Weekly Mission Briefing: Boots to the Polls — we’re taking the fight for democracy deep into Texas.
You asked us to build the too Big to Rig coalition. We answered the call.
BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT: WE’RE INVESTING IN THE FIGHT TO TURN TEXAS BLUE
The beating heart of DEFIANCE.org is our Weekly Mission Briefing. Every Wednesday at 5p ET, we take real action to counter Donald Trump’s abuses of power.
If you want to know where the future of American democracy is being decided, look at Texas. Voting are rights under assault. The odds are long — but the organizing is real, and we’re betting on it.
So here’s what we did about it this week…
FIRST, we heard from two of the sharpest minds on the fight for Texas. Quentin Palfrey of the Voter Protection Corps broke down the Supreme Court’s recent Slaughter decision and what it means for election integrity in 2026. And Tory Gavino, founder of Texas Future Project and president of Way to Win, gave us the lay of the land on the state of Texas races and the fight against voter intimidation and suppression on the ground.
SECOND, we announced CRUCIAL support from DEFIANCE.org for Powered By People, led by Beto O’Rourke. This fall, they’re deploying organizers to every public university campus in Texas to register and turn out tens of thousands of first-time voters. Their secret weapon is a deeply personal organizing model that produced a 79% turnout rate for young voters in 2024 — compared to 39% statewide. These young people could be the margin of victory in Texas.
YOU MADE THIS POSSIBLE.
YOUR MISSION, IF YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT
As a DEFIANCE.org Member, you’re already refusing to let democracy die on our watch. But if you want to do even more this week, here’s what you can do…
1️⃣ Volunteer with Powered By People
Texans can volunteer in person on campuses this fall. Out-of-staters have distance volunteer opportunities too. Beto will be on the road for 12 weeks starting in August — join him.
2️⃣ Reach out to friends and family in Texas
Know someone in Texas? Call them. Text them. Tell them what’s at stake and why their vote could be the difference in a Senate race decided by thousands of votes.
👉 [VoteTexas.gov]
3️⃣ Buy a Powered By People shirt
We just dropped a limited shirt with all proceeds going directly to Powered By People’s organizing program. Look good. Fund the fight.
👇 Badge below
🖥️ IF YOU MISSED IT
You can watch the full Weekly Mission Briefing at the top!
As always — stay loud, stay brave, and stay together.
Best,
The DEFIANCE.org Team
WHAT’S COMING UP
Every weekday — DEFIANCE DAILY — Every weeknight @ 5pm ET, you can watch our hour-long podcast LIVE on our DEFIANCE.News page, YouTube, or X— and listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
ADD US TO YOUR CALENDAR — You can access the DEFIANCE.org Google Calendar here. That way, you’ll never miss a meeting, event, or broadcast.
