Election experts warn of threats to democracy in November

We did it! On May Day, people in 5,000 places across the country shut down business as usual, costing Trump and his billionaire backers billions in lost income. Schools closed, transportation was disrupted, and people refused to work or shop.

Based on international experience, that is what it will take to stop Trump’s self-coup: large-scale, nonviolent economic disruption.

We have to convince Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and the rest of America’s economic elite to withdraw their support from an authoritarian takeover. They understand money. We have to shut off the flow—and demonstrate our ability to do it again.

The next step will be an even bigger shutdown in November if Trump follows through on threats and efforts to subvert the midterm elections.

That subversion is already underway. MAGA redistricting threatens Black representation in Congress. Trump has sought restrictions on mail voting, disproportionately used by Democrats and independents. The SAVE Act could make voting harder for millions who lack ready access to documentary proof of citizenship. We should also be prepared for federal agents or other government personnel around polling places intimidating voters.

An historic coalition is preparing to respond.

May Day Strong includes hundreds of labor unions and community organizations. Nine cities representing a substantial share of the national economy have committed to sustained economic disruption if the elections are sabotaged. Some of us seek to make Tucson part of that national shutdown: “No work. No school. No shopping.”

We already have experience.

In January, responding to the killings in Minneapolis, Tucson activists helped shut down schools and businesses. Thousands stopped shopping, especially online, and students joined thousands marching through the city. If democracy itself is at stake in November, we will need to do more.

Preparation is crucial. Across the country, organizers have spent the summer conducting nonviolence, leadership and solidarity training. Tucson sent a delegation to a May gathering in St. Louis of 600 activists from every state. Two of us recently returned from another national gathering to study lessons from the Minneapolis resistance.

Of course, we must also elect pro-democracy candidates: donate, register voters, knock on doors and get everyone to the polls.

But 2020 taught us that voting may not be enough. Trump refused to accept an election he lost and tried to overturn its results. We must prepare for attempts to stop vote counting, prevent certification or keep duly elected candidates from taking office.

During Arizona’s July 21 primary, Election Defense Poll Monitors were deployed here and elsewhere in the state as a dry run for November. In Pima County, four-person “Defender” teams stood ready to respond to reports of intimidation or disruption. We are also organizing larger teams of “Democracy Witnesses”—trained nonviolent activists prepared to draw public and media attention to attempts to interfere with the election.

And we must prepare our ultimate nonviolent tactic if election results are voided or otherwise subverted: the Shutdown.

Please join us. Sign the pledge at TucsonShutdown.org: “No work. No school. No shopping.” Commit to daily demonstrations if that red line is crossed. Get trained to move beyond symbolic protest and nonviolently disrupt business as usual when necessary.

This movement is explicitly nonviolent, including no damage to property. Nonviolence works in part by winning support from the undecided middle and demonstrating our willingness to accept consequences rather than inflict them on others.

We should work as hard as we can to win the midterms.

And we should be equally prepared to defend the results.

This may be our last chance to defend what remains of our democracy.