the election integrity unit that the governor staffed up, we've covered it quite a bit. big announcement, long for cement behind him. we've seen the body cam footage of those individuals, completely bewildered by a state that had told them they could vote, and then, went to arrest them. what do you think about that? >> i think it's pathetic. and i think it's intentional intimidation. that is as obvious as -- and so, what the governor does something like that, that is really, when you think of it, chris, anti democracy. he is trying to intimidate from voting by arresting people who have already been going their voter i. d. card. it's unconscionable. it's shocking. >> charlie crist, democratic nominee for governor of florida, the state he served in the many capacities you just heard. thank you very much. that is all in on this monday night. the rachel maddow show starts right now. good evening, rachel. good evening. thank you for joining us that hour. really happy to you have here. here's how it worked in 2020. two years ago, almost exactly in october 2020, we reported here on this show on something that

we first learned about from one of the great historic, gigantic radio stations in the united states, the michigan behemoth, wwj radio in detroit, michigan. wwj has been on the air for more than 100 years. they're just a huge deal in american broadcasting history. they are still on the air today. they are still a big deal today. and just about exactly two years ago, october 2020, we learned about a story that was broken by a reporter at wwj named sandra mcneill. she had gotten a tip from a listener to wwj in detroit. the listener told her that they received a really, really sketchy robocall about the november 2020 presidential election. now, as we all know, basically

every robocall is sketchy, right? robocalls by definition are shady and annoying and almost always scammy, right? everybody knows that. but this one that this detroit resident got before the 2020 election. this one was so bad. it not only seemed worse than your typical robocall. it seemed so bad, it seemed like it might be a crime. and spoiler alert for the end of the story, it turns out it was a crime. it turns out the listener to wwj was right to sound the alarm about it and the reporter at wwj was right to go big with the story. so i'm going to play you the sound of the robocall now. i'm going to tell you in advance that everything in this robocall is wrong. none of this is true. do not believe a second of it. but you should hear what it was.

because this literally was a crime committed against the american people. specifically against black registered voters in the lead up to the 2020 election. >> hi, this is tamika taylor from project 1599. the civil rights organization founded by jack burkman and jacob wohl. mail-in voting sounds great. but did you know that if you vote by mail, your personal information will be part of a public database that will be used by the police departments to track down old warrants and be used by credit card companies to collect on outstanding debt? the cdc is even pushing to use records for mail-in voting to track people for mandatory vaccines. don't be finessed giving your private information to the man. stay safe and beware of vote by mail. >> none of that is true. voting by mail is fine. it does not expose you to the police tracking you down. it does not expose credit card company getting to you. it doesn't expose you to someone about a vaccine. voting by mail does none of

those things. everything in that robocall was a lie. but in 2020, in the lead-up to the 2020 election, the radio station wwj reported in detroit that detroit residents were receiving that call. a lot of detroit residents were receiving that call. thousands were getting that call. now, detroit, of course, is a democratic stronghold in the swing state of michigan. it is a city roughly 80% african american. and here's this call going out to thousands of registered voters saying it is from a civil rights organization. which it was not. and telling people they need to be terrified to vote. it's disgusting. and it was more than just shady. voter intimidation is a crime. that robocall was a crime. and here on this show, almost exactly two years ago, after this was first exposed by the local press in detroit, we had here on the show, the michigan attorney general dana nessel when she announced state felony charges were being filed against

the two men who initially denied they put pout call but then admitted that they had done it. the investigation into that robocall in 2020 ultimately turned up the fact that this trash wasn't just targeted against black voters in detroit in michigan. it was also used against thousands of black registered voters in pennsylvania, in philadelphia, and pittsburgh. in illinois, chicago, also in new york, also in ohio. tens of thousands of these calls were placed. all to majority black, majority voting democratic areas. there were the felony charges brought against the guys who brought that call in michigan. first announced here on the show. also, a federal civil rights lawsuit. excuse me, a federal civil lawsuit was brought against those guys who place those calls. that civil lawsuit is not resolved but the federal judge hearing that civil case actually

