Year: 2018

Ride Transit free on Election Day in Tucson

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CITY OFFERS FREE RIDES ON ELECTION DAY

Free Transit Fares on November 6th on Sun Tran, Sun Link and Sun Van

“The City of Tucson will offer free transit fares all day on Tuesday, November 6th, to make it easier for citizens to vote on Election Day.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for voters to get to the polls,” said Mayor Jonathan Rothschild. “The right to vote is so important, and we want to ensure that everyone who’s eligible to vote has the opportunity to vote.”

Everyone is welcome to ride Sun Tran, Sun Express, and the Sun Link streetcar for free.  For Sun Van paratransit passengers, rides will also be free.  Sun Shuttle and Sun Shuttle Dial-a-Ride are not participating in the Free-Ride Day, so those riders will pay the regular fare.

“Sun Tran’s comprehensive network of bus routes provides Tucson with a vital resource for citizens’ ability to exercise their right to vote,” said Sun Tran General Manager Steve Spade. “The service will help more people be able to have their voice heard.”

To find their polling place, registered voters can visit the Pima County Elections Department website.  The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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Time’s up! Return your early mail-in ballots by Wednesday

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Upwards of 75% of Arizonans cast their vote by early mail-in ballots.

Voters must return their mail-in ballot by Wednesday, October 31. According to the Arizona Daily Star today:

As of last Friday, Pima County had delivered 407,500 early ballots to Pima County voters.

Approximately 185,500 completed ballots — roughly 45.5 percent — had been returned to the Pima County Recorder’s Office as of Saturday.

What are you waiting for? Tick-tock people!

The Arizona Republic offers some helpful hints:

This Wednesday, Oct. 31, is the last day for Arizonans to mail in their early ballots for the Nov. 6 general election.

Ballots mailed after Wednesday may not arrive in time to be counted on Election Day.

The vast majority of Arizonans, about 75 percent, typically cast a ballot by mail. For those ballots to be counted, election officials must receive them before polls close.

Voters on the Permanent Early Voting List should have already received their mail-in ballots. It’s too late to request another mail-in ballot for this election, but you can still vote in person.

Don’t forget to sign the envelope

When sending in a ballot, don’t forget to sign the front of the envelope. Unsigned ballots aren’t counted.

You must sign the affidavit on the envelope, in the designated box, to attest that you are the registered voter whose ballot is contained inside.

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On the Hands of America’s President, the Blood of 11 American Jews

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Bristle at the bluntness of the title of this post if you wish. But the chain of causation is clear.

I could never make the case as eloquently as others have, so I’ll quote them here.

First, Julia Ioffe, in How much responsibility does Trump bear for the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh?, brings her own experience as a Jewish immigrant from Russia and the victim of vicious attacks from Trump’s rabid supporters to bear on the hate-inspired massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue:

After I published a profile of Trump’s third wife, Melania, that displeased her — and his supporters — the alt-right deluged me with anti-Semitic insults and imagery, culminating in clear death threats— such as an image of a Jew being shot execution-style or people ordering coffins in my name. When Trump was asked to condemn these attacks by his supporters, he said, “I don’t have a message” for them.

…

Culpability is a tricky thing, and politicians, especially of the demagogic variety, know this very well.

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Goodness and Decency will always prevail over the forces of Hate and Darkness at all times.

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Last week, the forces of  reactionary alt right  terrorists, influenced by demagogues in the right-wing social media and political arena: Sent pipe bombs through the mail to assassinate critics  (including two former Presidents and the 2016 popular vote winner) of the President. Murdered two innocent African Americans in Louisville when he could not find an African American … Read more

NextGen Arizona is working hard and well in increasing Millennial turnout for this and future elections

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NextGen Arizona Get out the Vote Event Petting Zoo on October 23, 2018, at ASU West

An organization originally designed to promote progressive causes like universal and affordable health care, green energy infrastructure, inclusion, and reducing income inequality, Nextgen America intensified its mission in 2018 to register and promote increased voter turnout among as many of the nation’s millennial population (ages 18 to 35) as possible in 11 states (Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin.)

Founded by Tom Steyer, a billionaire businessman and philanthropist who has been in the news for launching ads calling for the impeachment of Donald Trump, NextGen recognizes that millennial turnout has lagged behind other voting groups in election after election and their goal is to actively alter that trajectory this cycle and in future ones. Already, as of October 25, 2018, they have registered 253, 560 new millennial voters in the 11 states they are focused on with 7,133 volunteers. They are doing this by canvassing universities and colleges, hosting and promoting events such as movie screenings and petting zoos, conducting an extensive social media grassroots and online campaign, and walking door to door. Mostly focused on statewide and congressional candidates, the organization is also working its way to assisting more local candidates who are running for the state legislature.

NextGen Arizona Get out the Vote Event Petting Zoo on October 23, 2018, at ASU West

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