how we get to a new dawn

Michele Obama exhorts us to DO SOMETHING!! OK, but what can each of us do? Here's what:

Volunteer for a canvass, taking place pretty much every Saturday and Sunday from now until November 5:
    Fox Point / Bayside
    Glendale
    Lakefront
    Shorewood
    Whitefish Bay
    Mequon
    Grafton and Cedarburg
    Jodi Habush Sinykin campaign

If you are physically unable to canvass but would volunteer to drive canvassers through their turfs, send email to Nancy Kaplan. If you can, include the dates you would be available. Shifts run at 9am, 12noon, and 3pm.
Volunteer to write postcards: We're targeting likely Democratic women with a goal of informing them of key candidates and to encourage them to vote. Grassroots North Shore will provide the postcards, names/addresses, stamps, and easy instructions. Send email to Norma Gilson.
Volunteer to make phone calls: We will be following up our initial postcard mailing with phone calls to women voters who lean toward Democratic candidates. We've expanded our mailing target to just under 9,000 voters. Grassroots North Shore will provide names, phone numbers, scripts to use, and brief instructions. To reach such a large number of voters, we will REALLY NEED YOUR HELP. Send email to Nancy Kaplan.
Volunteer to handout voter information at UWM, MIAD, and possibly other colleges and universities in the area. Grassroots North Shore will provide you with flyers and schedule specific days and times with you. Send email to Norma Gilson.
Volunteer to write letters to those Republican women who probably voted for Nikki Haley in our April 2 presidential primary. Grassroots North Shore will provide a printed letter with a space for a hand-written note and a signature line, names and address, envelopes, and stamps. Send email to Nancy Kaplan.
If you can't volunteer for some reason or just because you hate knocking on doors or calling/texting strangers, you can help Grassroots North Shore's efforts to elect Democrats and Progressives by donating to our fund for stamps, postcards, envelopes, printing, and the data that allows us to target our efforts.

Finally, though more in the semi-distant future, WAVE is holding a statewide Emergency Gun Violence Summit at the Baird Center (400 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee) on Thursday, October 10. Register for Wisconsin's largest gun violence prevention event, organized by Forward Latino and the 80% Coalition, a group of nearly 40 advocacy, business, faith-based, and service organizations! WAVE has generously offered supporters of Grassroots North Shore an opportunity to attend the event, including the luncheon, free of charge!

Now to the news: In case you missed Tuesday's ballot access news, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has you covered. In addition to Vice President Harris and the Butternut Berlusconi, the also-rans will include RFK Jr, Jill Stein, Cornel West, and one or two others. According to the MJS article, "the latest Marquette University Law School poll released in early August and before Kennedy dropped out, Vice President Kamala Harris had a two-point lead over Trump when third-party candidates were factored in. Polling for Kennedy has declined to 8% from double digits earlier in the year, and other third-party candidates are polling at 1% or less in Wisconsin."

Third party candidates, frankly, never succeed. But they can cause mischief. In The Guardian, David Daley articulates a solution that respects what third parties represent but also drains the mischief from their effects: "We need a modern fix that recognizes that third parties are here to stay, but also that a nation with a guiding principle of majority rule deserves winners who earn more than 50% of their fellow Americans’ votes. The best solution to the urgent 'spoiler' problem – which we’ve been exhaustingly debating since Ross Perot’s run in 1992 – is ranked-choice voting (RCV)."

Of course there are other, perhaps more reliable, ways of causing electoral mischief. The news from Georgia's Election Board is, for example, concerning since it seems as if it's just the most visible of widespread efforts to delay certifying vote counts in several states in an effort to stymy Congressional certification on January 6, 2025. Here's how Ian Millhiser explains the situation on Vox.com. "The Georgia State Elections Board recently enacted two new rules that seem designed to allow local election officials to sabotage the state’s vote-counting process.... The rules seek to alter the role of local election officials known as superintendents, whose job is to gather the vote tallies from the polling places within their jurisdiction, add up the tallies, and report those numbers to Georgia’s secretary of state. For at least a century, the Georgia Supreme Court has held that this duty is 'purely ministerial' and that these superintendents 'have no right to adjudicate upon the subject of irregularity or fraud' in an election."

Rick Hasen (Gary T. Schwartz Endowed Chair in Law and Professor of Political Science in the UCLA School of Law) will be publishing an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on August 31 titled Why It Will Be Harder for Trump to Challenge This Year’s Election. He's put part of the essay on Election Law Blog, which he curates.

Trump supporters may hope that by tying up some vote counts until Jan. 6—the deadline for announcing an Electoral College winner—they can deny either candidate an Electoral College majority, triggering what some call a “contingent election” under the Constitution’s 12th amendment, with each state’s House delegation casting a single vote. Because Republicans are likely to control more state delegations than Democrats even if Democrats retake the House (the new Congress takes office before the count), this overriding of the Electoral College would likely favor Trump.