ordered the guys who sent pout call that they needed to pay for a follow-up corrective call to all the people who got the initial call. the follow-up explaining that their previous call had contained false information and in fact had been determined in federal court to be an intimidation effort designed to enter fear with the election. so a federal judge ordered those guys to place follow-up calls disavowing everything that happen in the first call. that civil case is still pending. in addition to the criminal case and the federal civil case and being able to send the follow-up corrective call, the fcc looked at this as well. they regulate robocalls. they made a very rare unanimous recommendation that the guys who sent that call should pay the largest fine ever levied against anyone for any robocall of any kind. the fcc unanimously recommended they should pay more than $5 million as a fine to having sent

those calls to black voters in advance of the 2020 election. in terms of where this stands now, the felony charges against those guys in the state of michigan, the felony charges are still pending. state prosecutors also brought charges against these guys. felony charges against them in the great state of ohio. and today, almost two years to the day since we first reported on that fantastically racist voter intimidation campaign, today those two conservative activists who sent out those calls to tens of thousands of voters in ohio and michigan and new york and illinois and all these other places. those two conservative activists today in court and ohio pled guilty to felony telecommunications fraud. they had been facing 15 felony counts each in ohio. the court allowed them to each plead guilty to one felony in exchange for having the other charges dropped.

they'll be sentenced next month. they're each looking at up to a year in prison. plus whatever they get if they're convicted of the felonies they're facing in michigan, plus the $5 million plus fine they're facing from the fcc. plus whatever may get decided against them. in federal civil case being handled by the new york attorney general. that was two years ago. that was how conservative activists were handling the run up to the vote in 2020. and these are the consequences. they, as of today, are just now starting to face for the fact what they decided would be their game plan in 2020 happen to be as fantastically illegal as it was disgusting. the first felony guilty plea today in ohio. we will find out about the prison time for them next month. that was 2020. that's how long it took to resolve that. now, here we are in 2022. and this time, it looks more like this. >> i have been so pleased to hear of all you vigilantes out there that want to camp out at these drop boxes, right?

so do it. do it. we put the word out today. >> a republican state senator from arizona saying how delighted she is to hear about all the vigilantes that are going to the polling sites. calling on more vigilanties to show up at places where people turn in their mail ballots. >> we're going to have hidden trail cameras. we're going to have people parked out there watching you and they'll follow you to your car and get your license plate. it is going to happen. >> it's going to happen. and will the credit card companies will come for you if

you try to vote and the police will come for you and people with needles. in 2020, it was conservative activists targeting black voters in democratic cities in swing states. they're now facing prison time for it. but in '22, it's elected officials. it's that republican state senator in arizona. it's also the republican candidates for governor and for secretary of state in arizona. the republican candidate for governor in arizona is asking for people literally to take a shift watching a drop box. meaning, showing up and looming over a place where people drop of their mail-in bat. the secretary of state of

arizona is himself a member of the oath keepers group whose members are on trial for seditious conspiracy in washington. he says, watch all drop boxes. he said that within the past few days. in that state, in arizona, people with guns are now in fact camping out at voting sites. because maybe robo calling people to terrify them into not voting no longer seems as risk-free as a couple years ago. so now they're doing this. it's happening in arizona. they're reportedly organizing along similar lines in pennsylvania, michigan, washington state. even conservative groups in hawaii. also this year they're trying this. the bulwark now reporting on multiple instances in which republicans are running ads against african american democratic candidates in which they are dramatically darkening the skin tone of the democratic candidate for the purpose of the

attack ad. the national republican senate campaign economy doing that against democratic u.s. senate candidate mandela barnes in wisconsin. the campaign for republican brian kemp in georgia doing that to democratic candidate for governor stacey abrams. today in north carolina, wral is reporting that a conservative group is targeting two democrats who are running for re-election as members of the state legislature in north carolina. here is the state representative. he is photographed here. super happy. he's in his district doing a trash clean-up. here's how the conservative group changed that for their attack ad against him. they took him out of his shirt that he was actually wearing in the shirt. his rucky hurtado t-shirt and instead put him in a defund the police t-shirt. not only was he not wearing that shirt in that picture. he doesn't have a shirt like that. he doesn't even support defunding the police and he never has. but they've got him pictured in a t-shirt as if he wears that around. they did the same thing to this democratic state rep. terrance everett. they took a picture of him door knocking in a nice red, white and blue t-shirt. they changed the shirt so it looks like he, too, is wearing a defund the police t-shirt. it's not a shirt that he has. not a shirt that he wore and in

