PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY: This is a long message about the new political landscape. Please read the whole thing.

Republicans know that voters are coming for them … and they’ll do anything to keep them from the polls.

You just saw it in Wisconsin, where Republican state lawmakers insisted on making voters put their health and the health of others on the line to turn out and cast in-person ballots. Right-wing justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court – in a decision written by Brett Kavanaugh – sided with Republicans against Wisconsin voters.

But guess what? Wisconsin voters DID turn out. And the Right Wing LOST the very election they were trying to rig by suppressing the vote!

People are actually risking their health, and perhaps their lives, to cast their ballots against Trump Republicans, and that sort of motivation on our side is a NIGHTMARE for the GOP. 

So Republicans are doing everything they can to prevent making voting more accessible with simple solutions like expanded vote by mail and more early voting, and they’re trying to create chaos in key battleground states by encouraging their own supporters to rebel against stay at home orders!

That's why at PFAW we’re working to ensure that every eligible voter is able to cast a ballot that counts, by fighting back against voter suppression, by securing billions of dollars for election security funding in coronavirus relief legislation, and with direct voter outreach. But we need to raise another $21,000 in the next 48 hours to do it.

Donate now to renew for 2020 and stop Trump Republicans from using the coronavirus to steal this election – your impact will be TRIPLED!>>

It’s become clear that to Republicans, everything is an opportunity for a power grab – even an unprecedented public health crisis.

In Wisconsin, even with health experts advising people to stay at home and extreme shortages of poll workers due to the pandemic, Republicans would not push back Election Day or expand absentee voting to allow voters to cast their ballots by mail.

That meant forcing voters to violate social distancing and brave severely overcrowded polling places – especially in the state’s Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee, which also has the state’s highest concentration of minority voters. Milwaukee usually has 180 polling places open, but on Election Day earlier this month, there were five.

We’re fighting for voters all across the country, but states like Wisconsin – and Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida, and North Carolina – where the presidential election and some key U.S.  Senate races will be decided, are where Trump Republicans are prioritizing their voter suppression efforts. So we’re working with partners to recruit an army of organizers and volunteers in those states to talk to voters directly about how to cast absentee or mail-in ballots, take advantage of early voting, or generally find the best options for them to ensure their votes are counted based on what voting methods are available in each state.

We’re talking about one-on-one conversations – by phone, text, email, and video chat, during the current social distancing – and real relationship-building, to make sure voters are getting the information and encouragement they need, from people they trust, to request, properly complete, and return their absentee and mail-in ballots or take advantage of the safe and secure in-person voting options available. And with the number of voters we need to reach, this work is happening NOW and needs to KEEP happening all the way through Election Day.

Can you help fund our efforts with a 3X-MATCHED donation today, before the match funds expire?

Triple your impact with a 3X-MATCHED donation immediately>>

Republican voter suppression is nothing new but it’s sickening to see how they’re exploiting the pandemic and taking it to a whole new level to attack democracy and deny Americans their right to vote.

In a crisis like this, people’s true character comes out. For the most part, we’re seeing incredible resilience and resolve from Americans. People are sacrificing like they never have, supporting their neighbors and their communities through this hardship. Many – including People For the American Way members like you – are calling and petitioning Congress to make sure the most vulnerable among us get the resources they need to survive this crisis.

But right-wing Republican politicians and activist leaders are showing their true character too – and it’s not pretty. They’re even using their own supporters as pawns in a deadly game for their own political ends, encouraging them to violate stay at home orders and turn out to crowded in-person protests against the social distancing policies that scientists and public health experts say we need!

Part of Trump’s dismal failure in this crisis has been passing the buck to governors and state officials. But in a shockingly cynical twist, Trump and his far-right allies are using responsible governors’ leadership in this crisis to scapegoat them for the necessary social distancing policies that are painful for voters. Naturally, since this is about holding political power, these Trump Republican efforts, led by the corporate-funded right-wing groups behind the Tea Party, are heavily focused in purple and red states with Democratic governors – in particular, states that could be 2020 battlegrounds.

Trump ended this past week with a series of tweets that NBC News points out are being seen as a call to armed insurrection by some extremists.

Referencing the right-wing protests in Michigan, Minnesota, Virginia, and several other states, Trump tweeted:

“LIBERATE MINNESOTA!”

“LIBERATE MICHIGAN!”

“LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!”

More evidence that Trump and his enablers are willing to do anything, say anything, create chaos, and even endanger American lives to win. This is what we’re up against.

Renew with a 3X-MATCHED donation now to fight back. Your impact will be tripled.>>

Thank you for standing with us in this fight. Together, we’ll defend democracy, save the soul of our country, and restore the American Way … but only together.

– Ben Betz, Digital Director

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THANK YOU for your support of People For the American Way! Radical Right extremists are trying to turn back the clock on a century of advances in civil rights, women’s rights, workers’ rights, the social safety net and more… With Donald Trump in the White House, they’re waging an all-out assault on the fundamental pillars of our country – democracy, checks and balances, a fair and independent judicial branch, and core values like fairness, equality, and justice for all. PFAW is fighting back every day with: ✔ Grassroots organizing ✔ Lobbying and advocacy ✔ Research and education ✔ Voter mobilization ✔ And more… But we can’t do this vital work without the robust grassroots financial support of our members and activists. Please help fund the fight for progress and stand against right-wing extremism with an urgently needed donation to PFAW today>>