Yes. We. Can.

Si Se Puede (Yes we can) 

~ Dolores Huerta said it first!

Happy Thursday, Activists!

We hope you've had a good week so far.  And yes, we sure can win this election and beyond if we keep working at it!  You can see last Friday's newsletter here. And if you can, do one of the actions on this long list to help protect our vote.

You may recall that the subject of Friday's newsletter was "Too Big To Rig" and today we have three perfect examples of two points.  First, when the election margins are so big, the autocrat will likely not try to subvert them.  And second, how the grassroots can inspire those margins.  Bottom line, we can reduce the chance of post-election shenanigans with a bigger margin of victory. 

1)  In April, a pro-democracy coalition in Hungary ousted Viktor Orbán by a supermajority on record turnout, after 16 years in power.  He conceded the race election night. 

2)  On Sunday, a grassroots movement, the Student List, in Serbia beat Aleksandar Vučić, the Putin-favored strongman who had run the country for 14 years.  The winner won an outright majority on the highest turnout in more than 30 years, and Vučić conceded the same night.

3)  And the same day in Brazil, Lula upended expectations to defeat Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the imprisoned former president Jair Bolsonaro.  At first, Flávio Bolsonaro refused to accept the result but then he fled to Miami with a visa from the Trump regime. 

Authoritarians will always try to sabotage a close election. A blowout leaves them nothing to work with.

In all three countries, mass grassroots movements organized, mobilized, and interrupted politics as usual.  Hungary had 2,500 semi-autonomous local “islands” organizing against Orbánism. Serbia’s democratic victory was the product of a youth-led movement. In Brazil, a pro-democracy movement fought back against anti-democratic tech giants, including a cross-country pushback against Zuckerberg’s Meta.

So you can see where our efforts fit in and are necessary.

MORE ON PROTECTING THE VOTE

Trump and the Republicans know they are losing, so they are resorting to desperate attempts to scare people away from the polls and to prevent the votes from counting.  So what should we do?  We have plans to stop them!  We are preparing to publicly respond whenever we see attempts to interfere with the rights of voters to cast their ballots or interfere with the count after the election. Our vigilance will go until January when all elected officials are properly seated in Washington, D.C.  

We will respond whenever something happens that we need to respond to and with whatever the appropriate action is.  So stay tuned and stay vigilant.  Watch this space!

More ways you can protect the vote right now:

Make Voter protection calls with VoPro Pros:  Call voters in key states like Nevada, Iowa, Ohio, and more. Shifts available most days from now through Nov 12th

Get a ride to the polls if you or a friend needs it.  Do you or someone you know need a ride to vote at the polls?  Sign up with the group Drive Your Ballot.  They are driving Philadelphia voters to the polls.  Go here and you can either sign up to be driven or you can sign up to be a volunteer driver.

AND WHAT ABOUT ON ELECTION DAY

Here is the Election Protection Hotline number - 866-687-8683 (866-OUR-VOTE).  Keep it handy.  It is THE national go-to for state-specific voting information, help if you’re facing an issue, or to report anything that impacts the vote, from a polling site opening late to major disruptions. When in doubt, call the Hotline.

AND WHAT ABOUT AFTER THE ELECTION

JOIN IN NO KINGS MARCHES IF THEY ARE NEEDED

If there are major attempts to disrupt or subvert the election, the No Kings movement stands ready to mobilize in response.  Americans will not be intimidated and we will not cede our political power to the people who got us into this mess. 

Tell your friends to sign up for this newsletter so they will stay informed and receive the call to action. 

Pledge to mobilize to protect the election results:

Whether it’s ten people or a hundred thousand, communities across the country will stand together in peaceful, united defense of our democracy through sustained mass mobilization. 

To get ready in advance, sign the No Kings pledge now to get the information and to attend a mobilization in our community if a national rapid response is needed.  

Sign up here to pledge to mobilize if the need arises.  

YOUR ELECTION INFORMATION

Bank Your Vote Early So You Don't Worry About It 

Voting early is one of the most powerful methods we have to combat voter suppression, protect our ballots, and prevent in-person subversion or intimidation on Election Day.  Let's get to it!  And tell three friends they should vote early too.

The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot was Tuesday.  But if you already have the ballot, fill it out and and take it to a drop box asap.  It's too late to mail it. 

You can make sure your mail-in ballot was submitted correctly. 

Here is the list of Philadelphia mail-in ballots that need to be correctedhttps://vote.phila.gov/media/2026_General_Election_Deficiency_List.pdf. It was updated yesterday, October 26.  If your ballot needs to be corrected, you can go here to see how you can get it corrected. 

Put simply, go to either City Hall or a Satellite Election Office and ask for a new ballot and fill it out right there and drop it in the drop box - by 8:00 pm on Election Day. 

