A Trumpist victory this November 6 could strike a terrible blow to American democracy, and to our ability to survive on this planet.

I will vote…but that clearly is not enough for those of us hoping to avoid a Trump takeover in this country.

So I will also be a poll worker.

And I’ll do whatever I can to make sure our fellow citizens are registered, that we’re allowed to vote, and that our votes will be counted

Two more years of Trump control over both Houses of Congress, the White House, the judiciary and so many state and local governments could easily mean the end of any popular voice in the way our nation is run.

 Should he emerge with extended dominance we can expect an escalated authoritarian assault from which our remaining institutions of democracy may never recover.

Two more years of Trump attacking on our global eco-systems could also easily mark the end of our species’ ability to survive on this planet.

The GOP grip on the reins of power has been established by dubious means at best.  They lost the popular vote for the presidency in both 2000 and 2016. At least six US Senate seats are in Trumpist hands following dubious outcomes in 2014 and 2016.  Throughout the US, Trumpist operatives are working overtime to deny millions of citizens their right to vote. Most (of course) are African-American, Hispanic, young and poor.

In Georgia, a GOP Secretary of State has buried more than 50,000 voter registration forms in an election in which he is running for Governor.  At least 70% are African-Americans’.

In Ohio, another GOP Secretary of State has stripped more than a million registered voters from the registration rolls in an election in which he is running for Lieutenant Governor.  Most are from heavily Democratic urban areas.

In North Dakota, a street address requirement is being used to disenfranchise most Indigenous reservation residents, guaranteeing a Trumpist victory in the US Senate and other races. 

In Arizona, impossible registration requirements aim to guarantee that thousands of Hispanic citizens will not be able to vote.

The list goes on.

The astonishing lack of leadership from the corporate Democrats has brought us to the brink of catastrophe.  However this year’s election turns out, we MUST create a progressive opposition party with the committed, creative, imaginative energy to stop Trump fascism and move us toward social democracy and ecological survival.

Among so much else, the Schumer-Pelosi-Perez Democrats have completely failed to protect our right to vote…and to have those votes reliably counted.

Citizen groups like Progressive Democrats of America are preparing for national phone/internet-based and other conferences for election protection.  PDA board member Mimi Kennedy has published a “CA Voter Self-Defense Manual”  prepping voters to avoid mistakes that shunt them to provisional voting. “The devil sows confusion,” she says. ”And the devil is in the details!

The devil would also dwell in another illegitimate Trump victory in 2018.  It will not be enough to just vote November 6. I will be working at my neighborhood polling station that day.

I hope you’ll do the same.