Think you’re registered? Think again, Chuck-o. I was at a polling station in Atlanta, filming one Black person after another getting the heave-ho from the poll, told they couldn’t vote, including Christine Jordan, 92-years old in a walker. They literally kicked her out into a storm. Her granddaughter was distraught, trying to speak through her tears.

“And it's just, it's horrible. She's been in this community back when we couldn’t [vote], when they were doing sit-ins, she held civil rights meetings in her home. And today to come out and not be able to vote. And it bothers me. It bothers me to my core.”

[Meet Ms. Jordan and her granddaughter in the film Vigilantes Inc:  America’s New Vote Suppression Hitmen, which you can stream for free.
 
I went to her home—the one the GOP officials said she no longer lived in—and on the wall was a photo of her having dinner with her cousin, Martin Luther King Jr.

The lesson: If they can knock MLK’s cousin off the rolls after 50 years, they can take away YOUR vote, Chuck-co. So, I’m telling you—I’m not asking, I’m telling you—to go to SaveYourVote.org and hit the button at the top that says, “CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION.”



I’ve been screaming bloody murder this year about the MAGA-nauts latest trickery:  self-appointed voter-fraud-hunting vigilantes who are using a Klan tactic from 1946: mass challenges of voters. 

When Georgia removed half a million voters from the rolls for moving from their registration address, Amazon’s location experts gave us the list of 340,134 who had never moved at all. That was no accident.  Just like the Klan Plan of 1946.

If your registration is missing or has a mysterious hold on it, call your county clerk or elections board office and raise hell (politely). Follow their directions. 

Pro tip: In 22 states and DC, you can register on Election Day: including in swing states Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada and, during early voting, North Carolina.  If you find yourself purged, blocked or otherwise jacked out of your vote, demand a registration form, fill it out on the spot, then demand a regular ballot.

And vote early, in person, if you can. If there’s a problem with your registration, don’t accept a “provisional” ballot—more on that below. 



Here’s more pro voting advice:  Don’t go postal. I vote by mail because I’ll be in Georgia for Election Day.  But avoid voting by post if you can.  I calculate that a minimum of mail-in ballots disqualified for such reasons as postage due and signature missing is 7% (one in 14 ballots) but MIT researchers put it far higher. It’s enough to swing the election. The US government puts the rejection rate at “only” 524,000, but even that is a helluva lot given that Joe Biden won the last race by only 44,000 votes.  And the ballot rejection rate is 700% higher for Black voters than white.



Pro tip: If you have to mail in your ballot, follow directions. I know of a school teacher, my mom, whose ballot was disqualified because she didn’t fill in a bubble! A check mark or an “X” instead of filling in a computer-reader darkened bubble can cost you your vote. Sign your name exactly as you did when you registered. 
 

And no no, no, no, don’t accept a “provisional” ballot. If you’ve been purged, challenged or told, “We can’t find your name. Don’t worry, just fill out this provisional ballot and they will check your registration and count your vote.” No, they won’t! If you’re not on the rolls, you’re not on the rolls. Period. Your provisional ballot will be rejected.



Pro advice from law professor Barbara Arnwine, founder of the Transformative Justice Coalition: “Politely reject the provisional ballot.  Demand a “regular” ballot, politely but firmly. Show ID and proof of address (an electric bill will do).

I call provisional ballots “placebo” ballots because they let you think you have voted when you haven’t.  Here’s the ugly truth.  In the last election, as recorded by the US Federal Elections Assistance Commission, 10 million provisional ballots were handed out—and 2.7 million provisional ballots were rejected. 

Oddly, not a single person casting a ballot was charged with illegal voting—though that is a federal crime.  In other words, 2.7 million legal voters’ ballots were thrown in the electoral dumpster.  If it were random, that would not affect an election. But, the chance you will be shunted to a placebo ballot is 300% higher if you’re a voter of color than if you’re white.  (As a former professor of statistics, I can tell you that Hillary Clinton’s victory over Trump was in that ballot dumpster.)

And, if you can’t get your “regular” ballot, and you’re getting hassled at the polling station, call 866-OurVote to reach the flying teams of lawyers who will show up to represent you. These numbers and info are all at SaveYourVote.org. 

At SaveYourVote.org, you can download a PDF of all our advice on how no to get shafted out of your vote.  Grab the link and pass it around. Grab these way-cool images to put on your socials.

Finally, and here’s the easiest part, I’m asking you to grab your popcorn and watch our film, Vigilantes Inc, no charge, gratis.  (Of course, a donation to pay for this free distribution would be mighty appreciated—and very effective in saving America’s f’d-up voting system.)

Most important, I am asking you, pleading with you, send out the link SaveYourVote.org. You won’t get this info in America’s snooze-papers. Tell your friends (and enemies, especially) to check their registration, watch a movie and download the advice to save your vote from the vigilante vipers.  As my colleague Thom Hartmann says, “Tag, YOU’RE it.”




 

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And help us get the word out by donating to our campaign. We are sponsoring showings in targeted communities in swing states. The more you give, the wider we can spread the warning in coordination with our partners in Black Voters Matter Fund, RainbowPUSH, Georgia NAACP, Transformative Justice Coalition and other front-line groups.

Make your tax-deductible donation of $50 or more, and I’ll send you a signed DVD of the film.  For a donation of $500 or $1,000 we'll list you in the screen credits as Co-Producer/Producer in our Vigilantes Inc FREE Stream. Your donation allows us to tell stories US media fears to report—until the Palast Fund leaps on it first.

Note: If you’re in Chicago, I’ll see you at a special showing of Vigilantes tomorrow night (Monday) at 6pm at RainbowPUSH headquarters, with myself and Rev. Jesse Jackson and Santita Jackson answering your questions.

And this Friday, October 25 in Atlanta, I’ll be screening Vigilantes Inc. at 9pm at the Norcross Cultural Center. CK Hoffler, Chairwoman of RainbowPUSH and I, along with voting rights luminaries, will answer your questions.

Finally, next Tuesday, October 29, at 6pmPST/9pmEST Thom Hartmann will be hosting a live broadcast on Free Speech TV and ActTV.