But it is unlikely that frivolous attempts to delay certification would prevent a state from submitting its Electoral College votes to Congress in time. State legislatures set certification deadlines, which should override administrative foot-dragging even if sanctioned by state election boards. State courts and federal courts would likely intervene to make election officials do their jobs and prevent disenfranchising a state’s voters from participating in the presidential election.

In addition, under the 2022 Electoral Count Reform Act that Congress passed in response to the 2020 election shenanigans, if a state doesn’t certify its count, Congress must remove that state’s Electoral College votes from the tally of what counts as a majority. So a delay should not trigger a special election in the House to choose the next president.

His full text will be behind the Journal's paywall, but even his excerpt is well worth a read.

Perhaps, like me, you were unaware that the Electoral Count Reform Act basically removes the threat of the so-called "contingent election," a process which would almost certainly anoint Benedict Don-Old. So it is important to know that the Act is "a strong bipartisan bill and major victory for voters’ ability to make their voices heard in future presidential elections" (Campaign Legal Center, February 15, 2024).

And then there's the joy that cometh in the morning! The New York Times opinion section offers Joy Can Do More Than Beat Trump by David French: "After nine years of confronting Donald Trump and facing a MAGA movement that has remade the Republican Party I once belonged to, I believe that fear may be sufficient to beat Trump, but only joy can push MAGA back to the periphery of American life." He goes on to wonder "if we’re leaving the era of the nasty snarl in favor of the broad smile. And it’s not just the Harris surge that’s made me wonder about this." The link above should get you past the paywall and the opinion is also worth a full read.

And on those hopeful signs of a nascent sanity in our political stew, how about a little Randy Rainbow to sing us out: The Lawyer or the Conman.

EVENTS

Wednesday, August 28

Jodi Habush Sinykin WFB Meet and Greet, 5:00 - 7:00pm
TBD
Join Jodi Habush Sinykin and neighbors for a Meet & Greet in Whitefish Bay! Address Upon RSVP to [email protected].

DPOC General Meeting, 7:00 - 8:00pm
1930 Wisconsin Ave, Suite 130, Grafton
NOTE THE DATE CHANGE: Join us at our monthly general meeting, the 3rd Wed of each month at 7 pm at our Grafton Office. Get caught up on the latest local politics while helping us elect people to office. Thanks to Fair Maps, we have an opportunity to elect people to the 22, 23, and 59 Assembly Districts as well as the 8th and 20th Senate Districts. Zoom links for the meeting are sent to paid DPOC members.

Saturday, August 31

Stand for Peace, 12:00 - 1:00pm
Lincoln Memorial/La Fayette Hill
Stand for Peace demonstrates for peace at a different intersection in Milwaukee County every Saturday.

Wednesday, September 4

Astor Street Regulars, 12:00pm
Wisconsin Club, 99 W Wisconsin Ave. Milwaukee
Welcome Astor Street Regulars to this very eventful 2024-25 election year. We start out with the chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, Ben Wikler. He is considered to be the best chair of a state party in the nation. Ben has built the WisDems to an unprecedented level of strength and national recognition as a force for progressive change. Now how will Wikler lead voters in this swing state to vote for Kamala Harris? Will Harris’s political profile appeal to Wisconsin’s swing voters? How has Trump’s selection of JD Vance as his running mate changed the dynamics of the race in Wisconsin? RSVP by Wednesday night, August 28, 2024, by emailing Phyllis Bankier.

Thursday, September 5

Winning by More in 2024, 5:00 - 8:00pm
Sully's, 146 Green Bay Rd, Thiensville
It’s an election season unlike any other. Everything is on the line: our democracy, women’s reproductive freedoms, and human rights to name just a few. Why not join us at our annual gala? We’ll look forward to “Winning More in 24” You’ll leave feeling inspired by our speakers, maybe an auction item or two, and memories of a wonderful meal and engaging conversation You can purchase your ticket here. (Warning - get your ticket(s) early, we sell out each year…and this one will be no exception!)

Saturday, September 7

Stand for Peace, 12:00 - 1:00pm
King and North Ave
Stand for Peace demonstrates for peace at a different intersection in Milwaukee County every Saturday.

Sunday, September 8

GRNS Event: What Kind of Future Do We Want?, 4:30 - 7:00pm
Maslowski Park, 2200 W Bender Rd, Glendale, Glendale
At this pivotal point in our history, we draw together to ensure that democracy is not lost. Christian Nationalism, Project 2025 - these are the hallmarks of the next Trump Presidency. If this is not the future we want, let’s work to prevent it! Gather and Socialize at 4:30; Food at 5:00; Speakers at 5:30. RSVP.

