Download our slate here and take it to the polls with you!

A Word from the Chair

THIS IS IT! THE FINAL WEEK BEFORE ELECTION DAY. THIS IS WHEN YOU ARE THE MOST NEEDED. 

If you have volunteered so far, thank you, and if you haven't, we sure could use you, even just for one shift. Knocking doors (preferred) and texting or making calls (if you'd rather) will tell your neighbors that Democrats ARE here in Houghton County, and we're energized and giving it everything we've got to make sure our fellow citizens can remain safe in our state.

We often invoke the memory of January 6th to remind people what it is we're protecting American democracy from. I'll also ask you to think about November 6th - on the day after the election, let's wake up happy that America chose to move forward, to stand by our allies and our principles, and knowing that you left it all on the field to make that happen.

The signup links for our canvasses are below. We have our ongoing big group canvass meetings Thursday night at Cyberia in Houghton at 5:30pm, then Saturday through Tuesday we are running the final GOTV operation from our HQ at 323 Quincy St in Hancock, with shifts at 9, 12, 3, and 6 all four days. (Yes, even on Election Day, we'll be out chasing those last votes!) You are welcome to sign up for multiple shifts, and bring friends, either to go out as partners or to cover more ground. We also have one last group canvass meeting Saturday 4pm at Cyberia for Houghton-based folks on foot (especially Tech students) who can't make it to Hancock.

ELECTION NIGHT WATCH PARTIES

After the polls close, it's time to wait for the results. If you want to join other Democrats to keep an eagle eye on the returns, we'll be hosting an Election Night watch party at the HQ starting at 8pm (and probably going until late - who knows when the election will be called this year!).

There will also be an Election Night watch party on the Tech campus at 7pm in M&M U115. Students and faculty especially are invited to sit in the lecture hall, put up the cable news on the big screen, and grab a slice or two while we watch. Come join us at either party to celebrate your efforts and cheer when Kamala Harris is projected to become the next President of the United States!

MOBILIZE LINKS FOR CANVASSING SIGN UP!

Group Canvass - meet at Cyberia in Houghton 5:30pm Thursday or at 4 PM Saturday.

Sign up here for any shifts November 2 through Election Day November 5. These shifts start from the Houghton Dems office at 323 Quincy in Hancock.

Absentee Voters - PLEASE Vote! / Early Voting Continues / Rides to the Polls

SOME ABSENTEE VOTING FACTS:

• In Houghton County there are 4,551 voters on the permanent mail ballot list.

• As of this past weekend a total of 6,095 absentee ballots have been sent to Houghton County voters.

• As of this past weekend ONLY 3,945 of those ballots have been returned.

You may wonder how we know those numbers. Well, we’ll get to that in the next item, but first we’d like to remind you:

IF YOU STILL HAVE AN ABSENTEE BALLOT SITTING AT HOME, PLEASE VOTE YOUR BALLOT AND RETURN IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! 

With only one week left until Election Day, hand delivery of your absentee ballot is recommended to avoid possible postal delays. Deliver your absentee ballot to your local city or township clerk’s office, or designated drop box. Not sure how to find that? Check out this Michigan Voter Information Center web page.

EARLY VOTING CONTINUES

All Houghton County voters - who have not voted by mail already - are eligible to vote at the county’s centralized Early Voting site: Houghton City Center, Room 203. Early Voting continues daily from 8AM until 4PM through Sunday.

If you have any questions about Early Voting call the County Clerk’s office at 906-482-1150.

Resources for Info on Vote Counts

IN MICHIGAN

So, how did we know those absentee vote counts we quoted in the last item? Simple, we checked the Michigan Voting Dashboard, provided by the MI Secretary of State. The dashboard is part of that office’s efforts to make information about ongoing vote totals in Michigan as transparent and accessible as possible. There’s a number of statistics available. You can view vote counts statewide, or by county, city or township. It’s updated daily, and it’s a great way to satisfy your Michigan voting curiosity.

ACROSS THE NATION

Curious about national early and absentee voting totals? One website we’ve been watching is TargetEarly. On their site you can see voting totals nationwide, by state, or by a grouping of battleground states. Within those totals you can see breakdowns by gender, age, race, etc. There’s even a breakdown by “modeled party” which can give you a sense of the scale of voting by the parties, but a word of caution - it is only a “model” of what party a given voter may “align to”. Sites like these have NO visibility to the actual content of individual ballots and so cannot show us running vote totals for the Presidency.

Keep This Number Handy When You Go to the Polls

The Michigan Democratic Party’s Voter Protection Hotline is available to answer any questions and to address any problems you may encounter as you go to vote during this year’s election.

The hotline number is 1-833-MI VOTES (1-833-648-6837).

