CMR, It’s Time to Protect Mueller

Dear Group,

Join the rally this noon Today, Friday, November 9 at the

Tom Foley Federal Building

920 W Riverside Ave

Spokane, WA 99201

Here’s the link to the event:  https://www.trumpisnotabovethelaw.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response/search/

Enter 99203 on the zip code line.

I’m not writing today. I offer below a copy of an analysis by Judd Legum. Please read it and then give McMorris Rodgers’ office a call. It is time for her to stand up for democracy and to put action to her own words, “We need to let Mueller do his job.” Here are the numbers:

Spokane Office       (509) 353-2374

Colville Office         (509) 684-3481

Walla Walla Office  (509) 529-9358

D.C. Office              (202) 225-2006

The Wednesday afternoon massacre

Just hours after the polls closed, President Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Trump has had it in for Sessions ever since March 2017, when Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation. That decision, in turn, led to the appointment of Robert Mueller. 

Trump’s move, which has been telegraphed for months, is an apparent effort to curtail Mueller’s investigation just as it reaches a critical stage. Mueller is expected to either issue additional indictments or produce a report, which the Justice Department will have to decide whether or not to make public. 

Trump announced that Sessions would be replaced, on a temporary basis, by Matthew G. Whitaker, Sessions’ chief of staff. 

According to Bloomberg, Trump has removed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein from his role overseeing Mueller’s investigation. Whitaker is now in charge. If that report is accurate, Whitaker will be able to block Mueller from issuing any indictments Whitaker believes are outside Mueller’s purview. 

The move is reminiscent of the Saturday Night Massacre, when President Richard Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliott Richardson to fire special prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson refused and resigned. Then Nixon issued the same directive to Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus, who also refused and resigned. In the end, Solicitor General Robert Bork fired Cox.

John Dean, Nixon’s former White House Counsel, said Wednesday’s events were worse. 

“Unlike the Saturday Night Massacre…that was sort of a culmination of disregard for the president’s direction not to go after his tapes. Here, this seems to be planned like a murder,” Dean said on CNN.

Meet the new boss

Whitaker’s appointment is notable because he has been an outspoken critic of Mueller. 

Shortly before joining the Justice Department, Whitaker wrote a column in August 2017 entitled, “Mueller’s investigation of Trump is going too far.” 

In the piece, Whitaker argued that “investigating Donald Trump’s finances or his family’s finances falls completely outside of the realm of his 2016 campaign and allegations that the campaign coordinated with the Russian government or anyone else. That goes beyond the scope of the appointment of the special counsel.”

Mueller is “only authorized to investigate matters that involved any potential links to and coordination between two entities — the Trump campaign and the Russian government,” Whitaker writes. This cramped definition of Mueller’s authority has been rejected by the courts. Paul Manafort unsuccessfullymade the same argument in an attempt to get the charges against him dismissed. 

On Twitter, Whitaker favorably cited a piece describing Mueller’s investigators as a “lynch mob.”

Matt Whitaker 🇺🇸@MattWhitaker46Worth a read. “Note to Trump’s lawyer: Do not cooperate with Mueller lynch mob” https://t.co/a1YY9H94Ma via @phillydotcom

August 7 2017

765 Retweets613 Likes

He also shared an article exploring how Trump could fire Mueller, including through the appointment of an acting Attorney General. 

Matt Whitaker 🇺🇸@MattWhitaker46Worth a read–“Could Trump Fire Mueller? It’s Complicated”. https://t.co/sG2igd5qkJ via @politicomag

August 4 2017

68 Retweets57 Likes

Whitaker defended Trump’s role in dictating a false statement about his son’s meeting in Trump Tower with Russian operatives.

Matt Whitaker 🇺🇸@MattWhitaker46Buried lead? “Although misleading the public or the news media is not a crime….” https://t.co/Y2cedHDIE3

August 1 2017

4 Retweets4 Likes

In July 2017, Whitaker suggested that an acting Attorney General could reduce Muller’s “budget to so low that his investigations grind to almost a halt.”