fact is not something that he supports. so this is how it is going this 84. i can sense, i can feel through the tv screen that you are not shocked. i know you are not shocked. neither am i. but a couple things to know about this. first is, i think this is as good a signal as any that this is the home stretch and things are very close. looking at the recent polling, it is remarkably consistent. a new cnn poll today with a margin of 4.5 points. it shows the wisconsin governor's race inside the margin of error. it shows the wisconsin senate race inside the margin of error. the latest cbs news poll. 4 1/2 points. that shows the nevada senate race to be inside the margin of error. the the latest usa poll. 4.4 points. it shows the nevada senate race inside the margin of error. it shows the pennsylvania senate race inside the margin of error.

sienna. literally tied. landmark communications poll on the georgia senate race. not just inside the margin of error. but look. tie, 46.1% to 46%. we are two weeks out from the election. if you are counting on the polls to tell you what is going to happen, or to tell what you you should be doing now. here's what the polls are telling you. whoever it is that you want to win, they need your help. and if you really want them to win, if it matters to you, you need to volunteer for them. now. i may not, the polls are tighter than your already tight jeans except when they're even tighter right after thanksgiving dinner. if you care about the outcome in this election, it's now or never. pick a race. volunteer. this is the last two weeks. this is the time to do it. that's one thing to know about how nutty things are getting.

how nutty things are getting so we close in on this next election. the other thing to know, the second thing, is that the folks who are trying to contest the election this year by doing things illegal. like we saw in 2020 from the conservative side. the people doing that version of those tactics again this year, right? intimidating people out of voting. threatening people for voting. and it has taken two years to get accountability for one of the worst instances of that in the last election. it may have taken until today to get the first felony guilty me pursuant to those tactics used on the conservative side in the 2020 election. it may not have to take another two years in this one. in arizona, we are seeing republican candidates and elected officials tell their supporters to go out and intimidate people at voting sites. where we are seeing respond to those calls by showing up with guns at voting sites. tonight in arizona, we just got the first legal challenge to what these vigilanties are doing.

here it is. the complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief. in air afrlt at least five time last week supporters of defendant clean elections usa gathered at ballot drop boxes in maricopa county, with the express purpose of deterring voters. on friday two of them were armed and wear tactical gear. and on saturday, armed and masked individuals were gathered near drop boxes. defendants' activists have prompted three voter intimidation complaints that have been referred to the department of justice as well as responses. the defendants boast that they are just getting started. defendants coordinated campaign of vigilante intimidation violates the voting rights act of 1965. and the aftermath of previous voter suppression efforts, congress responded forcefully by enacting laws that unequivocally prohibit voter intimidation. immediate relief is necessary. voting is already underway. there are only 15 days left until election day. this was filed in federal court tonight. defendants organized vigilante groups have already turned away voters. under if i circumstance, it would be intimidating. but defendants' actions carry with them exacerbated threats.

unless enjoined, defendants will continue to bully and bill is date lawful arizona voters, including through using arm presences. voters who are attempting to do nothing more than vote in accordance with arizona law. and then here's the plea for relief. where for, plaintiffs respectfully request that the court order judgment in their favorite and against defendants and de chair that they've violated the ku klux klan act and temporarily and permanently enjoin the defendants and their respective agents, officers, employees and successors, and all persons acting in concert with any of them, from following, taking photos of or otherwise recording voters or prospective voters for training or allowing others too the same. it goes on from there. this legal complaint filed tonight, a new federal lawsuit brought in federal court in

arizona. the force of nature lawyer taking this fight into the courts just faenl days before election day. he joins us live hear next. stay with us. stay with us we planned well for retirement, but i wish we had more cash. you think those two have any idea? that they can sell their life insurance policy for cash? so they're basically sitting on a goldmine? i don't think they have a clue. that's crazy! well, not everyone knows

