In this issue:

Are we Worthy of Democracy?
Chair’s Message
Fly the Flag Right
Your One Thing to do this Month

Every American citizen must be made to recognize that this time, this election, is where all of the decades-long ‘conditioning’ of voters for superficial political reasoning comes to a critical head. This is where the constant damning of Democratic ‘heavy lifting’ in governing for working people, this highly orchestrated and hugely bankrolled drift to the unprincipled Right has led us. November 5 will be the moment when we prove, or not, our worthiness for democracy.

Can a convicted criminal, a twice impeached rapist, with spoken-out-loud unAmerican plans win out against a decent man who happens to be the most accomplished president in over half a century, with a world-envied economy to his credit….simply by Goebbels-like making the none-too-thoughtfully-engaged citizenry watch the “wrong hand of the magician”? Declining if lingering Inflation vs. unAmerican plans and values? Immigration concerns vs. the criminalization of women?

This is the test before us.

Hitler sought power on lies, threats, targeted violence, and stoked grievance. What followed was beyond imagining, with a diseased single mind, surrounded by an equally beastly court, imprinting this disease upon the minds of tens of millions, so that evil to the many became necessary and right. The same project is currently afoot in these United States.

Not here. Not now. Not EVER!

The month of June seems to be flying by with so many events and Get Out the Vote (GOTV) activities. It also means July 4h, our Independence Day celebration, is near. This year as we celebrate the freedom and rights our forefathers fought for with family and friends, we should make a commitment to ensure this is not our last true Independence Day. There can be no doubt that this election will determine the future of our democracy – we will continue to be the beacon of freedom and defender of democracy, or we will fall under the control of those who plan to eliminate the U.S. Constitution,  stripping us of our rights.

One only needs to read Project 2025 to understand this is not hyperbole. It is not enough for us to re-elect our incumbent Congresswoman and State Senate and State Representative Candidates and flip the remaining two State Representative Districts. Chester County must deliver a vote margin that will win Pennsylvania for President Biden and re-elect Senator Casey.

Chester County delivered a 60,000 margin for President Biden in 2020; we plan to deliver a 100,000 vote margin in 2024. Below I am sharing what we are doing and what we are planning to do.

The Chester County Democratic Committee (CCDC) has been coordinating GOTV plans and actively implementing those plans. The Collaborative Planning Committee met to review and coordinate our standing committees’ plans and make any additions or tweaks needed.

The Voter Outreach Committee is mounting its aggressive Vote By Mail Campaign and will chase those ballots that are not returned. The committee sent a postcard to every voter whose Mail-in Ballot did not arrive at Voter Services in time to be counted in the 2024 Primary Election giving them instructions on how to avoid this in November. The committee also has a plan for curing ballots in November that will add the design and printing of post-it notes to be used to contact voters whose ballots have been rejected.

The Communications Committee has messaging in the pipeline to be pushed out to our various social media accounts and plans to do candidate videos that will present our candidates in a personal light.

The Data Analytics Committee works with every other committee to provide the statistical information needed to support our GOTV plans.

Voter Protection will be a top priority for the State Committee (PA Dems) and for CCDC. Those plans are well underway, and Liz Curtis Swain, Esquire, is a member of both the State Committee Voter Protection Team and the Biden/Harris Voter Protection team. This has resulted in a smooth process for filling in any gaps we may have at polls within the County. The Voter Protection teams have approved the Voter Protection Plan that Chester County has been using for the past several Primary and General elections. This means we will fill our poll watcher and greeter positions with Chester County volunteers and notify the Voter Protection Team if we have any spots unfilled. This will ensure all polls will be covered and there will not be duplication of effort. Liz is building the team of attorneys to serve on the Chester County Voter Protection Team, enlisting attorneys in Chester County and those supplied by these Teams.

The Collaborative Planning Committee discussed how we can best contact newly registered Democratic voters throughout the County. CCDC will finance the design and printing of literature to be provided to each zone along with the lists of newly registered voters in that zone to be distributed to this target audience either in person or by mail. There will be a blank space for a label on the literature for each zone or precinct to provide local voting information. These lists will be provided each time VoteBuilder information is updated.

CCDC will mail a sample ballot to every Chester County Democratic and left-leaning Independent voter.

CCDC is actively fundraising to support our candidates, our GOTV plans and our infrastructure. The annual Golf Tournament was held on June 10th at Whitford Country Club, and we will be hosting Governor Gavin Newsom on July 6th at the Desmond Hotel. Both of these events are crucial to our budgetary plans.

We have the plans, we are busy raising money to finance the plans, but the most important component is volunteers. Canvassing is the most important part of any GOTV plan. I urge you to consider knocking doors. Chester County is a vital piece of the plan to win Pennsylvania for President Biden and Senator Casey.

Canvassing events are listed on the CCDC website calendar. If your State Representative or State Senate candidate does not have a scheduled canvass, then consider working for another candidate or volunteering with the Coordinated Campaign by contacting Tyler Conrad, the Regional Organizer, working out of the CCDC office. Contact Marcy Cornell at [email protected] or Tyler Conrad at [email protected].   

As always, I am appreciative and grateful for your work and support. I am confident we will GOTV and provide the votes President Biden needs to win Pennsylvania and we will elect our Democratic candidates from the top to the bottom of the ballot.

In Unity,

Charlotte

Yesterday was Flag Day, celebrating the first national flag design for the new nation approved by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1777. Pennsylvania was then actually the first state to name it a legal holiday.

Flying the flag appropriately is one sign of patriotism. The U.S. flag code states: “The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.”

Prominent Republicans, right-wing protesters, (and one SCOTUS justice) who are anxious to try authoritarianism over democracy have taken to flying the flag upside down when they disagree with the results of free and fair elections – or want to appease their convicted felon candidate.

It’s clear that these people are badly misinformed, since even Trump’s own Justice Department found no election fraud that would have changed the 2020 result, and Trump was convicted last month by a NY state jury of his peers, not the DOJ.

Americans who care about our country and democracy don’t want to elect a candidate who is running mostly for revenge (and to avoid more trials), and they won’t stand for this bad behavior. Fly the flag right, or don’t fly it.

As CCDC Chairwoman Valyo stated above, volunteers are needed to canvass new voters, those less likely to vote without encouragement, and left-leaning independent voters.

This activity goes to the foundation of our cause – getting our voters and as many “never Trumpers” to the polls, and to encourage vote-by-mail for those who may have difficulty voting in-person due to family, work, travel, or heath reasons.

And it’s rewarding.

Democratic voters in Chester County, even those not voting regularly, have realized that the issues involved in this election can and will affect them: the ability to make one’s own health decisions, that love is love, that we must protect our environment and reduce the effects of climate change, fight for equal rights and equity, address gun violence, and save democracy. Many will answer your knocks and want to share their hopes and concerns. We need you to carry these messages and encourage them to vote for Democrats on November 5th.

Last day to register to vote: October  21, 2024
Last day to apply for a mail-in or civilian absentee ballot: October 29
Election Day: November 5 (Polls open 7am-8pm; all mail-in and absentee ballots due)