Whitaker also chaired Sam Clovis’ campaign for Iowa State Treasurer. Clovis is a witness in the Mueller investigation

Ken Dilanian@KenDilanianNBCWhaddaya know: Mark Whitaker, now in charge of the Mueller investigation, chaired the 2014 campaign of Sam Clovis, a grand jury witness in that investigation. https://t.co/NzUkgjwOp1

November 7 2018

8057 Retweets9500 Likes

What Whitaker can do with Mueller

Whitaker could attempt to fire Mueller for cause, but he also has a lot of options to kneecap the investigation without resorting to such a drastic measure. The tools at Whitaker’s disposal were detailed in a September article by Susan Hennessey and Benjamin Wittes:

The biggest and most frequent opportunity to obstruct the investigation comes in the broader consultation requirement. Throughout the investigation, the regulation requires that the special counsel “shall consult with appropriate offices within the Department for guidance with respect to established practices, policies and procedures of the Department, including ethics and security regulations and procedures.” The special counsel is also required to notify the acting attorney general “of events in the course of the investigation in conformity with the Departmental Guidelines with respect to Urgent reports.” In practice, that means Mueller has to tell the acting attorney general about any “major developments,” like filing criminal charges, in advance.

Such information-sharing alone could be a problem if sensitive law enforcement information improperly made its way to the White House—much less to subjects of the investigation. Beyond such obviously improper conduct, however, an acting attorney general could determine under the rules that a proposed action should not be pursued at all.

Indicting Hillary

In 2016, Whitaker wrote an op-ed saying that he would indict Hillary Clinton, something Trump has called for repeatedly. Previously, Whitaker headed up the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, an organization that spent much of its time investigating Clinton.

Schumer calls for Whitaker’s recusal

In short order, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called for Whitaker to recuse himself from the Russia investigation. 

“Given his previous comments advocating defunding and imposing limitations on the Mueller investigation, Mr. Whitaker should recuse himself from its oversight for the duration of his time as acting attorney general,” Schumer said.

Republicans are “concerned”

We have been told for nearly two years that if Trump moved to undermine the Mueller investigation, as he did on Wednesday, Republicans would spring into action and protect Mueller’s independence. 

Instead, a couple of Republican Senators issued milquetoast tweets expressing “concern.”

Sen. Susan Collins@SenatorCollinsIt is imperative that the Administration not impede the Mueller investigation. I’m concerned Rod Rosenstein will no longer be overseeing the probe. Special Counsel Mueller must be allowed to complete his work without interference—regardless of who is AG.

November 7 2018

1939 Retweets6820 Likes

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Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

Trump Crossed the Line Yesterday

Dear Group,

Trump didn’t even wait through a news cycle to start a fresh outrage. It is hard to miss the parallels with the Saturday Night Massacre of the Nixon administration. The Sessions’ firing is likely the beginning of a slow moving version of the Massacre, one more step toward the Trump autocracy. Forty-five years ago Nixon’s own party stood up to his outrage. That was when there were still Republicans with integrity.

I doubt McMorris Rodgers has the spine or appreciation of history to make a stand on this one, but she needs to hear from us, her constituents. She kept saying publicly Mueller should “be allowed to do his job” even as she added how she’d like it to conclude quickly. Then she nodded with approval at the Spokane Club as her invited guest, Devin Nunes, proclaimed how important it was to protect Trump from Mueller by retaining a House majority. Now that majority is on its way out with the end of this Congress at year’s end. Trump is wasting no time. He wants to shut down the Mueller investigation before the new Congress is seated.

Now is her chance to stand behind her statement about letting Mueller do his job.  

Here are McMorris Rodgers’ numbers:

Spokane Office       (509) 353-2374

Colville Office         (509) 684-3481

Walla Walla Office  (509) 529-9358

D.C. Office              (202) 225-2006

In Spokane there is a protest brewing for noon on Friday, November 9 at the

Tom Foley Federal Building

920 W Riverside Ave

Spokane, WA 99201

In Sandpoint it is scheduled at 5PM today, November 8 at 

Bonner County Courthouse

215 S 1st Ave.

Sandpoint, ID 83864

Here’s the link to both events (and events all over the nation):  https://www.trumpisnotabovethelaw.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response/search/

Just enter your zip code for the time, location, and sign-up of the local event.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

The Day After

Dear Group,

As I write this I do not know the outcome. I do not know if one or the other has given a concession speech or if the result will wander back and forth as the late returns dribble in. The county certification of the election results is November 27 and the official Secretary of State certification of final results is November 30.

I do know that I plan to take a little time off, whatever the outcome. I do not know if I will publish again this week, but I plan to be back next Monday with something, perhaps with a plan for how to will proceed. So look expect to see something from me again on Monday, November 12 at 5AM. 

I wish you all well. Regardless of the outcome of the midterms there will remain much to learn and much to do.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

It’s Not Over ‘Til It’s Over

Dear Group,

It is Election Day morning. Most Election Day mornings in the past I had long since dropped my ballot in the Dropbox. For me the results were “in the hands of the voters.” I naively imagined everyone had done their homework already. I was wrong. Again.