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we're going to take it up a notch by declaring war in the spiritual realm and the physical realm. let's go to war. ♪♪

>> i'm going to make you a promise. i'm going to mount -- the still ahead on of freedom. and i'm going to get some reins in my hands. >> we are to pray and crush the satellites. we need to send a holy ghost virus into their computer to destroy them so they will not function until our election is over. >> that was a conservative sort of get out the vote event this weekend in pennsylvania. trump national security adviser mike flynn was there. roger stone was there. former president trump's son eric was there. at one point he got up on stage and put his father on the phone from the stage to try to get the crowd all hyped up. at one point, they really did pray from the stage for a holy ghost virus to infect all the computers and destroy the computers so no computers will function until after the election is over.

they also didn't just pray for donald trump to come back as president. they said that trump is coming back right away before the end of the year. one. leaders of this group said we'll go dark and when the lights come organization worldwide celebrations are coming. we will see the return this year. 45 comes back. not by his will but by god's will. god's will that trump will come back this year. the same guy kind of led the event then prayed for the angel of death to visit all of trump's enemies by the end of this year, too. they put all the enemies up on a banner to pray for their death. that's some of how the election is going right now. that was pennsylvania this weekend. 5,000 people there at that big maga republican event this weekend including a telephonic visit. a split screen went like this across new england. in all capital letters. under siege. democracy's front lines in crisis.

we've had it. how american election workers found themselves living a nightmare and leaving their jobs. that's how the "boston globe" launched a special this weekend about attacks on election workers. things have gotten so bad over the last couple years that turnover among election officials is around 30% in some key battle ground states, which is profoundly high. in utah, the clerk and auditor's car was vandalized around his home all around key election dates in 2020 and 2021. that clerk telling globe, i get emails all the time. we're watching you. we know you're in on it. may wife wants me to wear a bullet-proof vest to work. managing an election is not supposed to be a scary thing in our country. neither is voting. but we are seeing the news out of arizona these days. one voter in mesa, arizona last week reported being filmed while approaching a drop box to drop off his ballot, which is a

lawful thing to do. as of friday in arizona, they're apparently now showing up armed and in tactical gear at voting sites. you can see them more closely here in this footage, which i believe we have. yeah. this is a voting site? if you are alarmed by these kinds of images, if you think this doesn't sound right. if you think it doesn't sound lawful, you're not alone. a new lawsuit was just filed tonight in federal court in arizona asking the court to step in and stop this from happening right away. at left a in that state. absent relief, voters will be subject to intimidation, threats and perhaps even force or physical harm at the hands of vigilante drop box watchers. and many may suffer unwarranted delays or denials of their right to cast a ballot in approaching elections. joining me now, mark elias, founder of democracy docket which filed the lawsuit tonight in arizona on behalf of two local organizations. it's a pleasure to have you here. >> thank you for having me.

>> can you tell us the basis for this lawsuit and who your organization is recommending in bringing it? >> sure. our organization is representing two really great voting groups. the alliance for retired americans and, the basic facts of the complaint are simple. we now have vigilantes. some of whom are armed intimidating voters on casting their ballots in a legal way. that is via drop box. the law is very clear. there are two sets of laws. one that goes back to the days of the ku klux klan in the naenlt century. the other is the voting rights pact specifically prevent this tape of intimidation at the poll. >> how late is too late for this type of intervention? we're 15 days out and you're asking for immediate relief from the courts. do you believe the courts can act quickly enough?

that the courts can be nimble enough to enter event in a way that will protect voting rights in enough time to make a difference? >> i do. in fact, rachel, we heard that the court has scheduled a hearing on this motion tomorrow morning in arizona. so we're glad the see the federal courts are stepping in and stepping in quickly. after donald trump lost his election fair and square, the courts played an important role in making clear that the, what the outcome of that election wauflt donald trump then unleashed vicinity largees to storm the capitol. and now we're seeing the return by the same factions of the republican party that were there then. we played the the courts to take this seriously and prevent voters from being disenfranchised. >> the defendants in this case include one of these sort of anti-voting rights pressure

