Drive voters to the polls!

October 31, 2024

Drive voters to the polls! Ignore the noise. Don’t fret over every bump in the road. Don’t over-interpret data that is not yet complete. Yes, we are all anxious. Incessant worrying will not tease answers out of complicated scenarios freighted with variables we cannot control. Let’s focus on what we can control: Driving voters to the poll.

Trump's hate-fest at Madison Square Garden continues to dominate the political narrative, causing leaders in the Puerto Rican community to continue their harsh criticism of Trump. A popular Puerto Rican entertainer, Nicky Jam, who appeared at the Republican convention, withdrew his endorsement of Trump. A leading newspaper in Puerto Rico published an op-ed that endorsed Kamala Harris and criticized Trump's contentious history with Puerto Rico:

Trump has for years maintained a discourse of contempt and misinformation against the island that reveals an obsession and disdain for a people who do not have the power of the vote to defend themselves, since the three million American citizens who live in Puerto Rico cannot vote in the presidential elections. However, the other five million who live in the United States, whom they also labeled as trash, can vote.

Many readers were concerned about Joe Biden’s garbled attempt to condemn the offensive remarks by the comedian at the Madison Square Garden rally. Republicans and much of the political media wrongly claimed that Biden said Trump's supporters were “garbage.” Biden said no such thing. A review of the transcript and a fair reader of Biden’s comments taken as a whole show that the Biden was condemning the comments by the comedian—not Trump's supporters.

The transcript released by the White House shows the following statement by Biden:

And just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a 'floating island of garbage.' Well, let me tell you something. I don't -- I -- I don't know the Puerto Rican that -- that I know -- or a Puerto Rico, where I'm fr- -- in my home state of Delaware, they're good, decent, honorable people. The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter's -- his -- his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American. It's totally contrary to everything we've done, everything we've been.

Trump and his media team will not be deterred by the truth. They will claim that Biden said Trump's supporters are garbage. No matter. The Biden gaffe will blow over, but the offensive comments about Puerto Rico will not. Indeed, Trump has doubled down on his comments by calling the MSG rally “beautiful” and “filled with love.”

Biden’s alleged comments did not target a specific nationality or ethnicity. Trump's did—and are being taken personally by Puerto Ricans across the country. Moreover, Biden addressed and clarified his comments through a White House statement.

And Kamala Harris distanced herself from any implication that she viewed Trump's supporters negatively. In a Wednesday speech in North Carolina, Kamala Harris said,

Unlike Donald Trump, I don't believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail. I'll give them a seat at the table.

Vice President Harris gave two speeches on Wednesday. Her remarks in Wisconsin are here: Kamala Harris in Wisconsin. Her comments in North Carolina are here: Kamala Harris in North Carolina. With two speeches per day, Kamala Harris is relying on her stump speech.

Meanwhile, Trump chose to answer questions while posing in a garbage truck—a reminder of the “floating island of garbage” comment at the MSG rally. A reporter asked Trump if owed Puerto Rico an apology over the remarks by “the comedian.” Trump refused to issue an apology, and proceeded to issue a string of lies that no one believes—especially Puerto Ricans who remember Trump abandoned Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Maria and Beryl. See YouTube, Trump speaks to reporters from garbage truck.

In short, Trump has hurt his prospects by welcoming hate speech at his Madison Square Garden rally and Kamala Harris’s disciplined approach has allowed her to benefit from Trump's exposition of the ugly core of MAGA extremism. As always, we have every reason to be hopeful but no reason to be complacent!

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Reactionary Majority of US Supreme Court upholds Virginia voter purge

On Wednesday, the reactionary majority of the US Supreme Court lifted a stay issued by the federal district court that enjoined efforts by Virginia to purge its voter rolls of alleged non-citizens. The action by the court is both a disgrace and an outrage. But the order is unlikely to affect the 2024 presidential election. The controversy involved about 1,600 voters. Voters who believe they were wrongly removed from the rolls can submit a provisional ballot (which will be subject to a challenge in the context of a due process hearing under state law).

The brief order signed by six justices offered no rational for reversing a stay issued by the district court and affirmed by the Court of Appeals. But the effect of the order lifting the stay violates the Supreme Court’s own doctrine of not changing the status quo prior to an election. It also seems to violate the National Voter Registration Act. See Mark Joseph Stern in Slate, U.S. presidential election: The Supreme Court just carved an outrageous loophole into a major voting rights law.

Per Stern, the Supreme Court’s order lifting the stay authorizes

a clear violation of federal law. A federal statute, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, outlawed any state “program” that “systematically” removes “ineligible voters from the official lists of eligible voters” starting 90 days before a federal election. Congress enacted the statute in recognition of the obvious fact that these purges often caught up eligible voters, as well, creating confusion and threatening civil rights. Nonetheless, Youngkin issued an executive order exactly 90 days before the Nov. 5 election mandating a daily set of voter purges.

Stern’s article contains additional important details for those interested. Here’s the point: Whenever the reactionary majority is faced with an opportunity to protect voter’s rights or bless schemes to suppress those rights, the Roberts Court blesses voter suppression.