Knocking on doors over the past week I’ve encountered tens of registered voters disgusted with Trump, disgusted with what’s going on in government, even disgusted with McMorris Rodgers (among those who have ever heard of her)…registered voters who threw out their ballot with the junk mail days ago. 

I sympathize with their disgust (I feel it, too) and then explain why I, an unlikely canvasser, feel driven to knock on their door. (My short presentation involves pre-existing conditions, my experience trying to get McMorris Rodgers to listen, and my personal confidence in Lisa Brown.) 

One young man who had long since thrown out his ballot said, “If I had a ballot right here, I think I would mark it for Lisa Brown just to humor you.” 

I said, “I’ll make you a deal. If you give me your birthdate and you promise you’ll vote I’ll bring you a replacement ballot later today.” 

He entrusted me with his birthdate. When I was next near a computer I used his name and birthdate on MyVote.wa.gov, clicked on MyBallot (actually his ballot in this case), printed his ballot. and brought it (all eleven pages of it) to him later that day. He was happy to talk through the various races as he filled out his ballot. His completed ballot went to a Dropbox.

Will this act make a difference? Yes. It is one more vote in an election in which every vote is counted and every ballot not cast is a voice wasted, a civic duty ignored. More than that, I was rewarded with a glimpse into the life of a young family living a little on the margin. I fancy this young man will remember the encounter with this gray haired old man. Perhaps he’ll be more willing to save his ballot and fill it out in the next election.

Everything below is a repeat of yesterday and concerns the details of the Spokane County Voter Service Centers–places you can, at the last minute, still cast a ballot that could make a difference.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

Election Day Buzz Lives on–If you help

In Spokane County there are six “Voter Service Center” locations that are open on Election Day, today, Tuesday, November 6, between 7AM and 8PM.   I’ve reproduced the locations again below. (Copied from: here.) If you are knocking on doors or calling friends on Election Day and you find someone who thinks they are a registered voter but have lost or never received their ballot (but can be convinced to vote) it’s still not too late. You could offer to give them a ride to a Voter Service Center–just like the old days! 

At these Voter Service Centers you can: 

  • Drop Off Your Ballot
  • Get Replacement Envelopes
  • Vote a Provisional Ballot
  • Use an Accessible Voting Unit
  • Get Answers to Voting Questions

Let’s clarify some of that. I called the Elections Office with some questions and a very nice elections worker filled me in. 

A “Provisional” Ballot has everything on it that anyone anywhere in Spokane County has an option to vote on. The Elections Office takes these ballots over the next several days and cross-checks to make sure they are cast by a registered voter. Based on the voter’s address the “Provisional” Ballot is extracted so only votes cast in that address’s overlapping voting districts are actually counted. (e.g. my address is in LD3, the provisional ballot includes candidates in LD6 that I might mark, but in the extraction process, the LD6 votes I may have marked are discarded.) If that sounds like a nuisance for the Elections staff, it probably is, but they strive to get it exactly right.

To use an “Accessible Voting Unit” a voter with a disability brings their official ballot, puts it in the device and the device, in private, reads and displays the contents of the ballot to the voter and offers an easier way of marking the ballot than using of a black pen to fill in a tiny oval. Neat!

A registered voter who lost or cannot find or never received their ballot can also go to MyVote.wa.gov and, using their name and birthdate, can print out a replacement. (There’s nothing illegal about printing such a ballot out for someone who asks you to do so, but you will need their first and last names [as they were registered] and their date of birth. Of course, the voter him or herself needs to fill out and sign the ballot. Signatures are checked!) These ballots can be mailed in a regular envelope (I think these DO require postage, unlike the official envelopes) or they can be dropped at the ballot drop box locations (usually libraries). 

Put the “optional” daytime phone number on your outer ballot envelope. They really do check the signature against the signature on record. When there is a question they use the phone number to contact you.

It is the voter’s responsibility to be sure, if they are using the mail, that the last pickup from that mailbox is after the time they drop the ballot in the box. I was assured that the mail service is very meticulous about those times and about getting all the mail properly post-marked that gets picked up at the deadline for that mailbox . Election Day can still buzz! It is not over until it is over. Don’t slack off!

