11/06/18 11/06/18 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! pres. trump: and we will make america great again. amy: as voters head to the polls today in a midterm election seen as a referendum on donald both's presidency with houses of congress on the ballot, we will speak with mother jones reporter ari berman about the record 36 million americans who've voted early this year. this comes as a trial kicks off challenging the trump administration's decision to put a citizenship question on the

census, sparking fears of a vast undercount in states with large immigrant communities. >> the census is supposed t to cocount everyoyone in america, ncncitizen or r citizen. if it islly -- manipulated for political purposes or the count is done wrong, there's no way to fix that. amy: then we'll go to colorado, where voters have managed to get a statewide anti-fracking measure on today's ballot. the oil and gas industry has put tens of millions of dollars against it. and we look at the historic number of women of color running for public office in today's election. at least 255 women are on the ballot as congressional candidates, including a record number of women of color. in georgia, stacey abrams hopes to become the first states black governor and the country's first african-american woman governor. >> if we want deliverance want then enemy, if we if we want give --

deliverance from someone who will lie to his friends and enemies, then we have got to vote our hearts out on tuesday. amy: we will speak with aimee allison, president of democracy in color and founder of she the people, and we look at amendment forbade in florida. if it passes today, it will be the largest disenfranchisement the americans since women got right t to vote, almost a centuy ago. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. voters head to the polls today for a midterm election that's widely seen as a referendum on donald trump's presidency, with both houses of congress and 36 governors races in the balance. 36 million americans voted early this year, with participation high among young people and people of color. that is up from 27 million four years ago, leading many to predict a record turnout for a

midterm election. politico is reporting that glitchy voting machines in texas and georgia have caused some votes for democrats to be switched for the republican candidate or deleted. experts have said the error is a technical malfunction. voters and civil rights groups in texas and georgia have filed complaints in what are two of the most closely watched states this midterm election. in the final stretch of campaigning, president trump appeared at rallies in ohio, indiana, and missouri monday. he repeated his vicious verbal attacks on democrats and a central american migrant caravan heading towards the u.s.-mexico border. pres. trump: you think we are letting that caravan come into this country? you can forget it. but the democrats want to abolish ice. they want america to be a giant sanctuary city for drug dealers, predators, and bloodthirsty ms-13 killers.

republicans believe america should be a sanctuary for law-abiding americans am a not criminal aliens. amy: at his final campaign stop in missouri monday night, trump was introduced by right-wing radio host rush limbaugh. he -- trump then invited fox news host sean hannity to the stage. hannity then addressed the crowd after he had promised earlier in the day he would only be covering the event as a journalist. he immmmediately a tax the pres. thehe president o of >> by thehe way, a all of those e e t the bacare e fakeews. hannityng those shot wanted to work colleagues of his own network, fox news. meanwhile, backlash to a racist campaign ad trump tweeted last week continued monday. the ad features a mexican man, luis bracamontes, who was convicted of killing two california deputies earlier this year. in the ad, he's seen smiling and saying, "i'm m going to kill moe cops soon" as the on screen reads -- "democrats let him into our country. democrats let him stay."

the ad also shows crowds of migrants pushing through a gated barrier, equipping them with murderers. cnn called it blatantly racist. pullnd fox news agreed to the ad, though they did broadcast it to millions of people before. facebook blocked t the ad from receiving paid distribution after initialllly allowing it. when asked monday about the ad trump himself tweeted last wednesday, trump denied any knowledge of it. pres. trump: i don't know anything about it. we have a lot of ads. they certainly are effective based on the numbers that we are seeing. , why did youent like the ad? pres. trump: a lot of things are offensive. your questions are offensive a lot of times. amy: at a campaign event for agriculture secretary sonny perdue described the stakes of the florida governor's election on tuesday as being "cotton-pickin' important" at a campaign event on saturday for

republican ron desantis. a is seen -- clearly seen as racist remark. meanwhile, in georgia, democratic gubernatorial candidate stacey abrams is accusing her opponent secretary of state brian kemp of abusing his power with cooked up accusations against the democraticic party. on sunday, cap charged democrats with hacking voter registration systems, but provided absolutely no evidence. the last-m-minute probe is widey seen as an attempt to derail the abrams campaign by twisting a concerned voter's complaint about alleged voting security issues that was sent to the democrats and they then sent it to voter protection, which is run by none other than brian kemp, who is a secretary of state who is also the gubernatorial candidate challenging stacey abrams. this is abrams. >> once again, for the firm time, he has put our voters at risksk and refuse to take

