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By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · 5h

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By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · 6h

Anyone from the MAGA Camp when they see the boot coming

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By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · 4d

How is this acceptable behavior from the Attorney General of the United States?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4d

DURBIN: You won't even say whether you talked to the WH about this?

BONDI: I'm not going to discuss any internal conversations with you

D: They're going to transfer TX Guard troops to the state of Illinois. What's the rationale?

B: I wish you loved Chicago as much as you hate President Trump

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Reposted by By the Ballot

Matt Royer 🤘🏼 @mattroyer.bsky.social · 4d

The Republican laser focus on Trans issues is continuing to backfire as a new Emerson Poll shows that less than a third of voters considering it most important and less than half consider it important at all.

But would you look at that: Economy is at the top:

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By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · 5d

We’re still spending nearly HALF of political ad budgets on broadcast TV — when 82% of Americans are streaming. No wonder we’re losing the media war. 📺➡️📱 #DigitalFirst #Democrats

We Gotta Stop Buying So Much Broadcast TV

Time to roll with the changes.

open.substack.com

By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · 9d

The shutdown isn’t an accident—it’s a weapon. Trump and his allies brag about the pain, and they want Democrats to take the blame. Don’t let them.
✍️ New post: A Crisis of Their Own Making

open.substack.com/pub/bythebal...

A Crisis of Their Own Making

Special Post: The Republicans Own This

open.substack.com

By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · 12d

The Christian Far Right has had a strange hold on our politics for decades. Read Part 1 of a multi-part series that dives into the world of White Christian Nationalism:

Incels. TradWives. Megachurches. Memes.

bytheballot.substack.com/p/the-regres...

The Regressive Evangelism of America, Part 1: Digital Witness

The Incels, the TradWives, and the Popular Digitalization of White Christian Nationalism

bytheballot.substack.com

By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · 19d

Conservatives didn’t just build Fox News—they bought the media scaffolding already in place. From Sinclair local stations to CNN, the Right has been reshaping what Americans see and hear for decades.

📖 Read:

Buy it. Use it. Break it. Fix it.

The Conservative Takeover of the Media.

open.substack.com

By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · 26d

Politics isn’t broken—it’s kayfabe. Faces vs. heels. Heroes vs. villains. Trump is the main event, but the violence is real. 🎭💥

Read more: open.substack.com/pub/bythebal...

Political Cage Matches

Will the kayfabe of political theater ever be too much, or will all the true believers take over?

open.substack.com

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By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Sep 8

We don’t need “perfect” candidates. We need candidates who fight for people, lead with integrity, and deliver policy that improves lives. Stop chasing ghosts.
👉 open.substack.com/pub/bythebal...

The Myth of the Perfect Candidate

We’re chasing ghosts with impossible litmus tests

open.substack.com

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By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Sep 3

We debate bathrooms more than we debate guns in schools. That’s not by accident — it’s a distraction.

🚨 I joined @jamesabrenio.bsky.social on the latest #JamesPod, I to call out how Republicans hijack the narrative & how Democrats should fight back. 🎧 open.substack.com/pub/bythebal...

Special Post: JamesPod w/ James Abrenio

Guest Appearance on JamesPod 08/26/2025

open.substack.com

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By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Sep 1

Democrats don’t lose because of words. We lose because we let the Right define our narrative. It’s time to stop chasing “magic words” and start talking like real people. ✊

📝 New in By the Ballot: It’s All Semantics

It’s All Semantics

When we get weighed down by words, we lose the meaning of our message.

open.substack.com

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By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Aug 29

When teenage boys mess up, our instinct is to jump down their throats. But I’ve seen how that outrage feeds the pipeline: extremists tell them people will hate you, yell at you, and try to silence you. That anger just proves them right.

I talk about it on #JamesPod:

Matt Royer Discusses what Democrats Need to do to Reach Young Voters.

In this video, James talks with Former Virginia Young Democrats President, and author of Substack “By the Ballot,” about what the Democratic Party needs to do to reach young voters. They engage in a…

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by By the Ballot

James Abrenio @jamesabrenio.bsky.social · Aug 27

Really awesome to hear from Matt about youth voters. Because clearly we need to have a discussion as a party.

