ISSUE

On Thursday (10/1/2020) , Governor Abbott issued an order allowing counties no more than one drop-off ballot location. This means that Harris County, a county with a population larger than the entire state of Rhode Island, can only have 1 location for elderly or disabled voters to drop their filled-in, mail-in ballot. This act is plain and simple voter suppression by the Governor. Call his office and urge him to reverse his order. Drop-off locations can and will be made secure, even if there is more than 1 per county.

CALL SCRIPT

Call Governor Abbott at 512-463-2000.

“Hi, I’m a constituent of Governor Abbott. I’m calling today to urge him to reverse his order that limits the number of drop-off ballots in each county. While I appreciate his concerns about securing our voting process, surely there are measures that counties have taken to protect their ballot drop-off locations that address his concerns. I urge the Governor to do more to help Texans vote and vote safely this year, in the middle of a pandemic. Otherwise, his actions appear to border on voter suppression. If he wants to earn my vote in 2022, he needs to reverse his order. My zip code is _____. Thank you.”

You can also send an online message to Governor Abbott through Indivisible Austin at this link.

FOR MORE

• NPR: Texas Governor Limits Ballot Drop-off; Local Officials Vow to Fight Back
• Houston Chronicle Editorial: Abbott’s Order is Voter Suppression

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE RAILROAD COMMISSION?

Hint: it has nothing to do with railroads!

Texas has 3 railroad commissioners – Wayne Christian, Christy Craddick, and hopefully we’ll elect Chrysta Castaneda this fall. The RRC’s main role is to regulate oil and gas activities, pipelines, and mining. The race is so important, yet so overlooked, that Indivisible Austin created a new website all about it.

• https://notrailroads.com/

FOR MORE

• https://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/tag/railroad-commission-of-texas/

SIGN UP TO BE AN ELECTION WORKER

Access to voting is a key function of our democracy. With risks of COVID-19, many who volunteer at the polls year after year won’t be able to do so this year. So step up! The more volunteers we have, the lower the risk of long lines at the polls.

WHERE TO FIND OUT MORE

Here are links to volunteer for some of the largest counties in Texas. If you don’t see yours, you can google search “[my county] election volunteer” to get more information.

• Bexar County
• Dallas County
• El Paso County
• Harris County
• Tarrant County
• Travis County

ISSUE

Join our Time for Texas to Thrive event this Tuesday, September 15th at 6:00 – 7:30 CST. Indivisible TX Lege has put together an exciting event featuring six candidates for the Texas State House and Senate who support our new Thrive Resolution. This event will feature six TX Lege candidates and an opportunity to volunteer to contact voters in their districts.

REGISTER

Please register for this Zoom meeting.

FOR MORE

Sierra Club, Thrive Resolution

ISSUE

Donate to Register2Vote’s voter registration efforts.

The number 1 priority right now is registering people to vote. Because Texas requires voters to register one month ahead of an election (many other states offer same-day registration…the TX Lege could fix that!), we only have until October 5 to get people registered to participate in the 2020 General Election. Anyone (in Texas or not!) can donate to help register voters in a few key, flippable districts, and donate anywhere else you’d like!

DONATE

Register2Vote: Sponsor the Vote – Texas House Districts

We recommend: HDs 26, 28, 54, 64, 66, 67, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 108, 112, 121, 126, 134, 138

READ MORE

Texas Observer: Texas is an Anti-Voting State

WHAT?

HD92 came within less than 2.5% of the vote to flip in 2018. And now the incumbent, Jonathan Stickland, is not running for reelection. Whitfield, an Air Force vet, has been endorsed by President Obama (as have several other Texas House candidates!). If we want to Flip the Texas House, we’ve got to put all our effort into it. Here’s an opportunity to do just that!

Sign up to make phone calls Monday, August 31 with Indivisible Grapevine!

WHEN

When: Monday, August 31 6:30 – 8 ish
Register: Zoom Registration

HAVE TO MISS?

Volunteer or Donate here!

