While we’ve been preserving the pillars of our democracy and fighting for the future that we need and deserve; Trump and his enablers have been attacking the democratic process with voter suppression, intimidation and other schemes to undermine the will of the people.
That’s why we are going to keep showing up and keep supporting each other until the people swear in the new government. Since you’re in the DC Area, I wanted to invite you to join ShutDownDC in the streets to hold them all accountable and shut down any attempt to disrupt the election or stop the vote count!
On November 3rd, after you vote, volunteer at the polls, and get out the vote, come to Black Lives Matter Plaza.
We’re going to start this next phase of the election cycle in the streets. We’ll have GoGo bands, salsa dancers, artists, cultural workers, and much more. We’ll also be watching the election results coming in on big screens. Votes will still be coming in, so this will (probably) not be the time we need to create disruption – yet. But we’ll be together and in a good place mentally and physically to respond to whatever might happen.
This has been a really long and dark era so we’re going to be together to process our feelings of hope, anger, fear and exhaustion as a community. Regardless of the results, election-night programming will probably wrap up around midnight so we can be energized and ready to hit the streets again on the 4th.
This is a very fluid time and logistics could change so please make sure to text DEMOCRACY to 88202 for the latest updates.
I’ve been pretty quiet here the last few weeks, but with less than a week until election day I wanted to post a preview and some updates about what comes next. Specifically what to watch for, and how to prepare in the event that Trump tries to dispute the election results or stage a coup to stay in power.
Millions of Americans have voted already. And millions more are watching uncertainly – having seen numerousnewsreports that Donald Trump may not accept the election results.
With this in mind, and given that this blog was itself created in part as a response to the crisis created by Trump’s 2016 election, it makes sense to be prepared for a crisis on and just-after election day. We sincerely hope this information will be unnecessary, but if you’re wondering how to respond – peacefully, forcefully, using digitally-backed direct action methods – we believe you will find these resources useful.
Key dates and principles
No matter where you live, participating in and securing a fair democratic outcome is every citizen’s right, and duty. In usual times, this just means educating yourself on the issues, voting, and paying attention to the results. These are not ordinary times. So what to watch out for may be more complicated, and suggests that a little extra reading and reearch may be helpful.
Election Day: In a close election, we are unlikely to know which candidate won on election night.
NOV 4-12
The Count This is the window where we should expect conflicting reports of who has one, and a flurry of legal challenges in swing states, especially MI, WI, GA, AZ, NC, and FL. This is also the initial time where we expect to need citizens to take to the streets and demand that every ballot be counted, and that no winner is declared until all votes are tabulated.
DEC 8
The “Safe Harbor” Deadline: States must resolve disputes over which ballots to count and report final vote totals or risk their Electoral College votes not being counted by Congress.
DEC 14
Deadline for Governors to Report Election Results to Congress: In each state, the governor must send a “certificate of ascertainment” to Congress reporting which candidate won the state and which slate of electors has been appointed to the Electoral College. The Electoral College Meets:In each state, the winning candidate’s slate of pledged electors meet, cast their votes, and send a record of their votes to Congress.
JAN 3
Start of the 117th Congress: All newly elected or reelected senators and representatives are sworn in.
JAN 6
Congress Counts Electoral College Votes: Congress convenes in a joint session held in the House chambers to count Electoral College votes and choose the next president. Note that in a contested election, the House awards 1 vote per state delegation, not one vote per member. Since Republicans control more state delegations, this opens the possibility of the House voting to install Donald Trump, even if he did not get the most votes.
JAN 20
Inauguration Day: The newly-elected President is sworn in. If Congress hasn’t chosen a new president, the newly-elected Vice President is sworn in as the acting president. If Congress hasn’t chosen a new Vice President, the Speaker of the House is sworn in as the acting president.
To prepare for Nov. 3 and beyond, we wanted to share some resources and opportunities to take action. Please make use of these, share widely with your members and neighbors, and be prepared to jump in to protect our democracy, support the movement, and build our power for the fights to come.
If you’re in the DC area, our old friends ShutDown DC are organizing trainings and actions ahead through Nov. 3 and beyond. Find a list of events and actions here: ShutDownDC.org/calendar
United we Dream and the Movement for Black Lives – two non-environmental mobilizations we’ve worked closely with over the Trump years – have teamed up to create the The frontlines. They have opportunities in many cities to protect each other and Democracy on election day and in the aftermath.
Tweet at @KKR_Co and tell them just how awful they are for ignoring Wet’suwet’en concerns about their rights, the climate, land, air and water. Need some tweet inspiration? Click here!
UK callers: Call KKR by dialing (+44) 020 7839 9800 then asking the switchboard to patch you through to Johannes Huth, KKR’s Managing Director.
We know this kind of investor pressure can work: In the last few years, a number of strategic investors have pulled out of so-called liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, including Chevron, Woodside Petroleum, and even ExxonMobil. In March 2020 Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway pulled out of a LNG project in Quebec following several weeks of rail blockades in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.
