Right to Vote

Q:  What are the tools that are at our disposal in terms of pushing the nomination until after the election?

We’re gonna do everything we can to actually delay this process… We will leave no stone unturned in terms of delaying the process.  Whether or not we will be successful in delaying it beyond the election, I don’t know.  That remains to be seen in the sort of scuffle of those moments.

I will add, though, that one of the most likely scenarios in terms of it being delayed is simply that Republicans can’t muster a quorum because of their exposure to coronavirus.  So one of the most important things that 47 Democrats plus Democratic-leaning Independents can do in the Unite States Senate is to not get coronavirus.

I know that sounds kind of like a silly thing, but we have to be 47 strong so that we can either withhold a quorum or beat them on the floor vote.

Q:  People are listening, they’ve donated… what is the most helpful thing you think people should be directing their energy to right now in the home stretch?  We’ve got 24 days left.  What Senate races do you want them focused on that they may not be focused on?  What do you want them spending their time?

Mike Espy in Mississippi.  This thing is close.  [The appointed incumbent] is not a very strong or energetic campaigner, I think raised 200,000 last quarter.  Mike Espy is surging.  That’s a race that is still under-funded on our side.

MJ Hegar in Texas.  For the same reason.  She is surging.  Biden just dropped 7 million dollars into TX and I think it’s a serious play for TX.  And Beto and the Castro brothers and sort of Texas Democrats are really taking this quite seriously.  And the thing about TX is there’s no point at which we have enough money for Texas, right?

There are other races where they do have enough money.  [Mentions Amy McGrath and Mark Kelly.]  MJ Hegar really doesn’t have enough money.  Those are the two races that I find most intriguing.

I would add Barbara Bollier is very important.

And I’m forgetting the website, but the DSCC has a place to sign up to do Voter Protection…. There is a bottomless need for volunteers who can work the phone and just read from a script and walk people through their voter protection rights.

It might be as simple as [say 3,000 ballots with technical problems with a ballot, and they only have 24 hours to go into the precinct to fix it.  So we need an army of volunteers to call those people and to walk them through the process to “cure” their ballot so their vote is counted and valid.

It’s really worth a listen, but I highly recommend starting at the 30-minute mark and listening to the interview.

Mike Espy, Mississippi Senate

MJ Hegar, Texas Senate

Barbara Bollier, Kansas Senate