Excerpts from a time no-so-different as this….
“Congratulations, you’ve been chosen. Freedom is under attack, our future is uncertain. You have been chosen to be here, in this country, right now, because you are capable of bearing this historic load, of standing up for America and our fundamental beliefs in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It’s in you..it’s why you’re here...it’s why you’re reading this...and it’s why I’m writing it. Like it or lump it, you’ve been chosen.
It was in early 2008 when I had my “you’re chosen” moment. At no time prior to 2008 was being a “political activist operative” ever, ever, on my radar. I was (and still am, by the way) a mother, a founding member of our church, a board member on our children’s school PTO, a city volunteer, and a small business owner.
I believed that government was best left to the politicians; they could be relied upon to work on behalf of the American people using the Constitution as a guide. We would pay our taxes, and me and mine would be left alone. But somewhere in the political harum-scarum leading up to the November elections, things changed. I watched as our government made decisions that stood in stark contrast to what I believed were nonnegotiable American ideals. For the first time in my life, I scared of what government had become and I saw myself as an unwitting accomplice. So, I looked at my children, my aging parents, my business, my church, my country, and decided I would do something to help protect them, even if I didn’t know what that something was….
Our little group decided to start small, so we looked for a simple project. There was a need for people to work at the polls. There weren’t enough volunteers. And so we thought, this is perfect. It will be a one-day gig. But what happened that day at the polls was much more than we’d ever bargained for. We saw chronic confusion over proper polling place procedures. We saw blatant disregard for inconvenient details in the election code, but most troubling of all, we saw outright, undeniable election fraud.
We watched as people were allowed to vote without showing any identification; they were just passed down the line of election workers and over to the voting booth without question. Or voters who came in with multiple registration cards and when told that one registration number was shown as having voted during early election period, was quick to pull out a second registration card, to which the election worker would respond “Oh, ok, that one works.”
But the most common sightings were those voters who would plainly state “I don’t remember who I’m supposed to vote for.” The election worker would hop up and say, “I can help you with that”, then off to the voting booth they would go, whereupon the election worker would proceed to instruct the voter who to vote for.
So was born True the Vote and before you can say “free and fair,” what was supposed to be a simple exercise in civic duty, became a full-time avocation.
A few amazing things happened on the way to upholding election integrity in our hometown…
Amazing Thing #1: We learned that not everyone was thrilled with the work we were doing. We’d honestly believed that True the Vote would transcend politics and be seen as an effort of value to all voters. In fact, we’d stumbled into one of the most controversial, emotionally charged subjects there is. Citizens, working within the system, upholding the law, was apparently more than some could bear.
I was sued, threatened, and harassed. Pictures of my home and details about the finances of our family business were posted online. The leader of the New Black Panther Party made public, televised, statements about his intent to have poll workers affiliated with True the Vote thrown out of the polls. All because we’d dared to get involved.
Amazing Thing #2: Even though our work only revealed the tip of the iceberg, people still seemed to grasp the idea that there was an iceberg. Masses of willing volunteers began signing up to help True the Vote. It was as if a dirty little secret had finally been said loudly enough for everyone to hear - election fraud exists, and something must be done about it. People responded, not by passing the buck, but by rolling up their sleeves and helping research the voter rolls and work at the polls.
Amazing Thing #3: Turns out, there were people across the country who’d seen what we’d seen, had many of the same concerns about their own elections, and wanted to work with us to bring True the Vote to their state. Overnight we became a leader in a new national movement towards election integrity.
If you’ve read this far you know that protecting the integrity of our elections is something I believe in passionately. I hope you will be moved to get involved, to volunteer in your community to make your elections a shining example of democracy in action. Our country needs millions, literally millions, more poll workers. Talk with anyone who works in elections, and they will be quick to tell you, good volunteers are hard to come by. And when you’re there, working at the polls, you will be engaged in one of the most meaningful ways you can possibly be involved in your government.
What future do we want for our country? Who among the candidates can be entrusted to carry your convictions and make the kinds of decisions you would make for your family? Our vote is where the rubber meets the road.
But somewhere along the way we started taking a hands-off approach to our elections, becoming spectators in a process that works best only when citizens stay actively engaged. Now we are faced with inaccurate voter registries, polling places without volunteers, and little political will to prosecute perpetrators of election fraud. That is reality. And there is no resolution to the problem without citizens showing back up to work at the polls. If not us, then who?
Friends, we stand at a precipice. We can participate in returning our country to its roots of liberty or we can stand silently and watch as tyranny takes hold. Those are the only two choices we have.
But there is still the choice!
These problems can be resolved. And, if we can shore up our elections, the most fundamental process of government, then there is nothing we can’t accomplish together. Make no mistake, what I’m doing, what I’m asking you to do, is not convenient, it’s not easy, it’s not always fun. It would be so much easier if I hadn’t gotten the wake-up call. But I did, and I think you did, too.”…..
Definitely a back to the future moment. You can read the full piece here.
Better days are ahead, but we must be willing to answer the call, toughen up, and fire walk for a while. We can do this. Stay strong, friends. Hope you’ll join us Monday night at 7p et.
