Ballot Curing: Where you should focus your attention today!

From Executive Director VoPro Pos No Vote Left Behind election volunteers
 
We know everyone wants to assist Mississippi…. but there are several very close races in a few states where people aren’t flocking too that need our support.

1.  Kansas - they have 1000s of provisional ballots that need to be cured. These votes could change the power of the state legislature. VPP is leading ALL of the phone outreach to these voters AND staffing the KS Hotline.  
   
   Register for the phonebanks: mobilize.us/vopropros/event/1046554 first phonebank is today at 3pm
   
   
2. Arizona’s Cure Deadline is SUNDAY. They have phonebanks that need callers: mobilize.us/csv/event/1053095. There are state legislature seats that needs curing and an uncalled House race.
   
   
3. North Carolina is curing and there is a solid chance that the House seats will swing from 10 (R) / 4 (D) to 10 (D)/ 4 (R). They need help calling voters. There Mobilize is mobilize.us/nc-coordinated/event/1067477 Curing for them ends Tuesday at 12pmET
   
   
4. DCCC is curing in several races nationwide. There Mobilize is mobilize.us/dccc/event/1078538

As for Mississippi, I spoke to the DSCC — whatever their part of the puzzle is — they do NOT have cure data for us and won’t until tomorrow at the earliest. When they have it they will NEED us. So today if you want to call into Mississippi today with another partner — go for it — BUT PLEASE RETURN. AND please share YOUR love with Kansas and Arizona.  

Mississippi US Senate Candidate Colom final count support

 Democratic candidate Scott Colom is leading by 2,087 votes with 95% of the votes counted!

There was incredible turnout among MS Dems. But it was hampered by the MS SOS moved  230,000, or 1 in 9 voters, to “Inactive” based on unverified, faulty data. Disproportionately Black, brown, and low-income voters.

These folks could still vote but they had to vote by affidavit ballot that requires extra validation.

In addition, MS has a voter ID law. If a voter was not able to show ID on election day, they have 5 days to present ID for their vote to count.

We can help make sure this voter suppression doesn’t keep Colom from winning the seat by phone banking cure ballots or getting on the ground with Common Power!

Mississippians have until 11/10 to cure their ballots.

What is ballot ‘curing’? Ballot curing is a two-part process that involves notifying voters of issues with their ballots and allowing them to correct those issues.

[1] The Mississippi Democratic Party is now taking volunteers to staff the phones! They need people to answer at the voter hotline. Help Mississippi voters who need to cure their ballot figure out how to do that. They will train you!

Here’s the signup link!

Note from comments on a Bluesky posting spreading the word: If it only lets you pick 1 county, click Hinds. That’s the county that Jackson is in, it has the most ballots that need to be cured. If it lets you pick more, click Hinds, DeSoto, Rankin, Lee, & Harrison.

[2] Black Voters Matter is hosting another round of C3 phone banks and training starting at 10:00am CT Friday to help ensure every vote is counted in Mississippi!

Please share this widely with your networks - we need folks on the phones!

We’re continuing the work, and we need your help. We will hold four, brief, training sessions to plug people into making calls.

Friday, November 6

10:00am CT

12:00pm CT

2:00pm CT

4:00pm CT

Register here.

What to expect:

Live - QUICK - training alongside other volunteers

Phonebank information and instructions provided during the call

An opportunity to help Mississippi voters navigate the voting process

Please join from a computer to make outreach as easy as possible!

Please share this opportunity widely through your email, text lists, AND social media!

Every call matters - every vote matters. Let’s make sure Mississippi voters are heard!

[3] DONATE:

secure.actblue.com/donate/count-for-colom-2026

Election Week Rapid Response Readiness

Be Ready, Not Surprised: Preparing to Protect the Election

At an October 27 call hosted by Activist Evenings, we learned about plans for a coordinated, peaceful response if election interference occurs. The message was not that problems are inevitable. In fact, they may never materialize. The message was that being prepared matters. A visible, peaceful response can demonstrate that people are paying attention and are ready to stand up for the democratic process. Past events have also shown that people often decide which side to support in the immediate hours and days after a crisis. Those decisions may be influenced not only by principle, but by which side appears to have greater public support. That’s why quickly demonstrating a large, peaceful response can matter.

Election interference may not be a single dramatic event on Election Day. Organizers are preparing for the possibility of problems that develop over time, including disinformation campaigns, refusals to count or certify votes, or other attempts to interfere with the election process. If a response is needed, Indivisible Mass Coalition (IMC) is helping coordinate a cascade from statewide organizers to designated group leaders and then to local groups. The goal is to mobilize a large, peaceful presence when needed, while allowing people and organizations to rotate their participation if a response continues for multiple days.

