Democrats launch massive legal campaign on voting ahead of 2020

[Gothmog]

I know that we are gearing up in Texas and has hired a voter protection staff at the state party

Link to tweet

As Democrats select their 2020 presidential nominee, a constellation of left-leaning groups is looking ahead, laying groundwork for huge voter turnout in November by filing an avalanche of voting-rights lawsuits against state laws they say suppress participation in elections.
The groups, including state and national party committees as well as outside nonprofits, are spending millions of dollars to fight voter-registration purges, ID requirements and rules regarding signature-matching and ballot order, and they are also hiring voter protection staffers and recruiting and training volunteers in key states.

Democratic donors are flooding the wide-reaching legal effort with millions of dollars not only to help defeat President Donald Trump in 2020 but to affect elections all the way down the ballot — from the Senate and the House to the governorships and state legislative races that will shape redistricting and the next 10 years of state political maps.

“The next decade is really on the line here,” said Patrick Rodenbush, communications director for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. “No matter who we nominate to be president, no matter who wins in the fall, if we don’t get redistricting right, that next president is gonna be hobbled by a gerrymandered House of Representatives and state legislatures around the country to try to block their agenda.”

Republicans capitalized at the state level in the last census-year election, a midterm election bookended by the election and reelection of Barack Obama. In interviews, Democrats cited Obama’s 2008 election as the impetus for a Republican push to enact new restrictions and regulations on voting — ones that often affect Democratic constituencies.

“From 1965 up until 2009, it became relatively easier to vote in the United States,” said Aneesa McMillan, Priorities USA’s strategic communications and voting rights director. “What you saw after the election of Barack Obama were these laws essentially targeting the folks who made up the Obama coalition.

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[Hermit-The-Prog]

1. It's all coming together for one historical battle in November.

[Gothmog]

2. Here is an e-mail from the Texas Democratic Party

I have been volunteering on voter protection issues for a long time

Hi XXXXXXX ,
I've got an announcement the size of Texas, but first I want to introduce myself.
My name is Rose Clouston, and I am the new Voter Protection Director at the Texas Democratic Party. I have spent my career expanding voters' access to the ballot box and in 2020, I wanted nothing more than to dedicate myself to protecting voters in the biggest battleground state.
With that said, I wanted to be the first to tell you:
In partnership with Stacey Abrams' Fair Fight Action, Texas Democrats have launched the most expansive voter protection initiative in Texas history.
We are going to make it easier for folks to vote. Our program includes:
• A full-time voter protection team,
• A year-round voter assistance hotline where voters can get the information they need to register and vote (our dedicated team can be reached at 844-TX-VOTES),
• MyTexasVotes.com our online voter information hub where voters can learn more about voter registration, voter participation, or voter protection,
• A voter protection council made up of hundreds of Democratic volunteers devoted to voter protection efforts,
• A poll-watching program, and more.
We're fighting for you, XXXXXXXXX , because every eligible voter in Texas has the right to participate in our democracy. Now, I have to ask: Can you spread the word on social media?

[guillaumeb]

3. Recommended.

This effort is critical, as is mass mobilization.

I know you are working in Texas. I am canvassing every week in Illinois, and I expect to do more.