responsibility. the first two time he blamed the vendor and an employee in this on the democratic party. brian kemp has never once taken responsibility for his action and he should not get a promotion to a higher position because it will constantly abuse th p power as s well. amy: meanwhile, kemp campaign robocalls are repeating false claims that radical abrams is planning on stealing the election by allowing undocumented people to vote. >> radical stacey abrams is so extreme that she wants to allow illegal immigrants to vote in this election. we can't let her steal this election. it is up to you to stop her. amy: the kemp campaign's official robocalls went out as a series of unofficial, explicitly racist robocalls targeting abrams have also been reported. the calls are reported to be the work of white supremacist media group roroad to power. a warning, this recording is extremely racist. >> this is the magical new growth. oprah winfrey asking you to make a fellow may grow stacey abrams

the governor of georgia. amy: oprah winfrey campaigned with abrams last week. road to power is also responsible for racist robocalls targeting african-american florida gubernatorial candidate andrew gillum. students in high schools and colleges across the country are planning to walk out of class this minor 10:00 a.m. to march to the polls as part of the walkout to vote. organized by the youth-led network future coalition, studentsts will gogo to the polo cast ballots and, for those too young to vote, cheer on their older peers. a federal trial is underway in new york city that couould overturn the trump administration's plans to put a citizenship question on the 2020 census. votiting rights activists s feae question will deter r immigrants from participating in the censns leading to a vast undercount in states witith large immigrant communities. this could impact everything from thehe redrawing off congressssional maps to the allocation of fefederal funding. fedederal courts have ordered commerce secretaryry wilbur ross to testify to his motivations in ordering the citizenship questionon. in july, u.s. district court judge jesse furman said it was

plausible that "will do ross' decision to reinstate the citizenship question was motivated at least in part by discriminatory animus and will result in a discriminatory effect." we'll have more on the fight over the citizenship question on the 2020 census after headlines when we speak with journalist ari berman, author of "give us the ballot: the modern struggle for voting rights in america." in more election news, colorado voteters will decide on a ballot measure that could restrict where new oil and gas wells can be located. proposition 112 would bar drilling sites closer than about a half-mile from buildings and vulnerable areas like parks and waterways. another colorado measure backed by the fossil fuel industry, proposition 74, would make it easier for property owners to sue for compensation if their property values are diminished by government action. critics say prop 74 would force taxpayers to pay companies not to frack for oil and gas. in washington state, voters will decide the fate of initiate 1631, a ballotot measure that

would make their state the first in the country to enact a fee on carbon dioxide emissions. the measure would force polluters to pay $15 per metric ton of carbon emitted starting in 2020, with annual increases of $2 per ton until washington meets a target for greenhouse gas reductions. fossil fuel interests have spent at least a record $32 million to defeat the measure. here in new york city,y, local leaders gathered at the afafricn burial ground monument monday to condemn racist graffiti found on a sign at the historic landmark last week that read "kill the n-word" -- with the n-word spelled out. last week, anti-semitic graffiti was found at several sites in brooklyn, new york, including a synagogue in prospect heights. councilman jumaane williams warned yesterday of an "atmosphere that's been created in this country, unfortunately that's coming down to the city and this state." this comes as abc news

identified at least 17 criminal cases were trump's name was listed or rhetoric was directly invoked in connection with acts of violence. in cameroon, armed rebels kidnapped at least 79 students and their principal, according to local reports.. the kidnapping, in northwestern cameroon, was reportedly orchestrated by separatist fighters who have been calling for a seceion of camameroon's anglophone regions, which they say are politically disadvantaged d in the predominantly french-speakining nation. in ukraine, 33-year old anti-corruption activist kateryna handziuk died sunday from complications from wounds caused by an acid attack three months ago. handziuk was a prominent anti-corruption advocate and political adviser who spoke out against corruption in law enforcement agencies and the police's inaction in the face of increasing attacks on ukrainian activists. protesters gathered in five ukrainian cities sunday evening to call for justice and a transparent investigation into handziuk's killing. five men have been detained but no one has been publicly charged with ordering the attack. human rights groups say that there have been more than 55

unsolved attacks on activists in ukraine since the start of 2017. and in brazil, former president luiz inacio lula da silva is challenging his conviction on corruption charges after the judge who ruled on hisis case accecepted a top position n in e cabinet of president-elect jair bolsonaro. lula's lawyers argue that newly appointed justice minister sergio moro has proven his bias by joining bolsonaro's cabinet and that the charges against lula were always politically motivated and designed to keep him from running for the presidency again. lula is currently serving a 12-year term in prison. polls ahead of the election showed he was on track to win easily. in october, the world-renowned linguist, dissident, and author noam chomsky visited lula in prison. he recently spokoke to democracy now! about that encounter. >> solitary confinement, barred books, press come

or journals, and crucially the courts decideded not permitted o ,ake a public statement on like, say, a convicted murderer. so he is silenced, put away. then comes the next step -- there has been a major -- in fact, i think you should be regarded as probably the most important popolitical prisoner n the world today. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. to see the full interview with noam chomsky, go to democracynow.org. millions of voters head to the polls today for a midterm election that is widely seen as a referendum on donald trump's presidency, with both houses of congress and 36 governors races in the balance. alsoons have already voted a record 36 million americans voted early this year, with participation high among young people and people of color.

