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Authoritarians want to seize as much power as possible. We won’t let them.
To win elections, authoritarians change the rules so they can win. Redistricting to strip Black voters of representation. Raiding offices of nonpartisan get out the vote operations in the middle of an election. Claiming fraud in honest elections.
Here are some tools to help us defend the election — because when authoritarians tell us to not vote or our vote won’t matter, we won’t comply.
Election Defense Resources
Election Defense Scenarios: how we keep their hands off our vote — a scenario guide exploring 18 possible ways the regime attempts to take away our vote, with stories of how folks in the US and the globe have resisted each attempt
Election Defense Slide deck – key slides for a grassroots Election Defense training. Includes slides for the People’s Election Playbook, election scenario role-plays, and explanation of the model Fight, Prove, Win, Enforce.
The People’s Election Playbook — a 6-step plan to help defend the election. These are the must-do moves to stop them from wrongfully seizing power through manipulated elections.
GroundControl – A website for individuals who want to find election volunteer opportunities near them (e.g. be a poll worker, text voters)
Online recording of 101 noncooperation webinar – a 2 hour virtual training on civil resistance and noncooperation. We cover the authoritarian threat and how to defeat it. We focus on countering the all-out assault on our elections and concrete steps for taking action.
Strategy Memo: The 89 Million – This memo by Ash-Lee Henderson describes 3 core reasons people don’t vote. While focused on Black voters, it examines strategies to activate the 89 million that did not vote in the latest election.
Toolkit: Holding Election-Denying Officials Accountable: Election denial isn’t a technicality. It’s a big crack in the foundation of our democracy. Every official who lied about 2020, refused to certify results, or fed a bogus “audit” chose to attack the vote instead of defend it. As we head toward the midterms, we’re hold them accountable now.
Toolkit: Thank an election official: Elections are the backbone of our democracy. Without them, our democracy would not function. They work overtime to count every vote so that our voices could be heard. But politicians have spread false claims about election workers. Many election workers have received threats just for doing their jobs. It’s time to thank election workers – in a meaningful public way. They deserve our gratitude. It’s long past the time for us to let them know how grateful we are for their courage and fortitude.
Countering Authoritarian Election Manipulation with Hardy Merriman
Election Risk Heat Map by Voting Rights Lab — breaking down where the most likely bad actors and systemic weaknesses collide to increase risk.
Hands Off Our Vote – the narrative guide to understand how to talk about “election theft” in this current authoritarian context