groups that that have sprung up all over the country in raenlt years and have been particularly energized since the 2020 election. i wanted to ask you about the role of the various republican elected officials who have bolstered what these groups are doing. we have the republican candidate for secretary of state. the republican candidate for governor. at left a two that i know of, sitting republican state senators who are pushing this. who are encouraging people to turn out and be vigilantes at voting sites. i wonder if you see some of these responsibilities as bearing some of the same responsibility hear. >> absolutely. republicans from top to bottom blame responsibility. where is mitch mcconnell calling this out? where is kevin mccarthy calling this out? where are the so-called responsible leaders of the republican party saying, having armed vigilantes at the polls, preventing people from casting their ballots in a legal way is wrong and they'll denounce it.

where are they? it's not just the kari lakes, the state legislators in arizona. it is from top to bottom a party that has abandoned democracy and all semblance of decency. >> you noticed that several of these have been referred to the justice department as potentially illegal voter intimidation, asking for prosecutions at the federal level, in addition to a suit like yours. i want to ask you if you see the justice department as having a more immediate role hear. whether or not they consider prosecutions at the federal level, should the justice department be sending in personnel now to try to prevent the infringements on voter rights, voter intimidation that your lawsuit is calling out as such an immediate threat in the next 15 days. >> we need everyone at all levels of law enforcement to take this seriously. i was glad the see the sheriff's

department, the local police in maricopa county are stepping up. this isn't their job alone. and you know, the justice department is headed by some really great civil rights lawyers and i'm sure they're looking at their options. we're all going to have to do our part. and bringing this civil lawsuit, getting immediate relive for the voters in maricopa county and the entire state of arizona my head move. >> thank you very much. keep us apprised. i'm interested to hear the first hearing on this is tomorrow morning. it is intriguing that the courts are willing to move so quickly.

thank you, mark. >> thank you. all right. much more ahead. stay with us.

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for $49.99 a month for 12 months. plus ask how to get up to a $750 prepaid card with a qualifying bundle. vladimir putin's defense minister is the guy who, at some level at least is in charge of running russia's war against ukraine. as you might imagine he doesn't often have phone conversations with his counterpart what with the u.s. being squarely on ukraine's side and all. after russia invaded ukraine, russia's defense chief

apparently refused multiple attempted phone call from the u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin. the two men have apparently only spoken one since russia's war began and that was all the way back in may. that was until this weekend when russia's defense minister got on the line with secretary lloyd austin twice in the space of three days. he also reportedly called his defense secretary counterpart in the u.k., france and turkey. why the change? why suddenly so chatty? because he apparently wanted to warn all of them that russia believes ukraine is about to detonate a dirty bomb. an explosive packed with radioactive materials. and that of course, makes absolutely no sense. nobody believes that ukraine is about to detonate a dirty bomb, let alone on its own territory. but it sure sound like something that russia might be interesting. after all, putin is the guy who

keeps announcing that nuclear weapons are not off the table for him. ukraine's president says that what's really going on is that russia is laying the ground work for their own dirty bomb attack. one they would then blame on ukraine. now, since the russian defense minister started making all these very uncharacteristic phone call to his counter parts in all these various countries, the u.s., britain and france put out a joint statement warning russia against using a dirty wahl bomb escalation. of course, what gives treated to warnings like that from the u.s. to russia is that the u.s. could significantly increase the military help that we are providing to ukraine. this is also turning out to be one of the sleeper issues of the mid-term elections. mid-term elections already underway in several states.

one of the issues at stake is that a republican can take over in congress could mean pulling the plug on aid to ukraine, at least drastically scaling it back. the house republican leader kevin mccarthy is in line to be house speaker if there is a republican-led congress. he's been suggesting that funding to ukraine would be on the chopping block if republicans get control of the house. you are just back from a visit to ukraine where you met with president zelenskyy. i know you are probably still jet lagged. thanks very much for being here. >> good to be with you. >> let me ask you if you feel differently about anything about this war coming back from this trip as opposed to how you felt when you left.

