July 30th 2020

By Lance Simmens

Somehow we have survived three and a half years under Donald Trump, and the results so far are absolutely catastrophic. All eyes are on the upcoming Presidential election and it could result in Democratic control of both houses of Congress and the White House, assuming you are an optimistic Democrat, which for purposes of clear disclosure I am.  

But like everything else in this topsy-turvy world under the Donald it will most likely not come absent drama and trauma. I recently had more of a chat than an interview with my good friend Greg Palast on the release of his latest book, “How Trump Stole 2020,” where he pulls together a culmination of exhaustive investigative journalism over the past decade to outline the potential perils of yet another stolen election (witness 2000, 2016). He projects this will be the result unless we begin to take effective action to forestall the nightmare presented by a massive purge of the voter rolls a mere 100 or so days from this point. 

One of the most important takeaways from the book is a realization that the path to ultimate electoral thievery will not occur on November 3, but is being meticulously effectuated as we sit here and write/speak about it today. Palast is so thorough in his journalistic adventures with his ever loyal sidekick Leni Badpenny that at times he leaves your head spinning amid an avalanche of factual data. For a person not inclined to delve deeply into science, facts, numbers, and evidence, say such as the President of the United States, his head would literally explode within the first twenty pages of the book. And he is a very “stable genius,” just ask him. 

While there is tremendous value in the quantification and authentication of the serious damage done to democracy due to the methodical dismantling of our most treasured and sacred pillar of freedom, namely the right to vote, I will leave that to the historians and political analysts to feast upon while we figure out in a short, simple, yet complete list of actions a strategy for avoiding the specter of another four years of Donald Trump. Lest one think this a totally partisan attack, rest easy, Palast reserves harsh criticism for Democratic shenanigans, particularly in the Democratic Republic of California, but is careful to note that the major difference is that Democrats steal from other Democrats, while Republicans steal from people of color and our young. 

Palast has been a professional nemesis on the issue of voter suppression, particularly with regard to voter purging. He has cut his teeth on investigating and exposing the sinister Crosscheck program orchestrated by former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, and has exposed the criminally evil exploits of Georgia’s former Secretary of State and current Governor Brian Kemp, who stole the Chief Executive Office from Stacey Abrams by wrongly purging over 340,000 voters, six times his margin of “victory.” Greg Palast has been on this beat for a long time and democratic patriots dismiss him at their own peril. 

The key to understanding what at times can be a confounding and outright confusing issue, laden with more plots and subplots than a J. R. R.  Tolkien novel (The Lord of the Rings), is this: the grand theft that is voter purging is happening now, right now, November 3 will be too late. If we are to arrest this great travesty we can and must act immediately. While it would be nice if the multitudes of people of color and young voters bought and ingested all that Palast’s book has to offer, it is about as realistic as the Coronavirus ceasing tomorrow. However, there are key steps that can be taken by unsuspecting victims of this heinous crime being perpetrated by Republican Party officials. 

Organizations and political activists who care about the preservation of the franchise, those who feel the need to ensure that the “moral arc of the universe bends towards justice,” who are shocked that The US Civil Rights Commission states that the chance your vote will "spoil' is 900% higher if you're black than if you're white, it is essential that you devote your efforts to schooling the potentially disenfranchised on the steps they must take to preserve their fundamental right to vote.

So in lieu of purchasing and reading the book at your convenience, let us review an impromptu crib sheet, because the stakes are too large to ignore:

1.    Make sure you are registered to vote, check either vote.Org or your Secretary of State website.

2.    Keep and copy confirmation that you are registered, either through screenshot or an email validation sent to your computer.

3.    Request a mail-in ballot online or call your County Board of Elections.

4.    Secure a photocopy of your ID with address, i.e., current driver’s license, or a non-driver’s license that can be a picture ID procured at your DMV. It is also helpful to have a birth certificate or utility bill with you as you prepare to vote.

5.    If you have not received your mail-in ballot by October 3, call your County Board of Elections.

6.    Vote early, preferably during the week prior to November 3, if possible.

While nothing in life is a guarantee, especially when it comes to voting, taking these steps will significantly improve your chances of having your vote count, and that is the only game in town. Greg Palast has done democracy a great favor by bringing attention to this gross miscarriage of justice, now it is your turn to take the time and effort to see that your vote counts and that all votes are counted. It is, by all reckoning, the most important thing you could do for you and your children. 

You can purchase a copy of the just-released “How Trump Stole the Election 2020” by Palast. Just click here.

Lance Simmens, an author of two books on public policy and innumerable opinion pieces in major newspapers who served in senior level political positions for over four decades at the federal, state and local levels of government. He regularly contributes to HuffPost, and he has been widely published in newspapers, magazines, and journals. Currently he resides in Malibu, California where he is active in local politics.

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