The usually reserved Norman Ornstein (contributing editor of The Atlantic), wrote

At least five utterly lawless partisan hacks on the Supreme Court. Rulings that have nothing to do with law or precedent, just giving Trumpists like Youngkin a free hand. The Roberts Court is an utter disgrace. And it does not bode well for the aftermath of this election.

Ornstein expresses many people's views: They do not trust the Court to follow the law or precedent when faced with election disputes after Election Day. Correction: They do not trust the Court to follow the law or precedent, period.

That is why it is imperative that we “run up the score” against Trump to reduce the reactionary majority’s margin for inserting itself into the outcome of the election. The order issued today will have a small impact that can be corrected by voters who are citizens. But the fact that the Court seems always to rule against the most fundamental right of all is troubling.

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Sigh. . . Another reminder to read the Constitution and text of statutes when explaining Mike Johnson’s plot to overturn the election

I read two articles today that explained how Speaker Mike Johnson will overturn the election by having the House “refuse to certify” the election or “vote to reject” slates of electors. I am not going to call out the authors by name because their intentions are good. But in both instances, their analyses were flawed because they did not accurately account for the Constitution or the Electoral Count Reform Act.

The central flaw in the “Mike Johnson will overturn the election” theory is that Mike Johnson will likely not be Speaker of the House on January 6, 2025. Moreover, as I have explained several times, the House does not “certify” the election.

The following timeline—taken from the Constitution and relevant statutes and rules—sets forth the exact sequence of events from Election Day up through the declaration of the winner of the electoral vote on January 6, 2025. The sequence below almost always answers the misguided statements that “Mike Johnson will overturn the election” because “the House will refuse to certify the election.”

• Dec. 11: Governors send “certificates for ascertainment” identifying electors selected by popular vote

• Dec. 17: Electors identified in “certificates of ascertainment” meet to cast their ballots

• Jan. 03 at 11:59: Current Congress (118th) ends. Mike Johnson is no longer Speaker

• Jan. 03 at 12:00 Noon: The Clerk of the House swears in all newly elected Representatives in a mass ceremony.

• Jan. 03 at 12:01 p.m. The newly sworn in Representatives elect a new Speaker.

• Jan. 06: Kamala Harris presides over a joint session of Congress. The electoral ballots are opened, read aloud, and tallied. Kamala Harris announces the person elected president (so long as that person has a “majority of the electors” appointed.

The only detail missing from the above timeline is that ballots of electors can be objected to on the following grounds only:

• (a)  the electors of the State were not lawfully certified under a certificate of ascertainment, or

• (b)  the vote of one or more electors has not been regularly given.

For an objection to be heard, 20% of both chambers must agree to hear the objection.

For an objection to be sustained, a majority of both chambers must vote to sustain the objection.

Note that it is not a ground for objection that the state legislature has appointed a competing slate of electors or that someone alleges the underlying popular vote was tainted by fraud.

Note that Mike Johnson will not likely be Speaker on Jan. 06, 2025. And even if he is, he does not have the unilateral ability to reject electoral ballots; a majority of the Senate must also sustain an objection.

So, next time someone tries to tell you that “Mike Johnson” plans to overturn the vote, remember that Mike Johnson will likely be a member of the House and nothing more on January 6, 2025.

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Opportunities for Reader Engagement

Watch an Academy Award-nominated short film about a young single mother seeking healthcare for an urgent and necessary abortion

Majic Ink Productions and Level Forward announced that Nazrin Choudhury’s compelling Academy Award® nominated short film, Red, White and Blue, is available for free on YouTube through election. Starring Brittany Snow and Juliet Donenfeld, and executive produced by Samantha Bee, the powerful and timely story follows a young, single mother from Arkansas who is forced to cross state lines in search of a critically urgent and necessary abortion. The film is 22 minutes and well worth your time. Please use this link to view the film. 

Please share the film with friends, family and anyone in your life who might be on the fence about who to vote for or whether or not to VOTE. This moving film has the power to can change hearts and minds. 

Jane Fonda’s review: "Rarely have I seen a film with the power to bring people together around our common humanity as effectively as Red, White and Blue. This is a film for right now, and we need it to be seen urgently by as many people as possible."

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Concluding Thoughts

I am hearing positive anecdotes from readers across the country who are serving as poll workers, poll greeters, line warmers etc. Most readers say that they are seeing greater turnout and are hearing from groups of voters who give them hope: Republicans voting for a Democrat for the first time in their lives; people voting for the first time, ever; and Republicans looking for Harris-Walz yard signs!

Anecdotes are not data; and data are not votes. But the anecdotes being reported by people on the ground may be more telling than all the polls put together!

So, let’s close out this election with confidence and joy, knowing that we have left nothing on the field! I am proud of all of you!

Talk to you, tomorrow!

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Daily Dose of Perspective

The image below is of the Triangulum Galaxy (M33), which is 2.7 million light years from Earth. It contains 40 billion stars and is 61,000 light years in diameter. The galaxy was high overhead when I captured this image—a condition that results in brighter, clearer images (because the camera is “looking through” less atmosphere than is the case of objects near the horizon).

Enjoy!