>> probably the impression i took away most powerfully, from president zelenskyy right down to the guys serving coffee in the hotel lobby. everyone we spoke to said this war ends when every russian soldier is off every inch. our land. and it was remarkable to hear that. as they were saying that, missiles are coming in. right? and people are being killed. meanwhile in the united states we're having a debate about how is does this end and how does this be negotiated, not just kevin mccarthy but today there is a letter signed by 30 progressives. i will tell you having spent time in the country, the

ukrainians are all in and they intend to win this thing. >> in terms the 30 members, they're asking the united states to do something we're not doing. to have direct diplomacy with russia on this issue than just following the ukrainians' lead. what do you make of that argument? >> the letter was a bad idea, not because it called for conversation between the united states and russia. there are it's a really bad idea for twofold. number one, the letter says we need to find a way to find a free and independent ukraine with accountability for the war crimes that were committed. the other reason that letter was poorly timed was, the ukrainians are winning.

and history has shown us that trying to negotiate with a dictator, much less a totalitarian inclined dictator who doesn't abide by any agreements he makes, bad idea. >> what do you make of the communications? i will say this. these reports about the russian defense minister suddenly calling all. his counter parts. in the united states and in other countries. unnerved me because it is an uncharacteristic action for him and i feel like predictability is a blessing when you're dealing with someone making the kinds of crazy threats that putin has been making implicitly and explicitly. i'm worried about those calls. and that russia may be implicitly telling the world they may do that kind of escalation that involves a radioactive attack. do you think there's reason to worry about that? do you think they see it as an advantage? >> escalate to de-escalate. it always a scary thing.

we think about that with tactical weapons. it is their action to go there if they feel it is a threat. yes, scary, but you know, may guess is that all the conversations that the russian leaders had with russian leaders ended with russian leaders saying there is no way you pulled this off and blame it on the ukrainians. as a member intelligence economy, i can say there is no way to pull this off and blame it on the ukrainians. the russians need to know. and we haven't talked about this. but yes, we can escalate. how easy do you think it is for the chinese to continue to boy russian oil if they let off a radiological weapon and we can prove that they did it? so the russians are not just playing with u.s. escalation hear. they're playing with the one asset they have other than iranian drones. the chinese are buying their energy if they do this. >> tell me about the level of u.s. support. i've heard it argued that the united states is, um, effectively articling ukraine well enough to not lose but not arming them well enough to win. we also see on the republican side of the aisle, kevin mccarthy all but explicitly saying if republicans get control of congress, you will see them ratchet back u.s. support so it is a smaller number, or it is partitioned in some way that it will be less impact. what do you make quantityively.

and how it is affecting the course of the war. >> that phrase, we're giving them enough weaponry to not lose. timing matters. the russians would say a truly catastrophic break through. and there has been close, they're getting pushed back every day. but something that happens really fast or something that suggests the ukrainians can attack russian troops on crimea. that gets you back to a world of escalating to de-escalate. if this doesn't get won quickly. it gets won because the russians continue to lose. in my own opinion i think it gets won because the russians do their current leader has made every possible mistake. maybe it's time to go. i'm not saying the u.s. should help make that happen. but it ends when the russians realize what a devastating thing vladimir putin has done to them and their country. >> do you think putin has any fear of that? that he has fear there is a successor waiting in the wings? or there is someone in the russian over least in. >> this is a man that meets with

his ministers at a table that's 40 feet long? yeah. he has a lot of fearful he has almost an obsession about his health and safety. and that's probably a smart thing when there are a lot of people who probably would not mind seeing him go. probably a smart thing in a country that has been known over time to removing leaders in a less than democratic fashion. >> just back from a visit to ukraine where he met with president zelenskyy. get some sleep. thank you. it's good to see you. >> good to see you. plan a didn't work out? get plan b one-step. plan b helps prevent pregnancy before it starts, and it won't impact your ability to get pregnant in the future. find it yourself in the family planning aisle no prescription, no id. i've got this. ♪♪

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that's our thing. ♪ ♪ you talk about joe biden a lot. i understand. you think you'll be running against him. i can see how you might get confused. but you're running for governor. i have a question for you. why don't you look in the eyes of the people of the state of florida, if you're reelected, you will serve a full four-year term as governor. yes or no. yes or no, ron? will you serve a full four-year term if you're reelected as governor? it's a fair question. he won't tell you. >> we do not agree on the candidates asking each other yeses. governor, it is your turn. >> well, i know that charles is interested in talking going 2024 and joe biden. i want to make things very, very clear, the only worn-out all donkey i'm looking to put out to pasture is charlie crist.