record numbers. that is up from 27,000,004 years ago, leading many to predict a record turnout for this determine election today. iss comes as politico reporting glitches with voting machines in texas and georgia have caused some votes for democrats to be switched for the republican candidate or deleted. experts have said the error is a technical malfunction. voters and civil rights groups in texas and georgia have filed complaints in what are two of the most closely watched states this midterm election. for more, we're joined by ari berman a senior writer at mother jones, reporting fellow at the nation institute, author of "give us the ballot: the modern struggle for voting rights in america." i want to talk to you about where you were yesterday at the census trial, which might include a question about citizenship. but i want to start with this day, tuesday. now collection day for many, for example in your, we don't have early voting. absentee, but not early voting. onlyny places, there is

voting, and we've never seen anything like this. 36 million people have early voted. talk about the significance of this. >> happy election day. today ino good to vote new york, unfortunately, only on a tuesday. this election is trying and a stork amount of interest. there are so many important races, notot just in the house f representatives and the senate, but governors races, down ballot races, races for state legislature,e, secretary of sta, for state attorneys general. these are really critical races for democracy. what you are seeing is in spite of all of the voter suppression efforts that you have covered on this show and i have reported on, people are going out in record numbers. they are waiting in two to three hour lines in georgia and texas and florida to cast a ballot. voting should not be as difficult as it is in this country, but it is heartening to see so many people get out and participate in spite of the

barriers they are facing. amy: and this 36 million, it is believed many our young people. and the significance of this is that all of the polls talk about likely voters -- which are people who have voted before. -- have federal rourke better rourke and texas, lot of the all-time pundits and networks saying doesn't he understand these people are not going to vote? that is what he's going to lose, they say. on the other hand, maybe he has tapped into something absolutely critical. this could clearly take him over the top. >> if you look at the numbers early voting shattering g recors among young people, among people of color. percent,ing is up 200 300%, 400% among young voters in places like florida and texas and georgia compared to 2014. usually a lot ofof people sit ot midterm elections. have record turnout, half of americans aren't going to participate in this midterm election. but we're seeing a lot more

young people, lot more voters of color, a lot more people that typically sometimes sit out midterm elections going and showing up because they believe these races are so important. amy: that you have focused so much on come as has carol anderson -- both of you will be participating in our six-hour broadcast tonight. folks can check it out at democracynow.org from 7:00 eastern time to 1:00 in the morning. we're joining up with the intercept for a joint his torque broadcast covering -- historic broadcast covering all of the initiatives. at you and carol anderson are particularly focused on voter suppression. talk about how you see that playing in. we read this report that some people who are voting early, they're finding there are glitches in the voting machines. others feel a be they can't vote at all when they actually could. >> we see 24 states have passed new restrictions on voting sisie ththe 2010 election.

things like stricter voter id laws or early voting or new barriers to voter registration. this affects millions of voters. we are seeing, quite frankly, an avalanche of voter suppression in this election. in georgia, north dakota, kansas, texas, in really important swing states. many of them red states. that have competitive races for the first time. we are seeing so many efforts by republicans to try to prevent people from voting. whether it is a voter id law in north dakota that can take native americans from the polls or whether it is georgia making full sirota fraud accusations or preventing people from registering, or voting machine changing results in texas or ex felons being disenfranchised in florida. it is not one state. nearly half the states in the country have passed new efforts to make it harder to vote. i hope this election is not tainted by voter suppression and i hope people get out in record numbers, but it is very concerning that if all across

the country we're seeing the suppression efforts. amy: native americans, the significance of this? but also talked about how this actually, interestingly, this attempt to suppress the vote may have galvanized evev more people to get out and vote. >> we could be seeing a b backlh to voter suppression of places like north dakota and georgia. what the courts did and the republican legislature did in north dakota is they put in place a new voter id law that basically y does not allllow nae americans to use t their tribal ids. they do not have street addresses. now there's this frantic effort days before the election, printing out ids that people can use. they printed these in record numbers. the printers are actually blowing up because their printiting so many triribal ids. if northon't know is dakota will accept those documents at t the polls. the secretary of state of not -- north dakota has been noncommittal.

