Thursday, June 2, 2016

Don't let TV networks suppress the vote on Tuesday





Don't let TV networks suppress the vote on Tuesday!



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LET VOTERS DECIDE THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE

To TV News Executives (at MSNBC, NBC, CNN, Fox News, ABC, CBS):

Journalists are supposed to be the guardians of democracy, not protectors of those in entrenched political power. 

MSNBC's Chris Matthews recently declared that on Tuesday evening at 8 p.m. Eastern time, MSNBC and other TV networks plan "to announce that Hillary Clinton has now gotten over the top, that she will have won the nomination in numbers. It's done."* On Tuesday, voters in six states -- including New Jersey and California -- will choose between Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

Click here to sign: We urge you NOT to suppress the vote on Tuesday evening by making this false and anti-democratic declaration when polls close in New Jersey.

Why is it false? Because unless Clinton defies all polls, she'll be hundreds of pledged delegates short of the majority and magic number of 2,383 Tuesday evening. Clinton has earned the votes of roughly 1,750 delegates so far. She won’t be able to reach the delegate majority until "superdelegates" vote, and they aren't allowed to vote until July's Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. 

Why is it anti-democratic? Because hundreds of thousands of voters in California and other western states will likely not have voted by 8 p.m. Eastern. Not to mention voters in D.C. who don't vote until June 14.

We urge you -- as journalists in a democratic society -- to honor and protect the right of voters to choose our leaders.

More than 350 Democratic superdelegates (elected officials, former officials, lobbyists) had announced their support of Clinton before a single Democratic primary or caucus voter had cast a presidential vote this year. At the convention, after superdelegates weigh in, it's quite possible that Clinton will reach the 2,383 delegate threshold. But not until then.

It's a simple request: We urge you to respect democracy and refrain from declaring the election "over" until 2,383 delegates cast their votes for either Clinton or Sanders. (CLICK TO ADD YOUR NAME.)

After signing the petition, please use the tools on the next webpage to share it with your friends.

This work is only possible with your financial support. Please chip in $3 now.

-- The RootsAction.org Team

P.S. RootsAction is an independent online force endorsed by Jim Hightower, Barbara Ehrenreich, Cornel West, Daniel Ellsberg, Glenn Greenwald, Naomi Klein, Bill Fletcher Jr., Laura Flanders, former U.S. Senator James Abourezk, Coleen Rowley, Frances Fox Piven, Lila Garrett, Phil Donahue, Sonali Kolhatkar, and many others.

* Shaun King: "TV networks are ready to give Hillary Clinton a premature victory" (N.Y. Daily News)
 

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