Stay Connected this Week

• Register now for the No Kings Post-Election Call on November 4, 8–9 PM EST. If election interference or sabotage occurs, the call will provide real-time updates, election-defense strategy, and next steps. If those updates aren't needed, organizers say the call will likely be canceled. 
• Join IMC’s weekly Election Integrity Action Team meeting on November 4, 4:30-5:30 PM. This is another way to get connected with ongoing election-integrity organizing in Massachusetts.
• Sign up for the new Massachusetts Rapid Response Team, a collaboration between Indivisible Mass Coalition and Swing Blue Alliance. This team is for volunteers who can pivot quickly when help is needed, potentially freeing up anywhere from several hours to several days to provide targeted assistance. It’s an especially good fit for people comfortable working on tight timelines, taking the lead when needed, and getting the job done.

Rapid Response Readiness

Election Protection Rapid Response: Are You Ready?

Rapid response means mobilizing quickly and collectively in response to urgent threats to our elections and democracy. That could mean responding to voter intimidation, interference with ballot counting or certification, or other threats to the democratic process. Responses may range from immediate local actions to sustained nationwide demonstrations, strikes, and other forms of nonviolent collective action.

The MNW/Upper Charles Action Hub, Indivisible, MA50501, Progressive Massachusetts, and many environmental groups are calling on each local action group, with smaller teams inside it for different roles, to connect into the larger rapid response network.

Take some time now to consider what you could realistically do and what you'd need to prepare:

• Election protection: Could you serve as a trained poll monitor on Election Day, potentially responding to concerns at a nearby polling location? Complete the Massachusetts Poll Monitor Training this week! Watch the online training, take a quiz, and sign up to volunteer. The final live online trainings are Monday, October 26, 12:00–1:30 p.m.; Tuesday, October 27, 6:00–7:30 p.m. (Spanish language); and Wednesday, October 28, 6:00–7:30 p.m. Be ready to move out if needed by packing a "go bag" with water, snacks, hand/feet warmers, and other supplies. If you or anyone you know runs into problems while voting, call the Election Protection hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683), or 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682) for Spanish.

• Immediate mobilization: Could you join a demonstration within an hour or two? What would you need to arrange in advance...transportation, childcare, time off work, supplies, or a few friends ready to go with you? If you cannot attend yourself, could you drive others, watch someone's children, prepare meals for families of participants, or help spread verified information?

• Sustained support: Could you help keep demonstrations going over several days or weeks by providing food, water, transportation, funds, supplies, or volunteer coordination? Who could help you?

• Sustained collective action: Could you participate in a work stoppage, general strike, or other extended action? What would that require financially, professionally, and personally? Who in your community could coordinate the kind of support needed for this kind of action?

• Post-election vigilance: Do you know what an election irregularity looks like, and what can be done about it? Massachusetts won't audit this election: state law requires a post-election audit (a hand count of a random 3% of precincts) only after presidential elections, so in a midterm year, there is none. That makes a recount the main tool if questions arise, and the window is short. A request is due by 5:00 p.m. within ten days after the general election. In statewide races, the margin must be half a percent or less, and the request needs signatures from at least 1,000 registered voters; district-wide races have the same margin rule and their own signature requirement, and local races have no margin requirement. The state pays, and partial recounts are allowed. Groups and candidates alike should get familiar with the Election Truth Alliance's 2026 Candidate & Voter Toolkit, which explains how to detect and document irregularities and what to do in the critical days right after an election. Candidates: make sure someone on your team knows these procedures before Election Day.

Start these conversations now with friends, neighbors, and organizations you're already involved with. Connect with established rapid response networks rather than creating separate efforts. Your town's action group is the place to do that, so join an existing one or help start one. Coordinated action depends on reliable information, shared plans, and people who know how they can contribute.

Here are some starting resources:

True North Boston

Election Protection 101 (No Kings video) 

October 27 Activist Evenings Rapid Response Q&A Webinar

Election Truth Alliance 2026 Candidate & Voter Toolkit

Massachusetts recount rules (Ballotpedia)

Find your town's group

Group leaders: email info@millisdemocracy.org to find your regional Indivisible MA Rapid Response coordinator.

Stay tuned to the MNW Weekly Action Alert and this website for updated resources, information, and opportunities to participate.

We all are the drops that make the mighty current of democracy and justice. No drops, no current. We respect every voice! No kings, no lords, however rich!

Restoring Trust in Our Elections: How Massachusetts Counts and Reports Votes

Computerized elections have two phases. First, ballots are counted, mostly by tabulators, at each polling place. Second, those precinct results are passed "upchain" to the state, where they're combined into official totals. Mistakes, whether human or machine, can happen in either phase, and every mistake that goes uncaught weakens public trust.