he is republican, the archchitet ofof this voter id law. it is encouraging to see so many people g getting the ids, bubutt should not be this difficult. well before we were. amy: before we go, i want to turn to this addled brewing over the 2020 u.s. census. on monday, a federal trial began in new york city over challenges to the trump administration's decisision to put a citizenship question on the census. voting rights activists fear the question will deter immigrants from participating in the e cens and lead to a vast undercount in states with large immigrant communities, which could impact everything from the redrawawingf congressional maps to thee allolocation of federal funding. the american civil liberties union, along with 17 states, is challenging the addition of the citizenship question. on monday, the plaintiffs called their first expert witness, duke university political scientist sunshine hillygus, who testified that "the citizenship question will depepress participationon g noncitizens and hispanics." the citizenship question was

announced by commerce secretary wilbur ross, who touted it as a way to enforce the voting rights act and protect minorities against voter discrimination. white house spokesperson sarah sanders said then that it was "necessary for the department of justice e to protect vototers." >> the purpose is to determine individuals that are here. it also helelps to comply with e voting rights act. amy: however, on sunday evening, the plaintiffs released a deposition that seems to contradict the trump administration's stated purpose for adding the citizenship question to the census. the deposition from john gore, the former assistant attorney general for civil rights in the justice department, acknowledged the citizenship question was "not nececessary" to enforce the voting rights act. so far, at least five former directors of the census bureau who served under republican and democratic presidents have written a letter opposing the citizenship question. ari berman, you were in court

yesterday, a senior writer at mother jones magazine, here in new york, talk about the significance of all of this. >> it is a huge case for democracy. the census is basically the dna of our democracy. it is term in so many things that we do from how money is distributed to how political district's are drawn, to how many electoral votes states get. rigged, and all of american democracy will be rigged as well. this question about you citizenship, which has not been asked to its 1950, could have a suppressive effect on participation among noncitizens, among citizens, among latinos, native americans, asian americans, other minority groups . if that happens, that means areas with lots s of immigrants like california and new york and texas, will get less political power, will have fewer political seats. is important for the fairness of this -- that is why this questionon is being challenged. the rationale was dodone to

enforce the voting rights act is such a farce. this question about citizenship hasn't been asked since 1950. the voting rights act t s passed in 1965. yet never needed the question to enforce the voting rights act. the trump administration is not filed a civil lawsuit to enforce the voting rights act, so it is laughable and need to enforce the voting rights act. then we have smoking gun evidence on sunday night were the head of the justice department civil righthts divisn said -- amy: this is under trump, john gore. >> said it is not as a surge to enforce the voting rights act and he was told by jeff sessions, one of the administration, not to meet with the census bureau to discuss this. the fix was in from the bebeginning. this was done by kris kokobach, .teve e bannon, jeff sessions ththey wanted d the citizenship question -- amy: kobobach who is running in kansas. >> for governor. he will anti-immigrant laws all across the country.

steve bannon told wilbur ross, talk to kris kobach about a addg the e citizenship quesestion. it started with steve bannon, a white nationalist, and kris kobach, the architect of anti-immigration and voters oppression laws, then they talked to jeff sessions, long record of anti-immigrant sentiment. that is how the question got on the census. amy: the supupreme court d decin this week about whether wrubel ross could be deposed? the supreme court s said he does not have to be deposed. amy: is this one of the first decisions of judge kavanaugh? >> yes, but it was just procedural. we get read too much into it. they did say john gore had to testify. a lot of documents have been released undercutting with the trump administration said. this had nothing to do with enforcing the voting rights act. this is all about suppressing protect the patient from immigrants so there is with lots of immigrants have less political power. the census will ship political power for the gop instead of being a fair and accurate

document of all americans. amy: ari berman, thank you for being with us, senior fellow -- senior writer at mother jones, a reporting fellow at the nation institute, and author of "give us the ballot: the modern struggle for voting rights in america." we will link to your latest piece "trial over census citizenship question kicks off amid revelation of trump administration deception." i will see you and not so long from now when we do that six hour special. coming up on this show, we will be looking at a record-setting ballot initiative in colorado. we will be talking about oil and gas and fracking. we will be talking with aimee allison in georgia, head of democracy in color and she the people about women running in elections all over this country. forfinally, censu amendment pregnant florida, if passed today, could mean the enfranchisement of more people in this country than ever -- well, except -- no, just a

century ago when women got the right to vote will stop stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.orgrg, the war and peace repoport. i'm amy goodman. as we turn to the historic number of women of color running for public office in today's election in the united states, motivated in part by president donald trump's constant derogatory remarks against women and the numerous claims that he committed sexual assault, at least 255 women are on the ballot as congressional candidates, including a record number of women of color. in addition to 59 black female congressssional candididates, in georgia, stacey abrams hopes to become georgia's first black governor and the country's first black woman governor. this followsws major advances in the primaries earlier this year, when democratic socialist alexandria ocasio-cortez won an overwhelming victory against top

democrat congressman joe crowley in the bronx and queens for a house seat. she could become one of the dentist women ever elected to congress. two muslim women, palestinian-american rashida tlaib in michigan and somali-american ilhan omar in minnesota, also won their democratic party primaries for seats in the house. both women are running in strongly democratic districts meanwhile, in new mexico, deb haaland could become the nation's first native american woman to serve in congress. for more, we go to atlanta, georgia, where we're joined by aimee allison, president of democracy in color and founder of she the people. it is great to have you with us. you are going to be in new york, but i see you could not resist. you wanted to g go -- >> this is grant park 2008. it is the race everyone is watching post of amy: talk about what you are seeing right now in georgia. what could be history-making. >> it isn't just that stacey