>> from the debate in florida between the two gubernatorial candidates and ron desantis and his democratic challenger, charlie crist. notable there that charlie desantis, even though he got in his insulting comment there at the end, he really did refuse to answer the question as to whether or not he would actually serve as florida governor. serve a full term if he is reelected. he is widely expected to throw his hat in the ring as a presidential candidate. whether or not he is reelected as governor in florida this year. today is the day that early in-person voting starts in florida. also, early voting today starts in texas. and there is something going on with early voting this year. let's look first at georgia. by this point in the last mid-term elections, so 2018 was the last mid-term. the number of people who had voted early in georgia was huge.

it was a record beating number in 2018. 434,000 people. that was seen at the time of being unfathombly large for early voting. that was 2018. if you compare that to four years earlier, 2014, the 2018 numbers tripled what they had done in 2014. 430,000 votes by this point in 2018? three times the early votes that had been cast by that point in the mid-terms. just huge. 2018, just over 430,000 people had voted. that was unimaginably large in terms of georgia's records. well, now, it is the next mid-term after 2018. what is early voting in georgia look like today? according to the georgia secretary of state's office, the number of people who voted early this year is well over 750,000.

that's almost as high as the number of people who will voted by this time in the general election in georgia in 2020, in the presidential year when it was joe biden on the ballot. the mid-term elections the same numbers effectively as the presidential election? the presidential general election? that kind of early voter turnout in an election year is not just unheard of. it is almost like science fiction. 400,000 was mind blowing four years ago. now it is over 750,000? it's a whole new world. a huge surge in early voting in georgia this year. it is not just happening in georgia. in north carolina, requests for absentee ballots there are up 114% compared with the last mid-term. in ohio, the number of people voting early is up 75% from the last mid-term. in florida, the total number of people who have already voted early by mail, it's up 50% already from the last mid-term. for all the efforts on the right this year to make voting scary and harder and disproportionately threatening

to voters, especially people of color, for all those efforts, even tonight, lots of americans are showing up to vote early. in record numbers in multiple states this area. and obviously, these numbers, you know, they just tell you numbers. they will don't tell you anything about who will necessarily win the election but it does tell that you people are willing to show up and vote and that's good news for a country essentially voting on whether or not we'll continue to have elections. whether or not we are going to continue to be a democracy. seeing this many americans turning up despite all the head winds to cast their votes this year of all years. i don't know if you have cockels in your heart but if you do, they're probably warned by this. early voting in this texas today, in florida. watch this space. by temporarily delaying ovulation—and you can resume your regular birth control right away.

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she was the wife of a senator who died in a mysterious plane crash in 1940. that mysterious plane crash is what starts episode one of my new podcast. called rachel maddow presents ultra. it is where you get to meet norma's husband. episode four is just out as of today. that's where you get to meet norma, the senator's wife. if you're like me, the sound of your voice will start haunting your dream once you hear it. you can get ultra for free wherever you get your podcasts. if you've been wondering where one gets a podcast. don't feel bad. don't be shy. i get mine using my iphone through the very basic podcasts app that they put on your phone automatically even if you've never used it. there is a purple scare that says podcasts. open the app and search for ultra and ultra maddow should

pop up as a suggestion. tap on that. tap again on the podcast and you get it for free. i recommend starting with first one f you want to treat yourself to the one we published today. norma's voice will keep a wake for days. new episode today. another episode, new episode next monday. you can get it wherever you get your podcasts. all right. that does it for us tonight. i'll see you again soon. "way too early" is up next. i'm not the governor who attacked walt disney world because they oppose point of view. i'm not the one that tacked the cruise industry because they wanted to make sure the customers were sauf before they got on the boat. that's you. you're the most anti-buzz governor i've eve.