’s right. Your contribution will be doubled. Your $50 will become $100. Your contribution of $100 will become $200. Whatever you can give will become TWICE AS MUCH.
Will you help us take advantage of this special matching gift offer? We urgently need your support in these critical final days -- and we’re counting on you to fuel this work >>
We live in a democracy -- which means that voters decide who wins elections. That is a principle that we have fought to defend for our entire 50-year history, and one I am glad to know you will join me to uphold for the next generation.
Thanks for all you do,
Karen Hobert Flynn, President
and the team at Common Cause