By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Aug 27

Housing. Clean water. Healthcare. Good schools. A decent commute. These are the basics voters care about. Why aren’t Democrats talking about them? Listen to this episode of JamesPod where I join @jamesabrenio.bsky.social to talk about what we need to improve. open.substack.com/pub/bythebal...

Special Post: JamesPod w/ James Abrenio

Guest Appearance on JamesPod 08/26/2025

open.substack.com

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By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Aug 27

Housing. Clean water. Healthcare. Good schools. A decent commute. These are the basics voters care about. Why aren’t Democrats talking about them? Listen to this episode of JamesPod where I join @jamesabrenio.bsky.social to talk about what we need to improve. open.substack.com/pub/bythebal...

Special Post: JamesPod w/ James Abrenio

Guest Appearance on JamesPod 08/26/2025

open.substack.com

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By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Aug 27

If we could get this kind of investment in community building infrastructure and organizing for Democrats in areas to build a sustained party machine instead of just making meme content, we could see momentum and power that would last much longer than the latest internet fad or viral TikTok sound.

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By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Aug 27

If only we could use this money to do something else instead of paying these influencers to push centrist talking points.

Easily can say that this will just create more content for Boomers to share on FB and not bring in any new voters from the next generation. Stop. www.wired.com/story/dark-m...

A Dark Money Group Is Secretly Funding High-Profile Democratic Influencers

An initiative aimed at boosting Democrats online offers influencers up to $8,000 a month to push the party line. All they have to do is keep it secret—and agree to restrictions on their content.

www.wired.com

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By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Aug 25

Trump’s DC takeover proves it: the right thrives on fake crime panic. Don’t take the bait.

Read more:

Tough on What Crime Exactly?

Is our politics of fear dominating our reality?

open.substack.com

By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Aug 21

As we wrote a few weeks ago, it’s frustrating to see national Democrats pouring money into influencer campaigns that ring hollow. Our party has to learn: going viral doesn’t make someone an effective messenger or strategist.

Wholeheartedly agree with Will Robinson:

Stop Chasing Gimmicks

The Case for a Permanent Progressive Media Structure

open.substack.com

By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Aug 20

We need to get back to fostering trust with our base and respect for our supporters. We need to show everyone that Democrats are doing the work for the American people and utilize these large digital platforms to communicate that.

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By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Aug 20

Similar to what I said about these spammy tactics: the “400% matches”, the negative doom and gloom rhetoric, and donation shaming tactics that Dems have adopted from these Scam PACS are disrespecting our donors at best and taking advantage of digital-illiterate seniors at worst.
bit.ly/45Xg2Tn

Spam PACs Raise Money by Deceiving Seniors.

One 89-year-old woman made 7,532 donations totaling $68,666

bit.ly

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By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Aug 18

College students are literally drawn into districts—but are not always registered to vote there.

Want to flip a red district? Start with campus housing.

Here’s how it can continue to work in Virginia—and how to copy/paste it nationwide: open.substack.com/pub/bythebal...

Back to School: Flipping Districts 101

Why College Campuses Are Key to Flipping State Legislature Districts

open.substack.com

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By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Aug 11

Not every convo needs to go viral.
Not every take deserves a mic.
This is what happens when politics becomes performance.
Let’s unplug the outrage machine.

The Privatized Murder of Public Discourse

How shows like Jubilee’s Surrounded and bad-faith social media guises stoke tribalism and falsely mirror “both sides.”

open.substack.com

By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Aug 4

Democrats: “We’re saving democracy!”
Also Democrats: [renames bill, sends sternly worded letter, does nothing]

It’s time to stop trying so desperately to be liked and time to get back to winning again.

Read now:

If Liberals Are So F***ing Smart, Why Do They Lose So Goddamn Always?

Honestly.

open.substack.com

By the Ballot @bytheballot.bsky.social · Jul 28

This isn’t shade. This isn’t about one candidate. It’s about strategy. It’s about optics.

We need to build a generation of young candidates who win trust, not just attention.

New piece up now: open.substack.com/pub/bythebal...

The Age of the Social Media Politician: Not All That Glitters Is Gold

The Democratic Party is at an inflection point.

bytheballot.substack.com