Dear MoveOn member,
Donald Trump's plan to replace the top election officials in battleground states with his own loyalists was on full display last week at his first rally of 2022 in Arizona.
Trump stated outright: "There's a famous statement: 'Sometimes the vote counter is more important than the candidate.'"1
In most states, it's the secretary of state who oversees vote counting and certifies—or decertifies—election results. And the man Trump has endorsed for secretary of state in Arizona, Mark Finchem, took to the stage at Trump's rally, parroting Trump's lies about a stolen election and saying, "With all the evidence we have, the Arizona election should be decertified with cause...."2
Finchem is a GOP state lawmaker who was at the January 6 insurrection, continues to work to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Arizona, and is linked to the Oath Keepers, the white supremacist extremist group whose leaders were charged last week with "seditious conspiracy" related to the January 6 insurrection.3,4
Before now, Trump had never endorsed a secretary of state. Now, he's endorsing loyalists for the position in the battleground states.5 And the risk is grave. The Washington Post describes it this way: "More than any other category of elected official, secretaries of state could be instrumental in overturning the popular vote in their state—an unprecedented move in American history—or take other actions that throw results into question."6
Which is why MoveOn is doing something we've never done in our 23-year history: We're launching a powerful, multimillion-dollar effort to defeat Trump-backed secretaries of state across the country and elect individuals who will count every vote and ensure fair elections.
But we can do this only with your support. Will you chip in $5 a month to defeat Trump-backed secretaries of state and stop a Trump coup?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Trump and his allies have been working methodically to place his supporters in elected roles with oversight of elections at the local and state levels.
A recent Washington Post analysis found that at least 163 Republicans who have embraced Trump's Big Lie of a stolen election are running for statewide positions that would give them authority over the administration of elections, from governor to secretary of state.7
But "the ultimate win" for Trump would be to put in place secretaries of state, because they are the ones who oversee how elections are conducted and sign off on the results.8
Finchem, Trump's hand-picked candidate for secretary of state in Arizona, brought Rudy Giuliani and other Trump attorneys to Phoenix after the 2020 election to claim that Trump's narrow loss in Arizona was fraudulent.9
During his speech, Trump said that Finchem "is a patriot who has fought for our country right from his earliest moments in government. Mark was willing to say what few others had the courage to say."10
John, we cannot allow Trump loyalists to oversee our elections. The very future of our democracy is on the line.
But our resources come from you, our members. And we need your help.
Will you chip in $5 a month to help stop Trump's plot to install his lackeys as elections officials and to safeguard our constitutional democracy?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Thanks for all you do.
–Chris, Erica, Justin, Thad, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "An Arizona Trump rally and voting rights march underscore the fight for democracy," CNN, January 17, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160078?t=6&akid=315346%2E40999114%2E_oEGvX
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. "Trump gives endorsement in Arizona secretary of state race," Associated Press, September 13, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/160079?t=8&akid=315346%2E40999114%2E_oEGvX
5. "How Trump-backed secretary of state candidates would change elections in the United States," The Washington Post, December 1, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/159806?t=10&akid=315346%2E40999114%2E_oEGvX
6. Ibid.
7. "How Republicans became the party of Trump’s election lie after Jan. 6," The Washington Post, January 5, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160080?t=12&akid=315346%2E40999114%2E_oEGvX
8. "How Trump-backed secretary of state candidates would change elections in the United States," The Washington Post, December 1, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/159806?t=14&akid=315346%2E40999114%2E_oEGvX
9. "Trump gives endorsement in Arizona secretary of state race," Associated Press, September 13, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/160079?t=16&akid=315346%2E40999114%2E_oEGvX
10. "An Arizona Trump rally and voting rights march underscore the fight for democracy," CNN, January 17, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/160078?t=18&akid=315346%2E40999114%2E_oEGvX
Want to support MoveOn's work? The GOP is launching an all-out campaign to take down the Democratic majority in Congress and reinstall Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader in 2022. To defeat the GOP, MoveOn is going all-in with TV ads, a nationwide grassroots organizing campaign, and more.
Will you chip in to power our effort to defeat McConnell and the GOP in 2022?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
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