ISSUE

While the USPS is a federal organization, its work impacts people in all corners of Texas. If any structural changes are to take place in the postal service, they need to happen in a planned and organized way, AVOIDING the run up to a major election. Several state’s Attorneys General are preparing to file suit against the Trump administration’s recent cost cutting changes to the USPS, citing concern of negatively impacting mail-in voting. Thousands of Texans from every walk of life and political party could be impacted if there is fear, uncertainty, or inconsistencies in mail-in voting delivery. Call our AG to push the Federal government to preserve USPS, and keep calling the Governor to continue to increase voting access across the state.

FOR MORE

Democrats, local election leaders fear Donald Trump’s attacks on mail-in voting foreshadow voter suppression

MAKE CALLS

Call Attorney General Ken Paxton (512-463-2100) and Governor Greg Abbott (512-463-2000) and urge them to take legal action against the recent USPS. changes. Here’s what you can say:

“Hi, I’m a constituent of _____, and I’m calling today to ask what actions he’s taking to ensure there won’t be a US Postal Service slow down that impacts mail-in ballot delivery. [If you have a personal story of mail-in voting, tell it here!]

“Will the AG be taking legal action to help maintain confidence in our mail-in voting system? I know that many older voters in our state rely on mailing in their vote to give them any access at all. Please encourage the Governor to do more to expand access to voting in our state, so Texans can know that their vote counts. My zip code is _____.”

ISSUE

COVID cases are still going up in our state. After Attorney General Ken Paxton released an opinion saying that local authorities don’t have the power to preemptively close schools, the Texas Education Agency reversed previous guidance by saying that it won’t fund schools if they don’t open in-person, on time. These actions put our teachers, our students, and their families at risk for contracting COVID-19. If we want to flatten the curve, we need to have local authorities evaluating risk in their communities.

FOR MORE

Texas schools are being compelled to reopen classrooms on the state’s timetable, like it or not

ATTEND

Jolt Town Hall: Reopening Schools in a Pandemic
Tuesday, August 4, 6:00-7:30 PM

CALL ATTORNEY GENERAL KEN PAXTON’S OFFICE

Call Paxton’s office at 512-463-2100. You can say:

“Hi, I’m a constituent of Mr. Paxton’s, and I’m calling today in regard to his opinion regarding school reopenings. COVID cases and transmissions are still on the rise in many parts of the state, and some areas are seeing hospital systems that cannot keep up. While I believe that education is of critical importance, we should be protecting the health and safety of our students and teachers first. It’s hard to learn if you or your parents are dead or in the hospital. My zip code is _____.”

ISSUE

Last week the President made a statement that he wanted to exclude non-citizens from the census count. While he doesn’t have the legal authority to do so, we’ve seen time and time again that he and his words seem to be above the law. Let’s push Governor Abbott to publicly push back against the President, as Texas will have a lot to lose if non-citizens are excluded from the count.

FOR MORE

• NPR: With No Final Say, Trump Wants to Change Who Counts for Dividing Up Congress
• Pew Research: How Removing Non-Citizens from Census Statistics Could Affect House Reapportionment
• Texas Public Radio: Tragedy on the Rio Grande Valley – How a low census count has negatively impacted a community’s ability to respond to COVID-19

WHAT YOU CAN SAY

Call Governor Greg Abbott at 512-463-2000.

“Hi, I’m a constituent of Governor Abbott’s and I’m calling to ask him to stand up for Texans and push back against President Trump’s recent call to only count citizens for the upcoming Census count. The Census has always included everyone who lives in the country, and Texas stands to lose a lot if non-citizens get left out. I trust that the Governor understands what is at stake, and understands that this issue should not be a partisan one. Please encourage him to do the right thing, and have every Texan be counted. My zip code is _____.”

ISSUE

Our governor has started to change his messaging on COVID-19, thankfully, but he still has room to grow and needs to take further action to slow the rampant spread of the virus in our state.

FOR MORE

Texas Tribune: Greg Abbott Warns of Potential Lockdown

WHAT YOU CAN SAY

“Hi, I’m a constituent of Governor Abbott’s from {city/town} and my zip code is {_______}. I’m calling today to applaud his recent actions on requiring masks around the state, and respectfully encourage him to take more action to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our state.

“Many of our hospitals are at or beyond capacity already, and our economy will be devastated if we continue to see high infection rates. The current lack of state-wide responsibility is nullifying the shutdowns we had just a few months ago.

“Stop the virus now by issuing a mandatory stay at home order. That is the only way we’ll get past this spike in cases.”