By Harvey Wasserman / Green Grassroots Emergency Election Protection (grassrootsep.org) et. al.
American democracy now depends on grassroots/relational organizing. Saving our nation demands that progressive money and energy being wasted on TV/media buys be turned instead to on-the-ground campaigning built around democracy centers, door-knocking, widespread public education, community events, phone-banking, post cards, local-based relational communications and more.
Key pioneers in these methods include Andrea Miller of the Center for Common Ground (Virginia) and Ray McClendon at Communities United (Atlanta) who are at the center of efforts to vastly expand the reach of progressive election/GOTV campaigning .
As explained (links to A/R’s GREEP talks), with a powerful mix of sophisticated computerized data and on-the-ground expertise, Andrea and Ray helped pioneer the grassroots campaigns that against all odds flipped two Georgia US Senate seats…and the national balance of power. This 2020-2 “Georgia Miracle” stands as the breakthrough campaign that proved the “Georgia Way” of organizing can defeat millions of dollars squandered on media advertising, most of which is wasted, ineffectual, even counter-productive. (link to book)
Since April, 2020, GREEP has focused on overcoming the escalating barriers against secure, reliable, genuinely democratic elections in this country. This includes Get Out the Vote (GOTV) efforts that come with expanded times—at least 30 days— to cast hand-marked, mail-in paper ballots. There must be large windows for casting and counting, ample, well-advertised, easily accessible centers for convenient ballot procurement and casting. The process must be free from Jim Crow ID requirements, especially like those imposed in the 11 states of the old Confederacy. Gerrymandering must be eliminated with state commissions like those established in California and Michigan.
Threats of violence and terror must be removed from all polling places. Long lines must be eliminated with sufficient, well-run voting centers. Election board officials must be locally elected, with effective protection against partisan interference from state and other potentially corrupt officials.
As explained in THE STRIP & FLIP DISASTER OF AMERICA’S STOLEN ELECTIONS (link) and elsewhere, elections have been corrupted since the birth of the Republican. In recent years they have swallowed gargantuan sums of money wasted on media.
But for a progressive vision of American democracy, grassroots/relational organizing must prevail. Here are links to resources explaining how:
Andrea Miller https://youtu.be/n7ykjunOGOY?t=338
Ray McClendon https://youtu.be/n7ykjunOGOY?t=959
Green Grassroots Emergency Election Protection Coalition 