Democratic AGs Defending Democracy: Election Protection Edition
President Trump continues to test the limits of our country’s democratic norms — attacking everything from voting-by-mail and the U.S. Postal Service to illegally telling people to vote twice and urging voter intimidation at the polls. Trump has even refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power (multiple times) should he lose the election. These attacks were on full display during the first Presidential debate last week.
Democratic Attorneys General, once again, are on the front lines — using every legal tool available to protect the integrity of the upcoming election and ensure every eligible vote is counted.
PEACEFUL TRANSITION OF POWER
DAGA Co-Chairs Massachusetts AG Maura Healey and Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum spoke up saying, “Democratic AGs know how to take Trump to court and win. We are more than prepared to do so again. The will of the American people must be heard.” Democratic AGs have called on Republican AGs to speak up — like Republican Senators and Members of Congress — but Republican AGs remain silent. Read more in Newsweek here.
VOTER INTIMIDATION
Democratic AGs continue to speak about Trump’s dangerous and harmful voter intimidation tactics. DAGA Co-Chairs Massachusetts AG Maura Healey and Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum issued a statement saying, “Let’s be clear: Democratic Attorneys General will resist any ploy by Trump to intimidate voters or suppress the vote — and we would expect the same of our AGs in every state, Republican or Democrat.” Read more about Democratic AGs speaking up in The Washington Post here.
- DAGA Co-Chair Massachusetts AG Maura Healey talked to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour saying, “Voter intimidation is real. If you thought you could win an election outright, fairly, you wouldn’t have to play games and you wouldn’t have to try to steal it, which is what Donald Trump is doing.” Watch more here & here.
- Michigan AG Dana Nessel talked to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow about the charges she brought against two conservative hacks, Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, for illegal robocalls targeting black and brown communities in key battleground states like Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
- Minnesota AG Keith Ellison joined Michigan AG Dana Nessel on MSNBC to talk about how Democratic AGs are fighting voter intimidation and voter suppression.
- Nevada AG Aaron Ford immediately following Trump’s dangerous comments made during the first Presidential debate tweeted, “Trump also told “his supporters” to “go into the polls and watch very carefully. But he wasn’t talking about poll watching. He was talking about voter intimidation. FYI — voter intimidation is illegal in Nevada. Believe me when I say it: You do it, and you will be prosecuted.” Watch AG Ford on MSNBC here, Good Morning America here, and NowThis here
VOTING-BY-MAIL
Democratic AGs continue to speak up about the safety and success of voting-by-mail. DAGA Co-Chairs Massachusetts AG Maura Healey and Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum issued a statement saying, “Voting-by-mail has been in place since the Civil War, and many states — including those overseen by both Republican and Democratic officials — have incorporated vote-by-mail for decades without fraud or abuse.”
- Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes “This is about bringing people into Black and brown communities to try to intimidate them. That’s what the President of the United States and his enablers are trying to do. And let me be very clear about something … I sure as hell won’t let him get away with that.” Also watch AG Shapiro on CNN New Day here, CNN’s The Lead here, CNN’s Outfront here, and CBS 60 Minutes here & here. AG Shapiro recently beat the Trump campaign allowing votes to be counted in the days after the election. Watch here.
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE
Democratic AGs are undefeated in various lawsuits to stop the Trump administration and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s dangerous and politically-motivated actions to significantly change service at the U.S. Postal Service in the months leading up to the election. Read more in The Philadelphia Inquirer here and DAGA Co-Chairs Massachusetts AG Maura Healey and Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum’s statement here. Read more about the actions Democratic AGs specifically took here.
EDUCATING VOTERS
Democratic AGs continue to speak up about Trump’s dangerous comments urging people to vote twice. Read more about the work Democratic AGs to push back against Trump’s harmful comments and educate voters on the rules of the road for voting in the blog post here.
Democratic Attorneys General will continue to speak up and work hard to protect the integrity of the upcoming election. It’s long past time Republican AGs do the same. If they do not, they are actively undermining our democracy.
