People are voting tomorrow all over the country, every state, “the great mystery of democracy” as a 20^th-century political sage called it will actually happen and the polls will be history, right or wrong. The era of early voting including mail-in has muddled that sense of one-day-settles-all. Here is the morning tally from Pluribus News: More than 40.5 million Americans have voted already this year, according to University of Florida political scientist Michael McDonald’s U.S. Elections Project. In the 23 states where voters register by party, Democrats hold a 43%-34% turnout edge.

Also in News You Can Use this week: Election disruption attempts in Maryland and some other states; Congress's "lame duck" session; Wes Moore gets ink; a West Virginia refugee crisis here? Read on.

Hensci (Hello)!

My name is Bee and I am Mvskoke, a Native American tribe located in Oklahoma. In honor of my ancestors, I am writing to you from my home in Annapolis, on stolen Susquehannock and Piscataway land.

We would like to take a moment to honor the legacy-past, present, and future-of the Native American people on this land. It is our responsibility to acknowledge the ongoing effects of settler colonialism, and to recognize that we benefit from the displacement, genocide, and past and present violence against Indigenous people on whose ancestral lands present-day United States, including the state of Maryland, stands. 

We acknowledge the Accohannock Indian Tribe, Assateague Peoples Tribe, Nause-Waiwash Band of Indians, Piscataway Conoy Tribe, Piscataway Indian Nation, Pocomoke Indian Nation and Youghiogheny River Band of Shawnee Indians as the original stewards of Maryland's lands. See the historical boundaries, languages, and treaties of the tribes in Maryland here. 

We acknowledge all Native American peoples in Maryland and on the wider Turtle Island, including those who are displaced and detribalized, who have had their identities and cultures stolen through the larger effects of colonialism and assimilation. 

When we say we are working toward a more just and equitable future for Marylanders, that includes our Indigenous communities. There is so much work to be done—passing federal and state legislation for reparations; formally acknowledging Indigenous history and land rights; and, of course, ensuring that Native residents have affordable healthcare and housing, access to quality education, clean air and drinking water, and the many other basic human rights that everyone deserves. Progressive Maryland is committed to this work.

This month provides an opportunity to celebrate rich and diverse traditions, cultures, and histories and to acknowledge the unique contributions of Native people. Discover ways to appropriately reflect Native values in your life this month, such as finding new ways to be sustainable to the land and resources around you. In honor of my Mvskoke ancestors, I encourage you to not only take today to learn more about Native American history and cultures, but to do more in the fight for Native American people. We promise we will do the same. 

Sincerely,

Bee Van Hall (they/them)
Social Media Coordinator for Progressive Maryland

We’re eight days away from the final day to vote in this critical midterm election. Just in time for the last stretch of the campaign, Progressive Maryland has released a toolkit for voters. Click here to check it out and share with your family and friends, especially those who have not yet voted. We need to show up and show our power this November!

We’ve got good reasons to vote: 

• There are great progressive candidates on the ballot who will work for policies that benefit everyday Marylanders. Here are some of the folks who are running.  
• We can change our failed marijuana policies by voting FOR Question 4 to legalize possession of small quantities of cannabis. Passing the measure means Maryland will join several other states who have modernized cannabis laws.

In order to win we’ve got to keep reaching out to voters! We want to be sure they know about candidates up and down the ballot as well as Ballot Question 4. Take a minute now to sign up for a two hour shift. It’s fun and it makes a difference.

Sign up for a phone banking shift.

Sign up to text bank with us!

See below for more news about our organizing work. Thanks and we hope to see you at the polls or at one of our GOTV events!

A past contract for a vendor to oversee mental health and behavioral care in the state doesn't seem to be working out, and a contract for BWI concessions soon to be up for approval by outgoing officials is looking "rigged" according to some. Plus election news, state life expectancy, schools and their resouirce officers, and allegations of internal bias in state police ranks. It's all here and more in News You Can Use.

"All told, the NAEP results underscore how far our nation and state have to go to fulfill the right of all children to adequate educational opportunity," Kalman Hettleman argues in a response to shocking declines here and nationwide in test scores. "In 1983 the most famous education report in our history, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, declared: 'the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people.'

"That we have progressed so little over so long may affect forthcoming analyses and renewed education wars over the NAEP scores. But perspective is a starting point. The results didn’t tell us anything we didn’t know, COVID 19 is no excuse, and generations of schoolchildren are innocent victims.

"Still, perspective must inform action. We must immediately react with outrage, act with fresh urgency, and accelerate implementation of the Blueprint. Let’s hope the new governor and General Assembly will lead the way."

Read on, and plan to act. 

We wish everyone who is celebrating, a bright and joyous Diwali! This day is a beautiful reminder that light prevails over darkness. It also gives us a moment to reflect on how fortunate we are to live in one of the most racially and culturally diverse states in the country.

This election season offers a chance to vote for candidates who will better reflect our diversity as a state and our values. It gives us a chance to say yes to prosperity and security for all of our communities; to say yes to rights for women, LGBTQ residents, immigrants, people of color and workers; and to say yes to a more inclusive Maryland.

If you have not yet voted, make your plan to vote by mail, or to vote in person during early voting starting Thursday and running until Thursday, Nov.3, or in person on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

It’s crunch time for reaching and galvanizing voters. Join our amazing team to make calls or knock doors with us.  

Sign up to canvass with us! 

Click here to join our phone banking efforts! 

Donate to support our electoral efforts here

Thank you for helping us build a statewide base of electoral organizing power in 2022 and beyond. Read on for more important election information and updates on our issue campaigns and local organizing.

In solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

Good news: Maryland elections are VERY well-run. Tougher news: Maryland's K-12 students have a lot of pandemic deficits to overcome. And who is paying for school lunches these days? Much more in News You Can Use about labor's rapprochement with Wes Moore; housing pluses and minuses, the explicit threats of national GOP types if they get control in DC about tax cuts (and their perils), losing those discounted Medicare prescription deals and more. Read on.

Dear {{FirstName or 'Friend'}}, 

From Salisbury to Aberdeen to Federick to Seat Pleasant our volunteers, chapters, leaders and members are pulling out the stops to make a difference in the 2022 elections! We’re knocking on doors, making phone calls and energizing voters all over the state. People are making decisions right now about whether to vote and how they’re going to vote so the contacts we’re making every day can make a critical difference.

That’s why if you haven’t gotten involved yet, we urge you to join the effort! No campaign experience is needed. We will train and support everyone who can throw down with us. (We also have paid canvass positions available in some parts of the state. See below for details about all opportunities)

The gubernatorial debate last Wednesday evening illustrated why we must elect Wes Moore over Dan Cox. Moore is in tune with the needs of all regions of our state and will push an agenda that supports good jobs, community needs, and a state government that works for all Marylanders. Cox and the Republican candidates would do just the opposite, stripping our civil rights and undermining our public schools and institutions. 

The 2022 general election offers us a chance to reject Dan Cox, the rest of the top of the GOP ticket, and Donald Trump (who now owns the Republican party). Insead, we can score major progressive victories. More champions in Annapolis means we can pass policies that will expand healthcare, fix our drug laws and criminal justice system, and create an economy that supports workers and families.

We can win with your help: 

Sign up to knock doors with our team

Join us virtually to make phone calls

See the memo for more details about important election deadlines and opportunities to get out the vote work at the local level. Thank you for your support!

In solidarity,

The Progressive Maryland Team

First, of course, get registered if you aren't yet -- by tomorrow. Then think about your vote in this context -- Maryland needs fast action on decarbonizing the electrical grid and saving the Chesapeake Bay. And, f course, we need well-educated young people to take charge of the effort. Plus more, read on.

Esther Wells is running for Montgomery County Board of Education. She holds many harmful beliefs and affiliations that will make students less safe. NOTE: While she is running in District 1, everyone who votes in Montgomery County can vote in this race! This is just some of her record:

• During the primaries, Esther Wells ran on the New Dawn Slate with Michael Fryar and Dawn Iannaco-Hahn. New Dawn Slate members publicly stated their extremist views and opposition to masking and unions. 
• The New Dawn Slate has been endorsed by United Against Racism in Education (UARE), which is affiliated with the MoCo GOP, as well as Help Save Maryland, which the Southern Poverty Law Center has identified as an anti-immigrant hate group. 
• In one of her interviews with right-wing media, Wells affirmed the host’s anti-CRT rhetoric by insinuating that talking about race is the real racism.
• Wells signed onto an open letter opposing COVID-19 vaccines for children. 
• Wells does not stand up for LGBTQ+ students, even as discriminatory policies are systematically instituted nationwide. She repeatedly keeps her answers around protections for LGBTQ+ students vague. When a constituent expressed concerns about Wells purposefully misgendering people, she claimed the interaction was misrepresented. Instead of clarifying her views, she insulted the teachers union.
• Wells notes on her campaign website that she serves as “Chairman & President Trustee of the Board of a multi-million dollar non-profit in Gaithersburg.” She does not reveal that the non-profit states on its website that it “opposes all forms of sexual immorality, including…homosexuality.” 
• UARE, Clean Slate MoCo, and Moderately MoCo, which have all endorsed Wells, use divisive, dog-whistling rhetoric that further marginalizes the most vulnerable students. 

District 1 needs a Board of Education member who will advocate for Black, brown, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ students. Montgomery County needs leaders who will unite, not divide, our diverse community.

¹Screenshots of New Dawn Slate member’s social media: https://twitter.com/gunsensemelissa/status/1543935914988142593

²Tweet from a New Dawn Slate member:  https://twitter.com/Dawn_LCPC/status/1552151685220499456

³“A New Dawn” MoCo School Board Candidates. The Larry O’Connor Show, 4/27/2022, timestamp: 5:00-6:10.

⁴Montgomery County Republican Party site: https://www.mcgop.com/_united_against_racism_in_education_meeting 

⁵Tweet from Delegate Vaughn Stewart: https://twitter.com/DelegateStewart/status/1546525695635062786 

⁶Southern Poverty Legal Center: https://www.splcenter.org/states/maryland 

⁷“A New Dawn” MoCo School Board Candidates. The Larry O’Connor Show, 4/27/2022, timestamp: 12:40 to end.

⁸Urgency of Normal responds to recently released CDC recommendations for COVID19 mitigation in schools. 6/21/2022.

⁹Metro DC PFLAG Montgomery County District 1 BOE Candidate Questionnaire Answers. David Fishback’s Blog, 5/7/2022.

¹⁰Screenshot of Twitter exchange with Esther Wells: https://twitter.com/RebekahWriter/status/1568677678928232449 

¹¹Esther Wells’ campaign website:  https://voteforesther.com/about-esther

¹²Inter-Denominational Church of God’s Values & Beliefs webpage: https://icog.org/values-beliefs 

¹³Clean Slate MoCo and Moderately MoCo endorsements: https://cleanslatemoco.com/resources/, 

   https://moderatelymoco.com/last-day-to-vote-in-the-2022-montgomery-county-primary-election/