Post by @heidilifeldman@mastodon.social

@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social 6 hr. ago

RE: https://mastodon.social/@heidilifeldman/117209346171417433

In the thread at the quoted post, I focused on the status of the litigation against Trump/USPS unconstitutionally taking over the process of ballots being mailed to voters who vote from home (e.g, voters who use absentee ballots or vote-by-mail ballots). Bottom line, Trump DoJ sure is acting like they know the Roberts Six will find a way to ok this on procedural grounds, leaving the merits of the case unaddressed.

But let’s suppose for a moment that this doesn’t happen. 1/ #LawFedi

Heidi Li Feldman

@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social 7 hr. ago

Ok, take a deep breath everyone. I’m going to try to explain what is going on in California v. Trump/League of Women Voters v. Trump, the combined cases being heard by Judge Indira Talwani in the Massachusetts District Court, challenging Trump and USPS efforts to take over vote-from-home and disrupt the general election. 1/ #LawFedi

#lawfedi

21 Replies

4 Boosts

lucabianciardi

@lucabianciardi@mastodon.social 6 hr. ago

@heidilifeldman "i 6 di Roberts". Giusto ma quando in una democrazia ne Presidente ne Corte Costituzionale sono più credibili, si può ancora parlare di "democrazia "? #Trump #SupremeCourt

Heidi Li Feldman

@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social 6 hr. ago

In other words, let’s suppose that the Roberts Six somehow let stand an injunction against USPS taking over vote-from-home. I think there’s a better than even chance that USPS would ignore the injunction, and refuse to deliver ballots unless states comply with USPS’ new, unconstitutional rules. 2/

Grassroots Joe

@joeinwynnewood@mstdn.social 3 hr. ago

@heidilifeldman

Time out, let's remember that disobeying a federal court order would mean rank and file post office employees following blatantly illegal orders from management.
Given the USPS centuries long ethos and the continued existence of a strong union, this seems highly unlikely.

Here's the union's statement on the latest TRO - https://apwu.org/news/apwu-statement-on-developments-in-vote-by-mail-executive-order/

American Postal Workers Union

APWU Statement on Developments in Vote-by-Mail Executive Order | American Postal Workers Union

As legal challenges to the Executive Order attacking vote-by-mail wind through the courts, the APWU sets the record straight: claims of widespread election mail fraud are false, postal workers have safely delivered ballots for generations, and voters can trust us to deliver again this year.

Beachbum

@Beachbum@mastodon.sdf.org 5 hr. ago

@heidilifeldman They’re already still building the system, and there is a court order in place now. They don’t care about the law, they are lawless.

Heidi Li Feldman

@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social 6 hr. ago

While this would be utterly lawless, it would majorly disrupt the election. As @mattblaze and others have pointed out, some states are entirely vote-from-home. It already seems unlikely that they, and other states,have enough time to could comply with the new rules. Whether approved by the Roberts Six or not, a USPS refusal to deliver ballots would be tantamount to suspending elections in the all vote-from-home states. 3/

Andres

@Andres4NY@social.ridetrans.it 6 hr. ago

RE: https://social.ridetrans.it/@Andres4NY/117197143842418570

@heidilifeldman @mattblaze States that are entirely vote-by-mail generally have reasonable mechanisms for handling voters not getting their ballots. GOTV folks should start organizing for that possibility *now*, though.

Matt Blaze

@mattblaze@federate.social 6 hr. ago

@Andres4NY @heidilifeldman Those mechanisms (like provisional ballots for in-person voting) don't generally scale well to the level of "all voters".

1 more reply

SueDiOh

@SueDiOh@mastodon.social 6 hr. ago

@heidilifeldman @mattblaze I thought there was a law (ignoring for now that the president sworn to uphold the laws was a convicted felon at the time) that there could be no changes to election procedures less than 90 days prior to an election? Perhaps I misunderstood?

Heidi Li Feldman

@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social 6 hr. ago

If you have been reluctant to accept that the Trump regime is already, right this minute engineering an anti-democracy coup, now is the time to get over that reluctance. 4/

phaedral

@phaedral@beige.party 3 hr. ago

@heidilifeldman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coup_d%27%C3%89tat:_A_Practical_Handbook

Coup d'État: A Practical Handbook

history essay by Edward Luttwak

Roy -- the dull one

@oldclumsy_nowmad@mastodon.social 6 hr. ago

@heidilifeldman

Thank you, Heidi!

Project 2025's revolutionary plans have been brought within a stone's throw of completion by virtue of vast sums of billionaires' money. But the greatest asset this giant coup has had, has been the inability of so many of us to wrap our heads around the fact that it is happening, and the risk that America is very likely finished.

Heidi Li Feldman

@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social 6 hr. ago

As many of you know, I’ve been working on massive voter turnout here in #NewMexico. The reason we need massive voter turnout wherever people can actually vote is because we need massive popular commitment to this election. Then, if and when Trump so distorts or destroys voting, all of us will have to demonstrate, in the streets, via general strike, any way we can. 5/

1+ more replies

Heidi Li Feldman

@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social 6 hr. ago

In the meantime, in states that have vote in person options, let’s do all we can to get each other to the polls. My state has early voting, and I’m organizing people across the state to do voter support and election protection right from the outset of early voting. 6/

Heidi Li Feldman

@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social 6 hr. ago

Working with a team of grassroots pro-democracy activists we have created a toolkit of materials. If you live in another state and want to do something similar, we are happy to advise, if that would be useful. 7/7

Mark Dominus

@mjd@mathstodon.xyz 6 hr. ago

@heidilifeldman For my own ballot, my idea was to avoid the post office and walk it to the dropbox provided by the county election board. That seems like it should be safe. Have I misunderstood something?

Heidi Li Feldman

@heidilifeldman@mastodon.social 6 hr. ago

@mjd assuming you get a ballot, this is definitely the way to return it.

pyrrhlin

@Pyrrhlin@mastodon.social 5 hr. ago

@heidilifeldman @mjd in our state you can bring an absentee ballot to a polling place and put it in the tabulator. That way you get to choose your favorite of the contest-winning “I voted” stickers.

Beachbum

@Beachbum@mastodon.sdf.org 5 hr. ago

@Pyrrhlin @heidilifeldman @mjd Actually in 2020 for the first time SC offered early voting. We both got mail in ballots because of Covid. I went in and voted, but my husband took his in and put it through the tabulator.

M.S. Bellows, Jr.

@msbellows@c.im 5 hr. ago

@Beachbum @Pyrrhlin @heidilifeldman @mjd But carefully note Heidi's qualification: IF you get your ballot. It's not hard to physically turn in a VBM or absentee ballot, but Trump's plan is to prevent you from GETTING that blank ballot in the first place. https://c.im/@msbellows/117196764635047629

Grassroots Joe

@joeinwynnewood@mstdn.social 3 hr. ago

@msbellows @Beachbum @Pyrrhlin @heidilifeldman @mjd

PA has no fault vote by mail. We do not have traditional early voting. In all counties you can go to the election office, apply for a VBM ballot, receive the ballot, complete it and hand it in on the spot for a bastardized version of voting early.
Many Democratic run counties open satellite offices to facilitate this.
We're going to need to reach out to Dem election offices to push for lots more such offices & hours as our plan b.

phaedral

@phaedral@beige.party 6 hr. ago

@heidilifeldman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Can%27t_Happen_Here

It Can't Happen Here

1935 dystopian novel by Sinclair Lewis