KKR hasn’t made the same decision, yet. But the fight is getting more urgent and important by the day.
As COVID-19 ravage our communities, wildfires devastate the west coast and Hurricanes pummel the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, TC Energy has continued to push onwards with Coastal GasLink pipeline construction, sending workers into “man camps” and militarized police officers onto Wet’suwet’en territories. Construction and over-policing of pipelines put these communities at greater risk. Just a week and a half ago, there was a confirmed COVID-19 case at a Coastal GasLink worksite.
Last week, Facebook blocked the accounts of hundreds of affiliated people to the #ShutDownKKR campaign, just hours before we had initially planned to host this online day of action. Although accounts have been restored, many questions are left unanswered. Today, we give KKR a reminder that we will not stop fighting to shut them down, despite their censorship tactics.
Once you’ve sent your letter, use the tools on this page to support our #ShutDownKKR communications blockade and stand with indigenous leaders to stop the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline!
Call KKR by dialing 1- 212-750-8300 and following the instructions you hear from us.
UK callers: Call KKR by dialing (+44) 020 7839 9800 then asking the switchboard to patch you through to Johannes Huth, KKR’s Managing Director.
“Hello KKR, I am calling to demand you respect the Indigenous sovereignty of the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs, and drop the risky Coastal GasLink pipeline immediately. The Coastal GasLink project would lock us into decades of increased fracked gas, disregarding the lack of consent by Wet’suwet’en community and the impacts to climate, air, water and the risks posed to Indigenous women by man camps built along the route. Furthermore, you are further entrenching police brutality by supporting the NYPD through investing NYPD pensions to increase their value, allowing murderous cops to comfortably retire. You are also fuelling imperialism around the world by funding Ingersoll Rand, a corporation that globally supplies hydraulic pumps to US military bases. This violence must stop.”
During the entirety of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, @TCEnergy has pushed ahead with @CoastalGasLink pipeline construction, sending more workers onto Wet’suwet’en territories, putting communities at risk of COVID-19. @KKR_Co, respect Indigenous sovereignty now! #WetsuwetenStrong
Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs are being removed from their land so @TCEnergy can build the @CoastalGasLink pipeline, despite having rights and title to the land since time immemorial! @KKR_Co, is it typically your policy to invest in Indigenous rights violations..? #ShutDownKKR
Hey @KKR_Co, your Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) Responsible Investment Policy, and commitment to the @UN_SDG goals doesn’t seem to fit with kicking the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs off their territory by investing in @CoastalGasLink’s pipeline. Care to explain? #KKRGlobalImpact
.@KKR_Co investments in NYPD pension funds protect murderous cops, and @KKR_co’s investments in Ingersoll Rand, a corporation that globally supplies hydraulic pumps to US military bases, fuels western imperialism #ShutDownKKR
Last week, @Facebook blocked hundreds of accounts affiliated with the #ShutDownKKR campaign and has stated “no third party intervention” but timing is suspect. @KKR_co, do you believe in silencing tactics?
We live a in climate changed world. From the wildfires out west to the hurricanes in the east — one making landfall this week while four more are active offshore. So why is Congress rushing to approve more Trump nominees to key energy agencies like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)? What, exactly, would it take to convince Senators to just STOP the madness and extraction?
But FERC won’t stop until Congress stops them by instituting real reforms. Will you tell the Senate Energy Commitee that this is no time for Business as usual – and demand they stop the nomination of two new FERC Commissioners this week?
Donald Trump continues to spout his nonsense and ignore science. But it’s his enablers – the agency heads and administrators that keep rolling back climate regulations and rolling out the red carpet for more fossil fuels extraction and infrastructure – who do the real damage.
The two newest nominations — Allison Clements and Mark Christie — aren’t as bad as some of the people Trump has nominated in the past. But that’s hardly the point: As long as Trump and his cronies are calling the shots, FERC will never be an agency that supports real climate action. We need bold changes, like a Green New Deal that changes FERC in to a Federal Renewable Energy Commission – and that change could be coming soon.
But until those changes come, we stand with our allies at Beyond Extreme Energy in calling upon Senators to abstain from voting for either of these nominees. Next week there will be a people’s hearing on FERC’s numerous offenses against the climate, our communities, and people. That needs to be followed quickly by real reform legislation that Congress can vote on FIRST, before they continue to feed the Fires of FERC’s climate disaster.
The MVP is a 303 mile long fracked gas pipeline that Equitrans plans to build from Wetzel County, West Virginia, to Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Along the way it would cross the Appalachian trail, more than 1000 rivers and streams, and require clear-cutting wide tracks of the Appalachian mountains.
All signatures received before September 11 will be included in official comments to FERC, and once you sign you’ll be redirected to a page with instructions on how to back up your signature with a hand-written comment.