abrams would make history as the first black woman governor -- although, that is very significant. it is how she ran her campaign. from the moment she declared her ,andidacy in albany, georgia last summer, she is had organizers on the ground in a simple path to victory that turns the playbook the democratic party has used for decades on its head. she looked at the unengaged people of color in the state of georgia, a state that is nearly a majority people of color, and she said, if we have a strategy of working with the community and registering and engaging people of color and leaving deeply into the base of the black women or 1.1 million of the voters that will come to the polls today, we have a path to victory to turn the state loop. i tell you the excitement on the ground is probable. i was here for early voting. every single black millennial that i have met in the course of

working and traveling around georgia has already voted. and i think just like the primary here in georgia, the pollsters are going to be surprised. i am very, very positive. at the same time, brian kemp, her opponent, has undo powerful stuff you never step down as secretary of state. the voter suppression tricks and the cheating on the part of the republicans is a very real barrier will continue to be aware of your georgia. amy: let's talk about some of what kemp has done. this is highly unusual. i have seen republican after republican now on the cable networks who often are there security what trump says -- parroting what trump says, saying kemp has gone a step too far. brian kemp, the secretary of date of georgia means he's in charge of the elections come also running for governor. he has been targeting voters with robocalls featuring false claims about abrams.

in this call, abrams is accused of stealing the election with votes from undocumented immigrants. cooked stacey abrams is so extreme that she wants to allow illegal immigrants to vote in this election. we can't let her steel's election. amy: and then there is this racist robo call from some white supremacist -- oprah winfrey was campaigning there in the last week. of course, joining stacey abrams dayse campaign trail before one of this country's most talked about races. >> this is the magical negro oprah winfrey asking you to make my fellow negress stacey abrams the governor of georgia. his ago, jews saw something in me. i see that same potential in stacey abrams, where others see

a poor man's aunt jemima, i see some white women can be tricky in the voted for, especially the fat ones. amy: quote a poor man's and jemima." this is horrifying. we saw something similar in floridaa that targeted this racist robo call that targeted andrew gillum, who is also running for governor. kempwant to say that brian -- it is not illegal for him to maintain secretary -- be the secretary of state, but it is unethical. he is a trump acolyte who feels embolden monopoly to the openly racist in his campaigning -- instead of talking but issues like medicare expansion or educatioion or criminal jususti, he is using racism openly to try to get people to the polls here in georgia. the thing is that even though stacey abrams has to face and

overcome this, that therere'ss something really beautiful that is happening in georgia. her campaign, which is multiracial and aspirational the one of the country's bright spots in the country. so despite the fact that what nationalists are backing brian kemp and he is using racist language, there's something more powerful and i think deeply transformational about the electoral organizing and the campaign that stacey abrams represents. so i think that positive message is going to overcome this racism in the end. amy: i want to ask about a close race in georgia, six congressional district. that is where oprah winfrey was campaigning also. it was in marietta. in, republican commerce member karen handel, one of the controversial head of the common breast cancer foundation who decided to end funding for planned parenthood.

planned parenthood and many of the organizations and leaders around the country said this is outrageous. she was forced out of komen but then ran in the most expensive race in u.s. history and a special election. and now she is fighting to maintain that seat, running against challenger lucy mcbath who is a gun control activist whose 17-year-old son, jordan davis -- she is african-american -- jordan was fatally shot by a 49-year-old white man at a gas station in 2012. he was in a car. he was a teenager with other teenagers. and the men said they were playing loud music in their car parked, and he shot into the car and killed jordan. lucy mcbath was galvanized to run for office after the february massacre at marjory stoneman douglas high school in parkland, florida. this is a close race. >> very close. let's remember back in 2017 when jon ossoff in the special election had a crowded field in

an opportunity to take that seat for the democrats. he made the mistake a lot of democrats did, which is to say, "i need to run a campaign that appeals to white moderates." he assumed it was a moderate district and that was the winning strategy. he had a lot of money. you set it is an extensive race. he had over $30 million. that he made a fatal error, which is to overlook in the primary strongest from a most loyal democrats -- black women and black men. and by the time he faced off with karen handel, he was overwhelmed by the republican vote. but lucy mcbath's dynamic is different in this race because, for one, there is an is stork outreach -- historic outreach like georgia 2006 raise in terms of getting voters who don't vote normally, infrequent voters out to the polls. there has been a registration and voter engagement that that district has not seen in the

past. i think that is when to be transformational. i certainly think lucy mcbath has a great chance of investing karen handedel -- besting karen handel tonight. amy: who else are you watching around the country? >> you mention the historic women of color. i want to note, women of color who are on t the ballot as congressional candidates, one of three women who are on the ballot are women of color. the vast majority of them did not have democratic support. as a group, there most likely to face challenges by other democrats. so there is a very big problem institutionally with state and national parties supporting the most loyal base. but i am looking at places where there is a real opportunity, flip opportunity for women of color. in new mexico, for example. there is a very good chance of taking her district and winning that for the d democrats. i am looking at jean ortiz jones