Election Day:  Tuesday, November 3rd.  Polls are open from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm.  If you're in line by 8:00 you can still vote.  Your mail-in ballots must be received by the Election Board by 8:00 too.

Find your ballot drop box here.

Track your mail-in ballot here.

JOIN "WHAT'S THE PLAN" THIS AFTERNOON

WITH SPECIAL GUEST ABDUL EL-SAYED

Join Indivisible co-executive directors Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin for a special segment with Abdul El-Sayed, Democratic candidate for Senate in Michigan.

When:  TODAY 3:00 pm

Where:  Zoom

Sign up here.

PHONE BANKING - THESE ARE IMPORTANT! 

You can break out of your comfort zone and talk to some voters to make sure they are ready to elect a great candidate.  Let's take back Congress!

Phone Bank for Sherrod Brown in Ohio. Let's Flip the Senate. 

When:  This Sunday November 1, 6:00 pm

Where:  Zoom

Sign up here.

TODAY, Thursday, October 29 at 6:30pm. Join the Indivisible phone bank for James Talarico (TX-Sen), Katy Padilla Stout (TX-23), and Johnny Garcia (TX-35).

TOMORROW October 30, 5:30 pm - Join an Indivisible phone bank for Troy Jackson and Matt Dunlap. 

This Saturday, October 31 at 1:00 pm: Join a combined Georgia and Arkansas phone bank.

Sunday, November 1 at 1:00 pm Join Indivisible and Fated States to call Michigan voters in support of Abdul El-Sayed

AND

Sunday, November 1, 4:00 pm: Join the Indivisible phone bank for Mary Peltola (AK-Sen) and Abdul El-Sayed (MI-Sen), William Lawrence (MI-07), and Christina Hines (MI-10).

Monday, November 2, 5:30 pm: Join Indivisible to make calls for James Talarico (TX-Sen); Don Davis (NC-01) and Jamie Ager (NC-11); Sherrod Brown (OH-Sen), Brian Poindexter (OH-07), and Don Leonard (OH-15); and Dr. Aisha Wahab (CA-14) and Randy Villegas (CA-22).

Tuesday, November 3 starting at 1:00 pm: Join Indivisible's Election Day phone bank to call voters in our most hotly contested and battleground races. They'll share more about specific states and districts when you log on.

Call in PA.  Join Turn PA Blue and make calls all over Pennsylvania.  Several days per week so take your pick!  Sign up here.

CANVASS AND TALK TO VOTERS

Let's flip some state Senate seats!   You can go to Bensalem to canvass for Eileen Albillar, who is running for state Senate. 

When: This Sunday, 10:15 - 2:00 (including drive time). The canvass starts at 11:00. 

Where: Location to be provided once you sign up.

Sign up here to canvass this Sunday in Bensalem. It's only a 30-minute drive from center city and we have a car pool! We do not have a carpool this time.

NEW LOCATION AND TIME: Join us on the bus this Sunday!  We're partnering with Swing Left to canvass on Sunday.  BUT the location and time have changed.  Instead of going to PA-07 we'll be going to PA-10 (to oust Scott Perry!).  AND, we'll be leaving at 8:30 am (an hour earlier but it's daylight savings morning so it will feel like 9:30).  You don’t need to be a policy expert - just a good listener!

Where:  Same meeting place!  Near William H. Gray III 30th St. Station, John F Kennedy Boulevard & North 30th Street. 

When:  Sunday, November 1, 8:30 am

Sign up here.  

CALL TO ACTION

You know that during No Kings, the coalition’s Instagram page was hidden and administrators were locked out for hours. Meta offered only weak excuses.  But we know this is how they roll - only throttle the accounts of anti-Trump campaigns. 

Last week: Brazil's top electoral court ordered Meta not to throttle reach, restrict searches, or remove posts in ways that would benefit the right-wing authoritarian in the upcoming national elections.  And on Sunday they were at it again.  

Meta’s history of undermining democracy and capitulating to Trump only underlines the urgency of this moment -- our MoCs must immediately take action to investigate Meta and protect our elections from Big Tech interference.

Demand our Members of Congress investigate Meta's suspicious takedown of the No Kings coalition's Instagram account and wider trend of silencing opposition organizations and candidates.

Here are the contacts to call and write:

Sen. McCormick – Phila office 215-405-9660; D.C. office 202-224-6324; email link

Sen. Fetterman – Phila office 215-241-1090; D.C. 202-224-4254; email link

For outside PA:  Find your senators’ phone numbers and emails at this link

Rep. Evans – D.C. 202-225-4001; Phila. office (215) 276-0340; email link

Rep. Boyle – D.C. office 202-225-6111; Phila office 215-335-3355; email link

Rep. Scanlon -- D.C. office 202-225-2011; Chester office (610) 626-2020; email link

Outside Philadelphia?  Find your Representative here.

And A Few More Things:

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