Bottom line: The Spokane County Elections Office (and, I’m sure other County Elections Offices in Washington State with which I am less familiar) do everything they can to make it easy to vote right up to the deadline. Take advantage of their diligence. It is our civic duty. The ballot casting process isn’t over until Tuesday evening, November 6, at 8PM. The final tally won’t be “certified” and official until November 27, three weeks later. It could come down to that.

 

Voter Service Center Locations–Spokane County

Area

Location

Address

Downtown Spokane

Elections Office

1033 W Gardner Ave

 

STA Transit Plaza

701 W Riverside Ave

Northside

North Spokane Library

44 E Hawthorne Rd

Southside

Spokane South Hill Library

3324 S Perry St

Spokane Valley

CenterPlace Event Center

2426 N Discovery Pl

West Plains

Cheney Library

610 First S

WA Election Civics-Things I Didn’t Know

Dear Group,

When I was a kid Election Day was a big deal. My family didn’t spend a lot of time discussing politics, but my parents always voted. To them it was an important civic duty. I remember the line of people, the official confirmation and checking off of registered voters, the greeting of neighbors from the precinct. I remember going into the voting booth with my dad, the curtain drawn, the levers on the old mechanical voting machine. It was a ritual, slightly mysterious, memorable.

Back then “Get Out the Vote” meant literally that: offering a ride to the precinct polling place to neighbors, often without paying much attention to whose voting level they might pull. Political parties, of course, worked hard to get the party faithful to the polls. It all happened on Election Day. It was a big deal. 

I thought that was all gone when Washington State went to all mail-in ballots. Last year when I first encountered “GOTV” as an abbreviation I was puzzled. Go TV? A new cable channel? Once a kindly Democrat took pity on me and explained it meant “Get Out the Vote” I thought, “How odd…no one has to ‘get out’ at all. That’s a dumb, inaccurate abbreviation.” Well, at least in part, I was wrong. Again.

Election Day Buzz Lives on–If you help

Casting ballots in Washington State is not a done deal until 8PM on Election Day, even if you’ve lost or never received your ballot and even if you’ve just not done your homework. At least in Spokane County there are six “Voter Service Center” locations that are open on Election Day, Tuesday, November 6, between 7AM and 8PM. (No other day, e.g. NOT Monday.)  I’ve reproduced the locations again below. (Copied from: here.) If you are knocking on doors or calling friends on Election Day and you find someone who thinks they are a registered voter but have lost or never received their ballot (but can be convinced to vote) it’s still not too late. You could offer to give them a ride to a Voter Service Center–just like the old days! 

At these Voter Service Centers you can: 

  • Drop Off Your Ballot
  • Get Replacement Envelopes
  • Vote a Provisional Ballot
  • Use an Accessible Voting Unit
  • Get Answers to Voting Questions

Let’s clarify some of that. I called the Elections Office with some questions and a very nice elections worker filled me in. 

A “Provisional” Ballot has everything on it that anyone anywhere in Spokane County has an option to vote on. The Elections Office takes these ballots over the next several days and cross-checks to make sure they are cast by a registered voter. Based on the voter’s address the “Provisional” Ballot is extracted so only votes cast in that address’s overlapping voting districts are actually counted. (e.g. my address is in LD3, the provisional ballot includes candidates in LD6 that I might mark, but in the extraction process, the LD6 votes I may have marked are discarded.) If that sounds like a nuisance for the Elections staff, it probably is, but they strive to get it exactly right.

To use an “Accessible Voting Unit” a voter with a disability brings their official ballot, puts it in the device and the device, in private, reads and displays the contents of the ballot to the voter and offers an easier way of marking the ballot than using of a black pen to fill in a tiny oval. Neat!

A registered voter who lost or cannot find or never received their ballot can also go to MyVote.wa.gov and, using their name and birthdate, can print out a replacement. (There’s nothing illegal about printing such a ballot out for someone who asks you to do so, but you will need their first and last names [as they were registered] and their date of birth. Of course, the voter him or herself needs to fill out and sign the ballot. Signatures are checked!) These ballots can be mailed in a regular envelope (I think these DO require postage, unlike the official envelopes) or they can be dropped at the ballot drop box locations (usually libraries). 

Put the “optional” daytime phone number on your outer ballot envelope. They really do check the signature against the signature on record. When there is a question they use the phone number to contact you.

It is the voter’s responsibility to be sure, if they are using the mail, that the last pickup from that mailbox is after the time they drop the ballot in the box. I was assured that the mail service is very meticulous about those times and about getting all the mail properly post-marked that gets picked up at the deadline for that mailbox . Election Day can still buzz! It is not over until it is over. Don’t slack off!

