🗳️BYOB! It's a Ballot Party - Action Alert, October 5, 2026
BYOB (Bring Your Own Ballot!)Â &
Join BAM Members & Friends on October 8th
We're putting our heads together and figuring out what's on our ballot at the monthly BAM Meeting on Thursday, October 8th --- and plan to have a little fun doing it!
Vote-by-Mail ballots hit mailboxes last week, and sample ballots for the midterm election are available online. If you are scratching your head about down-ballot candidates and issues, you are not alone. The midterm ballot is packed with races, amendments, and referenda! Bring two friends and plan to attend the meeting at 7 p.m. at the Adele Grage Community Center. It's BYOB (Bring Your Own Ballot)! And, if you are able, please bring a donation of bottled water for the upcoming No Kings day events.
We'll have resource people with information about the constitutional amendments, the school tax referendum, judicial retention, and the local judge seat. Plus refreshments, Ballot Trivia, Ballot Bingo, prizes, and more! We'll also have sign-making supplies for the No Kings: Vote Early national day of action on October 17th. RSVP and let's get ready to vote!
No Kings: Vote Early National Day of Action
is October 17th!
Power belongs to the people, but only if we use it. Elections – our votes – determine who holds that power. No Kings: Vote Early on October 17 is the critical next step in a national strategy to fight the fascist takeover of this country: it is an urgent, massive day of voter participation and election protection.
Here's what's happening in Jacksonville:
Hands Off Our Vote protest at the Beaches Library, 10 am to noon. We'll be forming a human chain from the library to Florida Boulevard to remind people that WE DECIDE! RSVP for more info.
Downtown Rally & Voter Fest at the Duval County Courthouse, 2 pm. Join activists and voters from around Jacksonville for inspiring speakers, music, and commit to voting early! Get info on candidates and issues on your ballot. Reach out to three friends and RSVP for more info.
Volunteer to be a Medic or Safety Marshal. We need volunteers with a medical background or First Aid Training to serve as medics during the No Kings: Vote Early morning library protest and afternoon rally downtown. Active license not required. We also need volunteers for the safety marshal team to assist Peacekeepers at the event. Training provided. Let us know if you are interested. Click on the button below to email us and get more information.
Early Voting Visibility Events & Neighborhood Pop-Ups! On October 17th, we kick off a massive No Kings Get-Out-The-Vote effort in Jacksonville. We need your help with visibility events during the 13 days of Early Voting (October 20-November 1). Join the Overpass Brigade; sign wave at Early Voting sites at the Beach and across the city; or gather your friends and neighbors for a Pop-Up event! Fill out our Volunteer Form today!
Donate! Help Support No Kings: Vote Early. This is a tough time to make an ask, but if you can donate to help defray the costs of organizing and executing No Kings: Vote Early, we'd appreciate your support. We can do a lot with a little!Â
It's Banned Book Week
The American Library Association (ALA) has designated October 4-10 as Banned Book Week, and Florida's Education Commissioner, Henry Mack, has marked the occasion with a memo to local school districts and charter schools urging them to remove more books from library shelves. He proposes a "voluntary" 90-day plan in which schools proactively review books against the state's list of removals to identify and remove challenged material. The memo tells districts to look for books to review, and potentially remove, even when no one in that community has challenged them. PEN America describes the move as a "dragnet" expanding book removals from libraries and classrooms. Worth noting is that two-thirds of the books on the state's list of removals were generated by Clay and Escambia Counties, where citizen censors have been particularly active.
Reach out to Beaches School Board Member April Carney and Duval County School Superintendent Christopher Bernier and urge them to push back on this "voluntary" initiative. Click on their names for the brief email we've drafted, but please add your thoughts and make it your own! Meanwhile, the ALA has a list of activities you can do --- whether you have 5 minutes or an hour --- to support literacy and fight book banning during this week of action.
Our Postcarders Are The Best!
Thanks to everyone who volunteered for the BAM GOTV postcard project. With everyone's help, we will send 2,000+ cards to two swing Congressional Districts in Florida and to low-turnout DEM & NPA voters in Duval County, urging them to vote early in the midterms!
We appreciate YOU!
Everything You Need to Know About
the 2026 Midterm Election
RAISE HOTLINE: 1-888-600-5762
Have you recently seen, interacted with, been detained, or know someone impacted by ICE? Call the hotline. Alert local Legal Observers and connect detainees with assistance and resources. Email us to learn more about how you can help!
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