, down in harris county in texas bank who has a very good chance, running a very strong campa ign. i am looking at some of the races. there are s seven in all where u have women of color who are facing republicans, but campaigning and inspiring a multiracial progressive coalition that may be strong enough to motivate the number of voters that t it is going to tae to win. amy: you also have native american congressional c candide in n new mexico, deb haaland, wo wowould become the first native american woman in congress. >> she is an oppressive champion for progressive, broad-based justice agenda. i remember watching her speech the night that she won the primary and she said this is a victory for working people and a victory for indian country. i think this is the year that will be noted in history that

the native american community, in particular women, who are very strong progressives, their leadership is being recognized by the country. i think deb haaland is a perfect example of a person with vision and with heart. these are a group of leaders who are different, a different kind of leader who are leading with love and a commitment to justice . and d who i believe will govern witha few -- govern humanity. i think the native american leaders would transform what happens in terms of the agenda in congress. in idahoed a jordan would be the first u.s. native american governor if she wins today. >> that's right. amy: aimee allison, i look forward to talking to you tonight. we're speaking today and it is so calm. hear youg we can even tonight because you're going to be at the, what, you're going to be with stacey abrams in

atlanta. i can't imagine how loud it is going to be. you're going to be on the phone but we are doing a six hour special and you will be one of the people who we will be turning to to look at what is happening in this country. i hope folks tune in at 7:00 eastern standard time to 1:00 in the morning when democracy now! joins with the intercept in this historic special broadadcast. aimee,, thananyou for bebeing there, president of democracy in color and founder of she the people. when we come back, we're going to colorado. these aren't people running, these are ballot initiatives. the fuel in the fossil fuel industry is pouring tens of millions of dollars into defeat some of the people's initiatives on the ballot. and then we're going to hear about the possible enfranchisement of more people than we have ever seen since women got the right to vote,e, d it is amendment forbidding in florida.

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amy: that music video by none other than barbra streisand. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. now to denver, colorado. in colorado, voters have managed to get a statewide anti-fracking measure on today's ballot. propositition 112 wowould requie companies to place new wells at least 2500 feeeet from homes, schools, waterways, and other areas designated as vulnerable -- that's 2.5 to 5 times the current state regulation. the initiative is unprecedented in its scope, potentially barring new wells on 95% of land in top-producing countnties, and industry executiveves are watchg with concern, fearful that it could encourage similar measures across the nation. in response, the oil and gas industry has spent millions to defeat of proposition and put millions of dollars behind another measure on the ballot. a constitutional amendment that allows property owners to sue their local governments for

regulating industries like fracking. this is an ad supporting amendment 74 featuring republican mesa county commissioner john justman. >> i'm a proud colorado rancher and veteran, honored to have serveded and fought for oururayf life. i wass raised to understanand tt our propertyty belongs to us. so when government makes decisions that impact the value of our property am a w we should be able to a ask for fair market compensation. that is what has support amendment 74. no matter what kind of property you own or hope to own some day, you need to stand up for your rights. vote yes on 74. amy: that was an ad in favor of colorado amendment 74. oil and gas giants have poured almost $40 million into that amendment as a hedge against the passage of proposition 112, critics say. senator bernie sanders referenced the measure in a tweet saying --

"colorado amendment 74, pushed by the fossil fuel industry, seems to be one of the most dangerous propositions in the coununtry. it could o open the flood gates for oil, gas and other corporate interests to bankrupt the state. this extremely dangerous amendment must be defeated." for more, we go to denver, where we're joined by david sirota, investigative reporter for capital and main. his new article is headlined, "energy giants choose nuclear option in election's biggest fight over fossil fuel." itz it out for us -- tease out for us, david sirota, these two on the ballot. >> 1 112 is b basically there'sn a lot of fossil fuel growth i in the same areas where there has been population growth in colorado.. colorado what of the fastest-growing stateses in the country.y. and for y years, environmentalis and residents of ththese communities have been asasking e statee legislature to pass laws that would cap help these companies, these oil a and gas companieies, to set their frackg angeline riggs father back k frm hospitals them a child acre centers,s, and resididentialal neighborhoodods. in the oil and gas i industry hs used its power and has e ermous