Wednesday, September 11

Neighbor Night with Dana Glasstein, 4:30 - 6:00pm
Heritage Settlement Park, 780 Homestead Trail, Grafton
Meet and Greet your Grafton neighbors and hear more about how Dana Glasstein, Assembly candidate in the NEW 22nd Assembly District will be A Voice for All. Sign up.

Thursday, September 12

Pancakes and Tales of Terror, 9:00am
Shriners Temple, 3000 W@ Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee
Join the League of Progressive Seniors, Souls to the Polls, and SEIU Wisconsin for a free breakfast buffet to discuss the impact that Project 2025 will have on programs that support senior citizens (including Social Security and medical care) ahead of the November election. Plus, hear from expert Colin Seeberger (Center for American Progress, Washington D.C.) to learn more about the issues and what you can do to make a difference!. Sign up. For more information email Karen Royster.

Neighbor Night with Dana Glasstein, 6:30 - 8:00pm
provided upon RSVP
Please join our hosts, Margie Spoerl and Steve Kulick, for a fundraiser to support Dana Glasstein for State Assembly! Dana will fight to protect reproductive freedoms, uphold our democratic principles, fund our public schools, and expand access to affordable healthcare. As a concerned citizen, Dana was a petitioner in the lawsuit that ended the extreme partisan gerrymander in Wisconsin. With fairer maps, we can build a strong majority to ensure that the voices and values of ALL residents in our district can be heard. Sign up.

Thursday, September 12

Save the Date: Oz Dems Annual Fundraising Gala, 5:00 - 8:00pm
Shully's, 146 Green Bay Rd, Thiensville
Here's to Winning More in 2024! The Democratic Party of Ozaukee County invites you to celebrate all the political wins of this past year and to prepare for action for this November at our annual Fall Fundraising Gala. Dine on Shully's cuisine while connecting with people who are moving Ozaukee blue. Hear and be inspired by our speakers including Representative Deb Andraca and our keynote speaker To Be Announced! Your attendance will help elect even more Democrats to office while supporting our local organization! We have an irresistible collection of silent and live auction items to bid on. Sign up.

SAVE THE DATE

Saturday, September 14

Stand for Peace, 12:00 - 1:00pm
95th and Beurleigh
Stand for Peace demonstrates for peace at a different intersection in Milwaukee County every Saturday. This week we are standing with the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

Sunday, September 15

LWV: The International Day of Democracy, 3:00 - 5:00pm
Central United Methodist Church, 639 N 25th St, Milwaukee
The International Day of Democracy, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2007 to promote and uphold democratic principles. The day's goals include:
• Advocating for democracy as a fundamental human right
• Promoting democracy as a key component of effective governance and global peace
• Assessing the global status of democracy
• Mobilizing political will and resources to address global problems
Registration is required. There is no fee.

Wednesday, September 18

DPOC General Meeting, 7:00 - 8:00pm
1930 Wisconsin Ave, Grafton
Join us at our monthly general meeting, typically the 3rd Wed of each month at 7 pm at our Grafton Office. Get caught up on the latest local politics while helping us elect people to office. Thanks to Fair Maps, we have an opportunity to elect people to the 22, 23, and 59 Assembly Districts as well as the 8th and 20th Senate Districts. Zoom links for the meeting are sent to paid DPOC members.

Tuesday, September 24

Port Washington Meet and Greet, 5:00 - 6:30pm
3639 E Norport Dr, Port Washington
Join us for a Port Washington Meet and Greet with our Ozaukee County Candidates:
    •  John Zarbano, 6th Congressional District;
    •  Jody Habush Sinykin, Senate District 8;
    •  Dana Glasstein, Assembly District 22;
    •  Jack Holzman, Assembly District 59.
Contributions always welcome and appreciated. The links above will take you to each candidate's donation page.

Friday, September 27

Neighbor Night with Dana Glasstein, 6:30 - 8:30pm
Mequon (exact address upon RSVP)
Meet and Greet at Jennifer Mackinnon's home in Mequon. Learn about how you can help make the NEW Assembly District 22 Blue on November 5. Sign up.

Thursday, October 10

2024 Emergency Gun Violence Summit, 8:00am -4:00pm
Baird Center, 400 W Wisconsin Ave, Milwaukee
Register for Wisconsin's largest gun violence prevention event, organized by Forward Latino and the 80% Coalition, a group of nearly 40 advocacy, business, faith-based, and service organizations! Come hear from survivors, national and local experts, faith-based leaders, elected officials, and advocates to learn what you can do to be the change we need. These presenters will share proven ways to prevent gun violence, including evidence-based policy reforms and violence intervention strategies. You'll leave the summit knowing how to become an even more effective gun violence prevention advocate. This summit is free for supporters of Grassroots North Shore.