At the polling place, the process is visible: election workers and observers can watch results being produced and checked. Once results leave the town, though, it's much less clear what checks exist to confirm that the numbers received match the numbers sent.

Before we can propose improvements, possibly including new Massachusetts legislation, we need to understand how the process actually works today, from precinct to state.

Lisa Hardin, former Millis Town Clerk, will walk us through how she ran elections in Millis Town Hall on October 5 at 6:30PM Room 130 to

1. How results were collected from each tabulator
2. How those results were checked and corrected
3. How the checks, corrections, and results were publicized
4. How the results were submitted upchain
5. How she confirmed her submission was received and recorded accurately

This is a learning session. Please bring your questions.

Email info@millisdemocracy.org for details. See here or calendar entry for latest updates.

MNW Action Hub Welcome

Welcome to the MNW Action Hub!

Across the Metrowest-Norfolk-Worcester area, we are standing up, speaking out, and taking action in record numbers. With massive rally crowds and sold-out events, it's clear we have passion and momentum. This group was created to work more efficiently across the many local groups responsible for this surge in activism.

The MNW Action hub has three core functions:

1. To serve as a clearinghouse for best practice in activism. We'll help area organizations share their successful activities through "how to" blog posts and a robust set of digital resources. Want to access our files? Fill out the Best Practice Clearinghouse Share Request. Want to share a practice? Fill out the MNW Best Practice Clearinghouse Submission.

2. To maintain a coordinated calendar of area events and activities so that, at any time, activists can find actions that match their schedules and areas of interest. Want to add an event to our calendar? Fill out the Calendar Input Form. Want to embed our calendar on your website? Request the embed code.

3. To encourage folks to find groups in their area and get more deeply involved in organizing. We have a solid set of generals. We have a lot of foot soldiers. We need some colonels and majors to help things run more smoothly. Ready to level up? Find a local group here. Or, help out the hub by emailing us.

This is where action meets impact. Let’s keep moving forward!

Nicola's Donuts and Democracy House Party

I feel like our country is on fire. Between ICE, the war in Iran, voter suppression threats, erosion of women’s rights, you know, ALL THE THINGS it just feels like ongoing daily trauma. And that’s for me, in a position of enormous privilege. 

I *want* to do something, but I look around and it’s so hard to know what can actually make a difference. I can call our reps, but they are already doing what they can. I can write postcards, but I write slowly and my hand gets sore so I can't do much. I can donate money to candidates, but it’s also hard to know who and whether that helps. 

In the midst of all that, I found an organization called Donuts + Democracy. It was mentioned in a comment on a Heather Cox Richardson post, as a way to help register young voters, and I immediately thought, that is something *I CAN DO*, and it makes a lot of sense. So I looked them up and donated some money. 

More recently I watched a webinar they ran and I donated more! Their model *works* and they have data to support what they’re doing. 

Here are some facts many people don't know:

• 47% of young Americans — 25 million eligible voters — are not registered to vote.

That's not a problem. That's an opportunity. Because here's the thing: when young

people register, they show up. 

• In 2020, 86% of registered young voters cast a ballot — and delivered a Democratic trifecta. 
• In 2025, young voters were the only age group to shift left, delivering decisive wins across the country.

The path to a 2026 Blue Wave runs right through college campuses. There are 18

million eligible young voters on college campuses across this country — and they are the most powerful, most under invested voting bloc in America.

So why aren't we winning them already? Two reasons:

1. Structural barriers — 45% of young non-voters in 2024 said they didn't know how to register, lacked information, time, or transportation. (The right has compounded this with voter suppression tactics targeting campuses directly.)
2. An enormous spending gap — the right has outspent the left 10-to-1 targeting young voters, pouring over $1.2 billion into youth outreach in the last 5 years alone.

Donuts + Democracy is closing that gap!!! 

For every $2 donated, they reach a young voter, get them registered, help them make a plan to vote, and make sure they know their voice matters.

Since their launching in October 2024, they have:

* engaged 120,000+ students

* supported 500+ events

* reached 150+ campuses across 23 states

* partnered with 100+ organizations. 

Now they want to scale. The 2026 goal: 250,000 young voters. 750+ events. 60+ competitive House, Senate, and statewide races.

Join me to hear how it all works on April 26, 7pm Eastern time and how you can be part of making it happen. RSVP here

Bring friends. Bring family. Bring your network. We will learn more about the org and hear from some of the students doing the work on campus. Bring a drink, and bring your optimism. We can do this!!!

 

With hope (and donuts),

Nic

 

To Learn more about Donuts + Democracy - check out

• D+D Impact Video
• D+D Website
• Why Invest In Young Voters Summary
• 2026 Target States Chart
• D+D Substack
• D+D Instagram (to see all their student events)