Here in Houghton County testing of voting equipment has been completed and our County Clerk Jennifer Kelly assures us that every vote will be counted this election.

Yet, it is still possible for disruptions to occur that have nothing to do with the integrity of our election workers. We simply do not know what to expect from the opposition. If you are at a polling site and you experience ANY ACTIVITY that seems intended to threaten or disrupt voting, please call the hotline. A real person will speak with you in real time.

This is the safest and best way for voters to report such activity.

Office Hours

Monday: 5 to 7 PM

Tuesday: 4 to 7 PM

Wednesday: 5 to 7 PM

Thursday: 3 to 8 PM

Friday: 5:30 to 7:30 PM

Saturday: 10 AM to 8 PM

 323 Quincy Street, Hancock 

Yard Signs

On the Campaign Trail

UPDATES FROM THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN TRAIL

ON THE ROAD WITH HARRIS WALZ

The campaigning has continued nonstop over the last week, and will continue at a high pace right up to Election Day. Some rally highlights here in Michigan - Barack Obama rapping lyrics from “Lose Yourself” in Detroit, Michelle Obama revving up a Kalamazoo crowd with an epic speech, and Gwen Walz and Mandy Moore rallying in Marquette. Mrs. Walz also visited Escanaba where she knocked on doors with volunteers organized by the Bay College Democrats Club. Last night both VP Harris and Gov Walz appeared at a rally in Ann Arbor.

Outside of Michigan highlights of course included the rallies in Atlanta and Houston which set attendance records for the VP (23,000 and 30,000 respectively). You can view those rallies, and all of her rallies on the “Live” tab of the Kamala Harris campaign’s Youtube page.

Tonight, VP Harris will speak in the shadow of the White House, on the Ellipse where Donald Trump rallied his insurrectionists on January 6th. The program is expected to kick off around 7 PM. The Vice President is expected to contrast Trump's worst moment in office with her optimistic vision for the future.

TRUMP CONTINUES BEING TRUMP

The Trump campaign has also been very active over the last week, and yet again managed to generate negative headlines.

The former President did not appear on CNN for what would have been the third Presidential debate, which instead was held as a town hall with VP Harris (where she said she did believe Trump is a fascist). Trump did appear on the Joe Rogan podcast on Friday. Almost 30 million have viewed the podcast episode, though it’s not clear how many actually made it to the end of Trump’s three hour long meander.

Trump blamed the Rogan interview for his hours long delay arriving for a rally Friday evening in Traverse City. It was widely reported that many of the attendees had left the rally by the time he arrived.

Trump was again late - this time by almost two hours - for a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. There was no long interview to blame this time, and it’s unclear why he arrived late.

But the Trump campaign’s big event of the week, and of this campaign season, was his rally on Sunday in Madison Square Garden. You will have a very difficult time finding any positive press from the event. Many of the early speakers “hurled insults at VP Harris” ahead of Trump’s speech. Politico called out the “racist rhetoric” at the rally, particularly from the lead speaker, a comedian, who called Puerto Rico “a floating island of garbage”, and said of Latinos that “they love making babies”. Steven Miller ramped up the anti-immigrant fervor by saying “America is for Americans, and Americans only.” As for Trump himself, he went further with his “enemy within” rhetoric - this time speaking of the entire Democratic Party and saying “they are indeed the enemy from within.” The New York Times called the whole affair a “carnival of grievances, misogyny and racism”.

AND YET ITS STILL A TIGHT RACE…

The polls remain tight and VP Harris continues to call herself and her running mate the underdogs in this election. But a tight race should energize us, not discourage us. The bottom line remains the same - we have to keep our focus on electing Kamala Harris. She is keeping her focus on the things that matter to Americans.

As Coach Walz says, WE HAVE TO LEAVE IT ALL ON THE FIELD. Remember - when we fight, we win. And the best way to fight with 7 voting days left, is to VOTE and get out the vote. Make sure your family and friends all have a plan to vote. Go door knocking with us this Thursday or over the weekend.

Our Next Monthly Meeting - Next Wednesday

HCDP Monthly Meetings: Unless otherwise communicated our monthly meetings are held the first Wednesday of each month. Potluck at 6 PM, Meeting at 7 PM. In the conference room at the Houghton Super 8, and by Zoom (starting at 7 PM).

NEXT MEETING: November 6th

Governmental & Community Meetings

THU NOV 7

The Houghton County Board of Canvassers will meet at 9:00 a.m. next Thursday to begin the canvass and certification of the November election results. The canvass will include all precincts, including all Absent Voter Precincts, in Houghton County. If the Board does not complete the canvass on Thursday, which is likely, it will continue on Friday. The canvass is an open public meeting and will take place at the Franklin Township Hall, 49850 US Highway 41. More information can be found on the Board’s web page.