Aloha Reader,

Our October 17 Vote Early campaign was the largest single-day early voting activation in Hawaiʻi and US history. Mahalo to everyone who joined the rallies — you even made it onto Rachel Maddow’s show. With nine days to go, here is where things stand and how we get ready for what comes after November 3.

In this issue

• Don’t ease up: a warning from the Lincoln Project
• Nailbiter in Maine: help Troy Jackson and Matt Dunlap get out the vote
• Did our postcards, texts, and calls make a difference?
• Election protection: what to watch for and where to report it
• If you haven’t voted yet: drop boxes and voter guides
• On our minds: Ukraine, Starlink and the Kushner–Witkoff deals

Don’t ease up: a warning from the Lincoln Project

The margin of error in current polls is wide enough that Democrats could end up with anywhere from 47 to 56 Senate seats, so we need to keep relentless pressure on every congressional race. The Lincoln Project, a coalition of Republican strategists who broke with Trump, has a clear message for the party: don’t repeat 2024, when the messaging around Kamala Harris grew overconfident and pivoted to playing nice. We listen because these insiders helped build the political machine we’re working to dismantle, so they know exactly how it works and how to beat it. That’s why we can’t go soft now. The people undermining our democracy have already taken over too much. Watch the video.

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Nailbiter in Maine: help Troy Jackson and Matt Dunlap get out the vote

The Maine Senate race between Troy Jackson and Susan Collins is pretty much tied in the latest polling, with Collins drawing most of her support from voters without a college degree. We featured this contest in our September 20 newsletter. Collins has held on despite reporting on a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) bribery probe tied to a Honolulu defense contractor’s donations, her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, and her 96% record of backing Trump. It helps that $68 million in outside money (including money from Elon Musk) has gone into attacking Jackson — in a state with fewer residents than Hawaiʻi.

Further down the ballot, Matt Dunlap is neck and neck with former Republican Governor Paul LePage in ME-02, Maine’s 2nd Congressional District. It’s an open seat because the Democratic incumbent, Representative Jared Golden, isn’t running for reelection. Dunlap is endorsed by Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, End Citizens United, and several unions.

TAKE ACTION: Join Indivisible National and Indivisible Greater Portland to phone bank for Troy and Matt. For more opportunities, check the IHSN events page.

Did our postcards, texts, and calls make a difference?

Josh Turek, the Democrat running for Joni Ernst’s open Senate seat in Iowa, says YES. Laurie Temple Field, a former member of Indivisible Hawaiʻi Statewide Network (IHSN), caught up with him on the campaign trail and recorded his message to us.

Election protection: what to watch for and where to report it

Together with Indivisible National and its partners, we’re shifting our focus to election protection. This isn’t hypothetical. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is already acting on Trump’s orders to challenge voter eligibility and election results. The DOJ sued California over a highly inaccurate list of 20,000 alleged noncitizen voters, yet has charged only 28 of them. Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former defense lawyer, has threatened similar suits against other states.

On Friday, the department went further, filing a preemptive suit to challenge Alaska’s vote certification if the incumbent Republican senator loses.

If there’s a call for national action, IHSN will notify you right away. In the meantime, if you or anyone you know sees interference with voting, ballot delivery or counting, report it to the Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).

And remember, our best defense is a win too big to rig.

If you haven’t voted yet: drop boxes and voter guides

You still have a few days, but don’t wait. Your county must receive your ballot by 7:00 pm on November 3. Take it to the nearest drop box to make sure it’s counted (Hawaiʻi County, Kauaʻi, Maui, Oʻahu). For information on your races, use the state voter guide or Civil Beat’s coverage.

State amendments on your ballot

Every ballot statewide includes two proposed constitutional amendments. The first would give the state Senate more time to review judicial appointments. The second would let counties issue bonds for infrastructure, repaid by future property tax growth rather than higher rates. Recent storms exposed weaknesses across the islands and made this a pressing need. Founding IHSN member Patti Cook points out she has been advocating for it for 35 years. On Oʻahu, IHSN has also taken positions on four of the Honolulu charter amendments.

TAKE ACTION: Go vote and take your friends and family with you 😊

On our minds: Ukraine, Starlink and the Kushner-Witkoff deals

Ukraine has now defended itself against Russia longer than the Soviet Union held out against the Nazis in what Russians call the “Great Patriotic War” — 1,705 days versus 1,418. Russian forces are openly attacking civilians and infrastructure. This week we learned that Trump and Musk took the unconscionable step of disabling the Starlink service Ukraine relies on for its defense. It fits a pattern with the oil deals Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s unconfirmed, extra-governmental negotiators, have been making with Putin.

Let’s call this what it is: treason. Trump, Musk, Kushner, and Witkoff have been aiding the primary adversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at the expense of our allies’ civilians. The word corruption doesn’t cut it anymore — this is criminality and crookedness at the highest level of government. We can’t wait for the new Congress to be seated and find its spine.

TAKE ACTION: To support Ukraine, Yale historian Timothy Snyder shares donation resources at the bottom of his Substack posts.

Keep the faith and keep showing up. Clearing this midterm election hurdle is how we build a Hawaiʻi and a country where the government works for all of us, not just the well-connected.

Warmest Aloha

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