Dear Friend,

The January 6th Committee has uncovered jaw-dropping documents that reveal
how Donald Trump and his lawyers intended to steal the 2020 election.^1

But what's most terrifying is that their plan just might have worked.

Trump's lawyers presented him with a plan for how the obscure 1887
Electoral Count Act could be used to allow Republican-controlled state
legislatures to throw out their states' election results and effectively
declare Donald Trump the winner.^2 They even forged documents that they
sent to the National Archives as part of the plot.^3

The Electoral Count Act needs to be fixed to make it much more difficult
for these tactics to succeed. Even Mitch McConnell last week an openness
to reforming the law, so we have a real chance to get this done.^4 But
Congress won't do anything unless they hear from the American people.

[ [link removed] ]We're running out of time to prevent a potential future Donald Trump
coup attempt. Will you donate $10 to help support Demand
Progress and push to reform the Electoral Count Act?

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your
donation will go through immediately:

[ [link removed] ]Donate $10

[ [link removed] ]Donate $20

[ [link removed] ]Donate $40

[ [link removed] ]Or, donate another amount

The Electoral Count Act has been called "almost unintelligible" by
election law experts.^5 Passed in the wake of the notorious 1876
presidential election that led to the end of Reconstruction and the rise
of Jim Crow in the South, the Electoral Count Act is supposed to set rules
for how votes are counted in presidential elections.

But this law is so badly written and self-contradictory that it's
effectively a ticking time bomb threatening to blow up our Constitution.
And thanks to Trump's 2020 efforts, we know we must assume that bomb will
go off as soon as 2024 unless Congress acts.

Clearly, we need much broader voting rights legislation to stop the GOP's
voter suppression efforts. Spurred on by Trump's claims that the 2020
election was stolen, Republican-controlled state legislatures have passed
34 laws making it harder to vote by shortening early voting, making voting
lines longer, purging voter rolls, and even making it illegal to hand out
food and water to voters waiting in line.

Fixing the Electoral Count Act, along with passing the Freedom to Vote Act
and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, is an essential step
to protecting our democracy from Trump and his allies. It will take a loud
outcry from the public to make it happen in Congress. Since the January 6
insurrection, Demand Progress has mobilized people to send more than
100,000 messages urging these reforms to Congress, including tens of
thousands in support of the Electoral Count Act this month.

In the words of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barton Gellman, "Trump's
next coup has already begun."^6 Demand Progress needs your help to keep
the pressure on, before it's too late.

[ [link removed] ]Will you donate $10?

Thanks for standing with us.

Robert Cruickshank,
Demand Progress

P.S.: Your contributions are what keep us nimble and prepared to take on
important fights like these as they happen. [ [link removed] ]Will you become a monthly
donor to keep our work going?

[ [link removed] ]DONATE

Sources:

1. CNN, "READ: Trump lawyer's full memo on plan for Pence to overturn the
election," [ [link removed] ]September 21, 2021
2. CNN, "Memo shows Trump lawyer's six-step plan for Pence to overturn the
election," [ [link removed] ]September 21, 2021
3. MSNBC, "After 2020, Trump backers forged election docs in three
states," [ [link removed] ]January 11, 2022
4. Politico, "McConnell cracks door to Electoral Count Act reform,"
[ [link removed] ]January 22, 2022
5. The New York Times, "Fearing a Repeat of Jan. 6, Congress Eyes Changes
to Electoral Count Law," [ [link removed] ]December 4, 2021
6. The Atlantic, "Trump’s Next Coup Has Already Begun," [ [link removed] ]December 6,
2021
----------

PAID FOR BY DEMAND PROGRESS (<a href="[link removed]">DemandProgress.org</a>) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Contributions are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Join our online community on <b><a href="[link removed]">Facebook</a></b> or <b><a href="[link removed]">Twitter</a>.</b>

You can unsubscribe from this list at any time: [link removed]