Bottom line: The Spokane County Elections Office (and, I’m sure other County Elections Offices in Washington State with which I am less familiar) do everything they can to make it easy to vote right up to the deadline. Take advantage of their diligence. It is our civic duty. The ballot casting process isn’t over until Tuesday evening, November 6, at 8PM. The final tally won’t be “certified” and official until November 27, three weeks later. It could come down to that.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

 

Voter Service Center Locations

Area

Location

Address

Downtown Spokane

Elections Office

1033 W Gardner Ave

 

STA Transit Plaza

701 W Riverside Ave

Northside

North Spokane Library

44 E Hawthorne Rd

Southside

Spokane South Hill Library

3324 S Perry St

Spokane Valley

CenterPlace Event Center

2426 N Discovery Pl

West Plains

Cheney Library

610 First St.

Ten Friends

Dear Group,

Is there anything else you can do?

Several times now I’ve heard Lisa say, “If everyone here contacts just ten friends to urge them to vote, it could make the difference we need.” 

My old pessimistic self said, “Oh, come on. All the friends I can think of are surely going to vote for Lisa anyway.” I was wrong. Again.

I contacted old friends, a retired judge and his wife, people I know are of a liberal bent, to ask for some insight on the elections involving judges. It turns out they are in the middle a two month walking pilgrimage in Europe. I contacted them by email. I got the information I needed. Then I wondered, “Did they manage to vote?” So I asked.

“No, we left before absentee ballots were available.” 

With a little digging around on the Spokane County website I determined that on MyVote.wa.gov a registered voter in Washington State can sign on, print out their ballot, and submit it by mail. It should be counted if it is postmarked before 8PM on Tuesday, November 6. The response to this information? “Will do!” That’s two more votes…

Another couple of a liberal bent had recently moved. Any other election I would not have asked, but this time I did, “Was your ballot forwarded or did you have a chance in all your turmoil to change your voting address?” It had not and they hadn’t had the time. We talked about the importance of every vote in this election. I explained they can still go down to the  County Elections Office at 1033 W. Gardner Ave, Spokane and cast a provisional ballot OR, a little like the old days of precinct voting, they can go down on election day, next Tuesday, to one of six Voter Service Center locations in Spokane County between 7AM and 8PM (see the list below) and cast a “provisional” ballot there. Two more votes.

We are privileged in the State of Washington to have a voting system that is remarkably secure and strives to include, not exclude. We do not have Kris Kobach (the infamous Republican pusher of the false narrative of voter fraud) here. If you’ve had a scrape with the law and have paid your debt to society you can register and vote. If you’ve lost your ballot and it’s down to the wire on election night, you didn’t get it together to do your homework ahead of time, there are even places to go where you can still vote right up to 8PM (as long as you’re already registered). You can check out your ballot’s status on MyVote.wa.gov

We have these options…and many of us are unaware. Spread the word. Call ten friends, like Lisa suggests. Ask if they managed to vote yet. Tell them an anecdote about what you now know of our voting options. Tell them how important it is to you that they manage to cast their ballot in this election.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

 

Area

Location

Address

Downtown Spokane

Elections Office

1033 W Gardner Ave

 

STA Transit Plaza

701 W Riverside Ave

Northside

North Spokane Library

44 E Hawthorne Rd

Southside

Spokane South Hill Library

3324 S Perry St

Spokane Valley

CenterPlace Event Center

2426 N Discovery Pl

West Plains

Cheney Library

610 First St

Things I’ve Learned

Dear Group,

In 1994 George Nethercutt (R) edged out Tom Foley (D) by a mere 4000 votes out of roughly 200,000 votes cast. Tom Foley was the long term incumbent of Congressional District 5 (eastern Washington). He had done great work for Eastern Washington on the House Agriculture Committee (the same Committee Lisa Brown wants to join). In 1994 when he was nudged out, Tom Foley was Speaker of the House. In that same election Foley was endorsed by the Spokesman Review, likely extolling his “pull” in Congress.

In a way, those 4000 votes here in Eastern Washington changed everything. (Or was it just 2001 votes? After all, if 2001 of those folks had voted for Tom Foley instead of Nethercutt…)  On a national level, Newt Gingrich, a political pugilist and (arguably) the architect of the political polarization from which we now suffer became Speaker of the House.

