What if…?

From folks who know what they’re doing:

Our democracy is being tested. Our behavior in the coming weeks will make a great deal of difference.That’s why we’re glad to announce our new Action Center — offering actions over the next several weeks to maximize our chances to avoid a coup.The Action Center is an extension of our Pledge for Democracy. It’s the practical application of the pledge with smart, strategic actions — ones we believe can make a difference. Here are the four parts of the pledge and action steps for each: 1. We will vote. This is the first step. If you don’t have a plan to vote yet, get a plan with WhenWeAllVote.org or the million emails, texts, or ads you’ve been getting. 2. We will refuse to accept election results until all the votes are counted.After the election, Trump may tweet whatever he tweets. But don’t get distracted — he doesn’t determine the election results. It starts with counting the votes. Until very recently, most people in the U.S. would have said that a coup is very unlikely in the United States. Now more people see there might not be a peaceful transition of power this election. To help get votes counted here are three actions: — Help combat people’s fear at the polls so people show up and vote. Sign-up to document intimidation and help stop disinformation spreading by joining Election Defenders. — Encourage election officials to do their jobs. Sign a petition or call your local elections officials to encourage them to do their job without interference. We need them to know we’ll back them up if they have to stand up to threats. — We have to keep saying “Count Every Vote” — and that includes pressuring politicians to promise to uphold that value. A group called Hold the Line created a helpful guide and trainings to start a pressure campaign — it’s not too late to start.  3. We will nonviolently take to the streets if a coup is attempted. All the actions above assert the integrity of the election. But we may still have to march in the streets or use other means of civil disobedience. For now, we think there’s enough “coup-y” behavior that we’re urging people to join with Protect the Results and others in national marches on November 4 and 7. We’re not saying it’s a coup — we’re continuing the message “Count every vote.” These marches are a way to remind our country that we’re watching — and to prime us up for further nonviolent escalation that we may have to take. 4. If we need to, we will shut down this country to protect the integrity of the democratic process. We don’t have one action plan yet because we need to be flexible to see what happens. Our founder Daniel Hunter has written a visionary article describing what we might have to do afterwards. He urges us to make central mass tactics like strikes and consumer boycotts, which are tangible, direct threats to a coup attempt. As you can see, there are a range of actions. Some are low-risk, others higher-risk; some from your home, others in the streets. Everyone can play a role. And, of course, these aren’t the only actions you can take. As the situation unfolds you can count on us to keep the Action Center on our website up-to-date. We’re here for one another — helping our country Choose Democracy.Together,The Choose Democracy Team PS: We have fifteen small grants available for illustrators, designers, and artists to design protest posters for the upcoming mobilizations. Find more details and application here. PPS: We have gotten a ton of incredible press the last few weeks which has helped us get the word out. The New Yorker managed to fit chunks of our training into an article form (along with The Boston Globe, BuzzFeed, and many more). We also just released this video by a writer for the Hunger Games.  Sent via Action Network, a free online toolset anyone can use to organize. Click here to sign up and get started building an email list and creating online actions today. Action Network is an open platform that empowers individuals and groups to organize for progressive causes. We encourage responsible activism, and do not support using the platform to take unlawful or other improper action. We do not control or endorse the conduct of users and make no representations of any kind about them.You can unsubscribe or update your email address or change your name and address by changing your subscription preferences here.