polititical power in colorado, o blblock those initiatives in the lelegislature. enoughts out here got signatures t to get 112 on the ballot. and that h has terrified the oil and gas industry, which is used to getting its way on everything in this s state. and so the oil and gas industry responded with his constitutional measure, which as you describe it correctly, would empower those c companies to sue local communities if local communities pass lawaws to regulate the healtlth and safety and all l sorts of other public interest ways the oil and gas industry. so if a town decides it does not like -- that it isis hearing reports from parents that they found been zynga and her kids blood and are living their fracking rigs in that town besides to pass any kind of law rerestricting are regulating not fracking activity in the town, amendment 74 would effectively empower those companies to sue

that local government for alleged l losses, profit losses, if it puts those laws into place. so the effect would b be a financial, deep financial, disincentive, a threat of bankruptcy if any local community's try to regulate thee oil and gas industry at all. and this was her, i believe, is a template for other states. were you have states pushing to deal with climate change to try to reduce fossil fuel emissions, this is a template, this private property measure, that ginny put onto the ballot in other states in a way that would effectively ban and block any state a and locacal effort to deal withth climate change and reduce fossil fuel use. amy: talk about who is behind today.d what this means also, how mamany people have already y voted in coladado. well, we have a h huge surgrge vovoting right now, about one point finally people have voted already. ththe democratic vote is up.

ththe republican vote is a actuy lower than where it has been. who is behind d these meaeasure? it is huhuge amount t of oil ans money, about $40 million has been spent by the oil and gas industryry. i am glad you showed that advocacy at for the private property initiative makekes it seem like this is anan initiatie for farmers and ranangers. the farmrm bureau has essesentiy beenen the face of a amendment e thedment 74, butut it is 99.8% oil and gas money behind these initiatives. this is what these initiativeses are designgned for. they are not desesigned for the average farmer or rancher in colorado. there designed to have fossil fuel attorneysys sue local commununities. ththe amendment was developed by those fossil fuel l lawyers. that is what this isis for. this has been resurrected in the past. about 10 or 15 years agogo, stas like o oregon had putut these private property measures on their books.

it was disastrous. it allowed a c corporate intntet to see local governments to effectively e eviscerate the e e of public interest laws in their zoning laws. amy: i want to go to an anti-74 ad, as we just play the pro-74 ad. if we can do that right now. but talk about the difference in the amount of money being spent for and against t these propositions. >> the proponenents of proposisn 11112,he setbaback measure, anad proponents of amendment 74 have been wildly outspent. nobody has seen the amount off moneney that the oil and gas inindustry has p poured intoto e races. if you ask people -- this is an absolutely unpnprecedented amout of money.. the folks who are pushing for setbacks, the folks were against amendment 74 have been vastly

outspent because they don't hahe ththe resources of the oil l ans industry. i want to go to 74 foror one moe moment. howowhave to understand deceptptive the language on the ballot is. thatat is part of the trick. changeoses and 11 1 word to o our statate conststitution. that constitutional question is important because that is the law that governs all of the other r laws. when you look at it on the ballot, seems like a c completey commonsense e asure. it's as i if the government taks an action, it t should remain yr you for any loss of property value. there is a lot of value -- voters who are progressive voters, democratic voters who think thisis is a commonsense measure that is almost an innocuouous measurure and don't understand necessarily who is behind t this measure because state officials here in c coloro did not compel the oil and gas industry to better explain w wht the measure was alall about and whwhat itsts effecects could be. when you open the ballot you may thinink you are voting on an

innocuous principle that wonon't really c change much of colorado law at all and yet this is a radical change to our eminenent domain laws in a way that is designed to narrowly and specifically benefit the fossil fuel industry. amy: this is a vote no on 74 ad. >> 74 is all about protectining property rights. >> it is not tied to oil and gas, thehen why is it in your advertisining? >> our focus is on 112. >> protect colorado is funded by the state's largest oil and gas company. the oil company, along with farmerers and ranchers, see this as a way to hedge their bet against prop 112, giving them a way to seek compensation from regulations,the aka, new drilling restrictions are passed. >> it may be the single worst measure i've seen on the ballot. no. that is vote

david, your final response and what you expect to happen today? i i should say thahat ad ends -- >> this is the most radical ballot measure in thisis electi. it is designed to create a way for the fossil fuel industry to stop all regulations at a time when scientiststs are telling us we need serious regulations to reduce carbon emissions and fossil fuel use. if this passes in colorado, and it is nott clear whether h he w, if it does, you can expect to see this kind of ballot measure in many other major fossil fuel states across the country. amy: governor hickenlooper could be a presidential candidate in 2020. where does he stand on this? he's talklking aboutt holding a special session of the colorado legislature? strong allyper is a ofof the fossil fuel indndustry. he i is against 112.. he has campaigned d against thte

