Fuck 20 and Election Plan Update
Hello all,
It has been a rough couple of weeks here in Louisiana. We send all of our love to those affected by Hurricane Laura, to the family of Trayford Pellerin, and to the Lafayette community. We have a few updates for you:
We launched FUCK TWENTY yesterday.
Donald Trump won Louisiana by 20 points in 2016 and we’re saying fuck that. Fuck Twenty is a campaign to make sure that doesn’t happen again and to get people engaged in the voting process—including with everything else down ballot. This is a time when we cannot be apathetic. We can’t just do the bare minimum and except things to magically get better. This account has long advocated for involvement in local politics, especially at the State level. Fuck Twenty will show our Legislators that we mean business and that we can have enormous impact. Visit the website and take the pledge.
Election Plan Update
As most of you know, Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin presented a v pathetic emergency election plan. According to the Louisiana Illuminator, Under Ardoin’s proposal for the November and December elections, Louisianians who don’t already qualify to vote absentee — such as those who are disabled or over age 65 — can’t qualify for an absentee ballot unless they have written proof from a doctor that they have COVID-19.
Despite its astounding shortcomings, it passed both the House and Senate Committees and is currently out for a vote (by mail lol) for the entire Legislature that is due Sept. 9th. HOWEVER, the Governor has rejected the plan, so the Legislative vote is irrelevant at this point. Due to this stalemate, the fate of our election plan could lie in the hands of the court. There will be a federal hearing on September 8th and 9th regarding the plan, thanks to a lawsuit filed by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund on behalf of the Power Coalition, the Louisiana State Conference of the NAACP and three individuals, and hopefully the court will provide some guidance. As of right now, there aren’t any real calls to action on this specifically, but there are some things you can do! (see below)
Become a Poll Worker
Are you
a Louisiana registered voter who doesn’t need assistance?
able to attend a 1-2 hour training course?
at least 17 years old and a high school senior?
interested in earning a paycheck while serving the community?
Then you can sign up to be a poll worker! Our poll workers tend to be elderly, which makes them high risk. We need young, healthy people to step in and perform their civic duty.
Big thanks to LA Vote By Mail for their work on this
Demand USPS Transparency
**From the September 1st Indivisible New Orleans newsletter via Julie Schwam Harris (it takes a village, y’all):
The dramatic and abrupt changes to the US Postal Service in the lead up to the November general election have led to public outcry and greater scrutiny of the top leadership at the government agency. On Monday, August 24, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and USPS Board Chairman Robert Duncan defended their actions before the House Oversight Committee. Additionally, DeJoy appeared on Friday August 21 before a Senate committee to answer similar questions and issue reassurances that election related mail will not be affected. However, his assurances fall flat in light of the recent discovery that he and five of six Postal Service Board members, including Board Chair Duncan, have close ties to Trump and the GOP.
Chairman Duncan is a director of American Crossroads, a super PAC which has already funneled nearly 2 million to his Trump’s reelection and director of the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC helping Republicans defend their majority in the U.S. Senate. Both have refused requests to provide information about the proceedings of the board or to disclose potential conflicts of interest, citing their status as “special” federal employees. In a recent letter, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote “The public has a right to know if members of the Postal Board of Governors have financial conflicts of interest, and, if so, whether those conflicts might be affecting their actions—or if they might account for the failure to act.”
Demand that your representative call for the USPS board to voluntarily release their complete financial disclosures as soon as possible so that it is clear if there are conflicts at the highest levels of the Post Office that might interfere with a free and fair election.
Three calls to make: Senators Kennedy and Cassidy, and Representative Richmond or Scalise
Senator Bill Cassidy: DC Office: 202-224-5824; Metairie office: 504-838-0130; Baton Rouge: 225-929-7711; Monroe: 318-324-2111; Lake Charles: 337-277-5398; Alexandria: 318-448-7176; Lafayette: 337-261-1400; Shreveport: 318-798-3215
Senator John Kennedy: DC office: 202-224-4623; New Orleans: 504-581-6190; Lafayette: (337) 269-5980; Monroe: (318) 361-1489; Alexandria: (318) 445-2892; Baton Rouge: (225) 926-8033; Shreveport: (318) 670-5192
Because of how Congressional districts are drawn, New Orleans residents have either Richmond or Scalise as their representative. If you don't know who your representative is, you can look it up by entering your home address on the U.S. House of Representatives website.
Representative Cedric Richmond - in DC at (202) 225-6636, and in New Orleans at (504) 288-3777
OR
Representative Steve Scalise - in DC at (202) 225-3015, and in Metairie at (504) 837-1259
Sample script:
Hello. My name is [Your Name] and I'm an active voter from New Orleans, ZIP Code 70118 [Or wherever you’re from].
I'm calling to urge the [ senator / representative ] to call for the Board of Directors of the US Postal Service provide their full and unredacted financial disclosures in light of recent reports that nearly all have close ties to the GOP and Trump campaign. In the interest of conducting a safe election in the midst of a pandemic, it is imperative that USPS leadership be transparent and non-partisan.
Thank you for all your hard work answering phones.
This call is adapted from 5calls.org, which can be viewed here.
Complete The Census
I’m a broken record on this one, but I cannot stress to you the importance of the Census. It is all related and we need YOU to be counted! DO THE CENSUS.
Thank you, again, to all of you for your support and advocacy.
We appreciate you.
Louisianahbrah