The midterm elections are 26 days away, and Arizona grassroots leader Merissa Caldwell has a plan to get out the vote. With Robert McNeily in for Jenny Beth Martin, the founder and chairwoman of EZAZ explains what is wrong with Arizona's federal-only ballot: because of a 2013 Supreme Court ruling, a voter who never proved citizenship still votes for President, Senate and Congress. A federal judge has now said only the states can decide who votes, the left says the National Voter Registration Act stops them from checking, and the Supreme Court takes up the Arizona case on December 8, after the midterms. Caldwell was on the January 2024 coalition call with Senator Mike Lee that led to the SAVE America Act, and she texted hundreds of Democrat voters to ask what they thought of proof of citizenship. Only one disagreed. Then the ground game: why loyal conservative voters skipped Arizona's primary, the 94-year-old whose early ballot had been switched off, the couple with a 76-year voting streak, how EZAZ fills poll worker and poll watcher roles from both parties, the Netflix voters the consultants ignore, and Reagan's eleventh commandment with 26 days to go. Merissa Caldwell is the founder and chairwoman of EZAZ, the Arizona grassroots organization that trains volunteers for voter registration, get-out-the-vote and election integrity work. The hour opens with President Trump's San Antonio rally for Ken Paxton and closes three years after October 7. Learn more at teapartypatriots.org and jennybethshow.com.
Guest: Merissa Caldwell is the founder and chairwoman of EZAZ, the Arizona grassroots organization that trains and mobilizes volunteers for voter registration, get-out-the-vote and election integrity work. EZAZ runs a weekly Boss Your Government call, a monthly Pie Club with elected officials and candidates, the AZ Wallet Watch legislative scorecard, the Match Your Values quiz and the azvote.org plan-to-vote tool, and recruits poll workers and poll observers. She was on the January 2024 coalition call with Senator Mike Lee that led to the SAVE America Act. Robert McNeily, Director of Broadcasting and Grassroots Engagement at Tea Party Patriots Action, hosts in for Jenny Beth Martin.
Key topics:
• 26 days to the midterms: why this is a turnout election, and the ten things you can do at IWillSaveAmerica.com
• President Trump's San Antonio rally for Ken Paxton, and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick's keynote at the Alamo
• Arizona's federal-only ballot: the 2013 Supreme Court ruling, and why a voter who never proved citizenship still votes for President, Senate and Congress
• December 8 at the Supreme Court: a federal judge says only the states decide who votes; the left says the National Voter Registration Act stops them
• The January 2024 coalition call with Senator Mike Lee that became the SAVE America Act
• What hundreds of Democrat voters told Caldwell about proof of citizenship and photo ID
• The lowest primary turnout in a decade, and the one simple message: the only way to be permanently glitched out of your vote is not to vote
• The 94-year-old whose early ballot had been switched off, and the couple with a 76-year voting streak
• AZ Wallet Watch: how the Arizona legislature voted on your costs
• Inside EZAZ: azvote.org, Boss Your Government, Pie Club, and the fight over license-plate cameras
• Poll workers and poll watchers from both parties: how EZAZ fills the roles
• The top issues at the door: costs, honest elections and water
• Netflix voters: the base the consultants ignore, and how to reach it
• Reagan's eleventh commandment, a 26-day grace period, and the record over the grudge
• What keeps people out of local politics, and what to do in the next 26 days
• Two sides of a Trump rally, "For Texas!" by Marvin Tyson, and three years after October 7
Timestamps:
00:01 — Cold open: 26 days to the midterms
02:52 — President Trump's San Antonio rally for Ken Paxton
03:48 — Lt. Governor Dan Patrick: the Alamo, and what that flag stands for
05:40 — Davy Crockett, and "I will go to Texas"
06:05 — IWillSaveAmerica.com: ten things you can do
08:34 — A turnout election: conservatives show up for presidents, not midterms
10:40 — Friends Help Friends Vote
12:32 — Merissa Caldwell of EZAZ joins
13:18 — The January 2024 coalition call that became the SAVE America Act
13:47 — 2013: the Supreme Court tells Arizona to accept the federal form
14:14 — Voters who never proved citizenship still vote for President, Senate and Congress
15:14 — December 8 at the Supreme Court; a judge says the states decide
15:59 — A court says the Justice Department cannot prosecute noncitizen voting
16:53 — She texted Democrat voters about proof of citizenship
18:30 — How a grassroots leader reassures voters
19:04 — The lowest primary turnout in a decade
20:03 — A new county recorder, and a vendor glitch explained the same day
20:50 — The only way to be permanently glitched out of your vote
21:22 — The 94-year-old who saved her number from 2024
22:32 — Mohave County: 76 years voting together
23:19 — AZ Wallet Watch: how the legislature voted on your costs
25:34 — A libertarian who votes Republican, and why
27:30 — azvote.org: make a plan to vote
28:40 — Boss Your Government: the Tuesday night call
29:53 — Pie Club, and the super chases with Turning Point Action
30:56 — License-plate cameras: where they are coming down
32:22 — Fifteen minutes a week, and a freedom competition with Florida
33:14 — Poll workers and poll watchers: how EZAZ fills the roles
34:51 — 25,000 handwritten postcards; 10,000 voters registered
35:19 — Before you go to bed, write the list
37:41 — The top three issues at the door
39:16 — High costs, honest elections, and water
40:56 — The hardcore conservatives nobody is talking to
42:12 — Netflix voters
42:39 — Make your messaging fun
43:35 — A scorecard, a text, and a win in one of the reddest districts
44:59 — Recruiting and keeping volunteers after the election
46:50 — Educate the voters, boss your government, fire tyrants
47:03 — Reagan's eleventh commandment
47:21 — The primary is for firing; the general is for everyone else
49:20 — A 26-day grace period
49:53 — Arizona's First District: the record, not the grudge
50:51 — What keeps people out of local politics
53:56 — The 2020 lockdowns: the night she and her husband went all in
56:16 — What to do in the next 26 days
57:03 — Chip in: a grassroots dollar goes further
58:50 — Leave everything on the field
01:00:00 — The call to action, one more time
01:00:43 — Two sides of a Trump rally
01:04:28 — "For Texas!" by Marvin Tyson
01:07:37 — Three years after October 7
01:09:08 — 1836 and 2026: make your plan to vote
01:10:12 — Like, subscribe, and Tuesday's episode with Cleta Mitchell
01:10:39 — Only American citizens should decide American elections
Links mentioned:
jennybethshow.com
teapartypatriots.org
IWillSaveAmerica.com
friendshelpfriendsvote.com
ezaz.org
ezaz.org/volunteer
azvote.org
azwalletwatch.com
matchyourvalues.com