saysys that measure. yes threatened -- - on the evevf the election, threatened to call a special session of the legislature a lame-duck session to potentially overturn proposition 11112 can bebe ananti-fracking setback measure. if voterers pass it. bubu h hhas campaiaigned against 7474. the opposition to amendment 74 has been a broad coalition o of everyone frorom p progressives o ththe busineness comommunity too governor hickenlnlooperr -- basically, arguing it could throw the entire legal system in colorado into chaos. amy: david sirota, investigator reporter for "capital and main." his most recent article is headlined "energy giants choose nuclear option in election's biggest fight over fossil fuel." we will cover this tonight on or six-hour election special beginning at 7:00 p.m. -- on our six-hour election special beginning at 7:00 p.m. voters in florida are preparing to vote on amendment 4, a measure that would restore voting rights to 1.4 million people with nonviolent felonies

who have completed their sentences or never served time in jail. one of five african americans in florida and 10% of the state's adult population are ineligible to vote because of a criminal record. across the u.s., more than 6 million people with felony convictions are not eligible to vote. florida is one of just four states that bar ex-felons from voting for life. well, a few weeks ago i traveled to melbourne, florida, and spoke with desmond meade, the president of the florida rights restoration coalition who's leading the fight to re-enfranchise people with felony convictions in florida. he himself is what he calls himself a returning citizen. he is still disenfranchised. desmond and i were in conversation with howard simon, executive director of ththe aclu of florida. i began by asking meade to talk his own story. 2005, i was inst south florida and i found myself

on a hot and humid day standing in front of railroad tracks waiting on the train to come so i could jump in front of it. that day that i stood there, i was a broken man. i was homeless. i was addicted to drugs, recently released from prison. i did not have any hope. i did not see a light at the end of the tunnel. i would've that train. gillett thing i could see about was how much pain i was going to train hit me. pai it was not enough to make me move and i stood there waiting and waiting. eventually -- the train never came. eventually, i had across those tracks. i did. and two blocks further was a place that i was able to go and get admitted into drug treatment program. it was a four-month program. after i completed the program, i moved into a homeless shelter in downtown miami. and while living at a homeless shelter, i decided to go to

school. i just wanted to do something to stop that vicious cycle of drug abuse. youre on it, you stop, life starts to improve, then something happens to make you relapse and you're right back down there again. i figure if i could get a little education may be, that would raise my level of self-esteem. and part of my recovery program was about giving back, service, you know, how to we make our community a better place? i committed to that while i was in treatment. with a combination of giving community service and going to school, i had a very prosperous career in education. going to school. eventually, i got accepted into law school in mamay 2014. i graduated with a law degree from fiu college of law. [applause]

now you can come with the boos because my story does not have a happy ending because i live in florida and i can't even practice law. boo. -- i can address this right now. when i decided to go to law school, i knew at that time that florida was not going allow me to practice law, but i still went because when i was in treatment, i made the commitment -- i made a commitment because i discovered a new life. my commitment was that every day that i woke up, that i needed to do something to make me a better person, to make my community a better place to live. every day i woke up and i woke of fighting for each and every one of you. i don't even know you and i was fighting for you every day i woke up because i knew whatever it was that i did, i wanted to

make my community, i wanted to make my state, my country a better place for everyone to live. and that is what i committed to. and that is what sustain me throughout this. so i knew that by going to law school, the more -- the more knowledge i had of the laws that govern, every facet of our lives, the betetter i will be ae to maneuver, you know, in this world of activism. and that is what i did. that is what i did. and that was coming, knowing i may never practice law but at that moment, i knew that that was the right way to go. amy: you may never practice law because you served time in jail? >> not because i served time in jail also remember, i said over 75% of people convicted of felonies each year do not go to prison. they don't. -- i went tohing prison. i was bad. but because does not because i

went to prison, but because i was convicted of a felony. of a felony. how many of you all in the audience ever had those balloons that says "happy birthday" or "get well soon" or "congratulation graduate"? raise her hand high in the air. keep it raise. how many of you all went to of armorial where you have the white balloons and you release them into the air? raise your hand. if you ever released a balloon in the air, raise your hand. all of you all would be felons in the state of florida if you are caught by law-enforcement. and you would not be able to vote for the rest of your life. amy: y? loucks because it is a third-degree felony. it is a third-degree felony to release multiple helium filled balloons in the air. ever -- you're walking to class and there's

construction going on -- amy: wait, wait. since we have cameras that are videoing this, we have to get each face of each person -- [laughter] >> no, don't do that. don't do that. even when you're walking to work or you're walking to a class or whatever and you happen to take a shortcut and it may allow you site on a construction a trespassing on a construction site is a third-degree felony. and you can lose your rights for life. themthat t was desmsmond meade a president of the florida rights restoration coalition who is leading the fight to re-enfranchise people with felony convictions in florida. it is called amendment 4. it will be the largest re-enfranchisement, the largest enfranchisement of americans since women got the right to vote and it is happening in florida today if it passes. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning.

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