Tomorrow marks Katrina 15, a decade and a half of ongoing recovery from Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf South. And just as organizers were gathering to mourn, remember, rally and act together – Hurricane Laura slammed into the petrochemical hub West of New Orleans.
The profound level of environmental and climate in-justice that permeates this moment is hard to take. But community leaders from across the Gulf South have been planning for months to commemorate the 15th anniversary of Katrina.
In solidarity with our family recovering from Hurricane Laura which made landfall on the Louisiana central coast this week, we are shifting our #Katrina15 programming to center the frontlines impacted by Hurricane Laura, offer lessons learned from 15 years of ongoing recovery from Hurricane Katrina, and share disaster recovery resources and ways to stand in solidarity with communities in Louisiana and Texas. Register here to join us for an abbreviated virtual program, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020 at 10amCDT.
If you’re able, we encourage you to also make a donation to support frontline groups in Louisiana and on the Gulf coast who are rendering direct, mutual aid to impacted people and communities. Our friends have begun compiling a list and there should be more information on the call tomorrow at 10amCDT.
Right now, corporate utility National Grid is expanding a massive fracked gas transmission pipeline in North Brooklyn. This project is not a replacement of leaking pipelines, it is an expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, in the middle of a pandemic, and at the cost of our climate, communities and
And worse, we have to pay for all this pollution and destruction! National Grid wants to charge New York rate-payers millions of dollars through rate hikes for this pipeline. That money will fill their shareholders pockets, and keep us locked into fossil fuels when we want to change to affordable and clean renewable energy like geothermal, solar, wind and energy efficient buildings.
National Grid’s toxic and dangerous North Brooklyn Pipeline is being built predominantly through Black and Brown neighborhoods without community consent.
National Grid also wants to expand its Greenpoint fracked gas depot on Newtown Creek by adding two new liquefied fracked gas (LNG) vaporizers and LNG trucking capabilities. National Grid has done no assessment of the climate impacts of these projects, as is required by NYS Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, and and is ignoring or down-playing local impacts on public health and the environment.
These unnecessary projects run contrary to New York city and state’s climate goals and laws. These communities have suffered for decades from the health impacts of environmental racism and injustice, and they should not be forced to pay to build new fossil fuel infrastructure that will continue that polluted legacy for generations to come.
To add insult to injury, they are asking for an unjustified rate hike of hundreds of millions of dollars to build these unnecessary projects that will lock us into decades of fossil fuels and exorbitant stranded assets.
Revoke any permits already granted to National Grid from The City of New York for their Metropolitan Reliability Infrastructure project AKA North Brooklyn Pipeline and immediately halt construction.
Deny any permits needed by National Grid to expand their Greenpoint LNG depot.
Deny any permits and variances for National Grid’s plans for LNG trucking on NYC streets, which is currently illegal.
It would have generated more than 67 million metric tons of global warming pollution each year — the equivalent of 20 coal plants.
It would have required 38 miles of mountaintop removal and damage thousands of acres of farm and forest land.
And the ACP would disproportionately harm poor, African-American and Indigenous communities all along the route. The plan included building an enormous fracked gas compressor stations in Union Hill — an African-American community of great historical and cultural significance in Virginia. And thirty thousand Native peoples live in the project area across North Carolina.
Farrell has proven himself to be a bad corporate executive. By relying on a business model built on extraction, environmental injustice, and political corruption, he cost ratepayers and shareholders billions of dollars. But instead of firing him after the entire ACP debacle came crashing down, Dominion promoted him!
This time they don’t just want to give away our money: they want to let fossil fuel companies get away with murder.
Call your Senators at (800) 914-0328and tell them to hold the line against McConnell’s liability shield and make sure COVID response funds benefit people, not polluters!
We don’t need to encourage corporations to be even more reckless with their workers’ safety and health. And that’ why nobody wants this liability shield, except for Senate Republicans and corporate billionaires like the fossil fuel industry. Doctors don’t want it; Major League Baseball doesn’t want it; low-income workers of color who are doing many if not most of the “essential” jobs in the pandemic as nurses, delivery drivers, certainly don’t want it.
McConnell’s plan will put frontline communities at risk, as fossil fuel companies and others spread disease from their facilities.
It gets worse: corporations would have these protections for the next five years and they are likely to try using them to block all sorts of lawsuits, including those who are trying to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for their fatal pollution and climate lies.
We can stop this cynical attempt to let corporations put our lives at risk.
Please call your Senators at (800) 914-0328and tell them to kill the liability shield and make sure this stimulus protects people, not polluters.
When you’re on the phone with your Senators, remind them that the fossil fuel industry has already received billions of dollars in tax breaks and bailouts. Meanwhile, tens of millions of people are still out of work. Nearly 30 million Americans reported they went hungry last week. Black, Brown and Indigenous communities continue to be the hardest hit.
Call at (800) 914-0328 and tell your Senators to drop McConnell’s deadly plan, and bail out people, not polluters.