Regime Change and the Power of Incumbency

On a local level, we experienced regime change in1994. George Nethercutt overstayed the term limits he touted in his run against Foley. Then he spread out his incumbent coattails and McMorris Rodgers rode them into Congress in 2004. McMorris Rodgers, her annual 1.3 million dollars from the federal treasury, and the backing of the Koch-funded Washington Policy Center have facilitated the rise and election of the likes of Jaime Herrera Beutler, now the U.S. Representative from WA CD3 (Southwest WA), and Spokane Mayor David Condon, a former congressional staffer for McMorris Rodgers, and provided a springboard for the careers of others. An infrastructure has grown around her incumbency.

If 2001 voters had gone for Foley instead of Nethercutt (or if 4001 more Democratic voters had turned out) in the 1994 midterm election, the tenor of Eastern Washington might now be very different. Votes matter.

Incumbency is powerful. It is supported with our taxpayer dollars and by powerful interests (like the Spokesman Review) that dislike any disruption of relationships they have worked hard to develop.

Regime change, like the takeover of a Congressional District from an incumbent, nearly always depends on a small margin of votes. Incumbency, once established, is like a hill over which a challenger must push a large rock. Once over the crest, the effort will roll down the other side to a whole new political alignment. It is the time for that to happen in Eastern Washington.

The margin that elects Lisa Brown over McMorris Rodgers will be narrow. Every vote will count. We need to scrape for each vote that might make that margin.

Many voters who could help are discouraged, disconnected, and uninformed

Mind you, many of us have been canvassing a select group of potential Democratic voters who often don’t vote in the midterms. “I don’t vote.” or “My vote won’t make any difference” or “I’m a registered voter, really?” or “I just want to be left alone, I can’t bear to pay attention to politics” or “I don’t know if I have my ballot or not” or “Who is Lisa Brown running against?” are phrases commonly heard.

Many of these people may well cast a favorable vote in response to a friendly conversation at their doorstep. Sometimes that conversation is as rudimentary as explaining the basics:

A vote isn’t required on every issue to turn in your ballot. If you don’t feel you can make an informed choice with which you are comfortable don’t vote that candidate or issue. The ovals you fill in will still count.

No stamp is needed. That’s new this year. Just put it in the mail in time to get it postmarked before 8PM on Tuesday, November 6, or drop it in the box at the local library.

Once the ballot is received by the County the campaigns know. Soon people will quit calling and knocking on your door. (It is known that you voted but NOT for whom you voted!)

Can’t find your ballot, it got ruined, or you didn’t receive one? For Spokane County residents, just call the Spokane County Elections Office at 509-477-2320 and they’ll mail you a replacement to your address of record. Or visit them at 1033 W Gardner Ave and pick up a new ballot between the hours of 8:30AM and 4PM Monday through Friday. The people working there are friendly, pleasant folk in spite of a stressful job this time of year. (The barcode system on the envelope prevents duplicate ballots from the same voter.) OR go on line to MyVote.wa.gov, enter your name and birthdate, click “MyBallot,” print it out, follow the directions, and turn it in.

You can look yourself up at MyVote.wa.gov and learn all sorts of things about voting and your particular ballot. You can even find out if the Elections Office has received your ballot.

Several times I’ve heard, “I can’t vote. Many years ago I was in jail.” These are people who are self-disenfranchised. They’ve been listening to the national news and assume the controversy they hear there extends to Washington State. Some of these people even received ballots, but are afraid to vote. In Washington State if you have served your time and you’re not on probation you can register (up until last Monday). If you received a ballot you can and should vote.

So get out and canvass. A whole lot depends on it. (See the box above for details and links.) There is a small army engaged in this ground game, but the result is not certain. Every vote counts. Don’t awaken the day after and wonder if you could have done more.

Keep to the high ground,

Jerry

 

P.S. I just learned this morning that there is even an option if you can’t find you ballot on Election Day. On that day, Tuesday, November 6, there will be six Voter Service Center Locations open from 7AM to 8PM around Spokane County where you can:

  • Drop Off Your Ballot
  • Get Replacement Envelopes
  • Vote a Provisional Ballot
  • Use an Accessible Voting Unit
  • Get Answers to Voting Questions

I’ll post this all again Monday and Tuesday. The locations are:

Area

Location

Address

Downtown Spokane

Elections Office

1033 W Gardner Ave

 

STA Transit Plaza

701 W Riverside Ave

Northside

North Spokane Library

44 E Hawthorne Rd

Southside

Spokane South Hill Library

3324 S Perry St

Spokane Valley

CenterPlace Event Center

2426 N Discovery Pl

West Plains

Cheney Library

610 First St

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