Thom Talks with . . . Greg Palast

A discussion just ahead of the November '24 election

This “Thom Talks with . . . “ was broadcast just ahead of the 20204 election.

Trump already won the 2024 election.

Unless action is taken now by the US Department of Justice to protect the vote, Vice-President Kamala Harris cannot win.

Greg Palast joins Thom Hartmann with a warning.

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VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Thom: You wrote a very provocative piece that went out yesterday afternoon. I believe it was titled How Trump Won: A Warning, revisiting your 2020 book How Trump Won. Of course, he didn’t win in 2020. Let’s hope you don’t miss this one too. But give us the narrative—this chronology is alarming.

Greg: Look, I’m not partisan. If you want to vote for Trump, vote for Trump. The issue is, I don’t want voter suppression or vigilantes interfering with the process. This whole new system to elect our president should be about voters, not vigilantes. I bring up these nightmare scenarios to warn people so we can take action.

First, True the Vote announced two months ago that they had challenged 851,000 voters under these 100-year-old Jim Crow laws. We haven’t seen these used since 1946 when the Klan incorporated as Vigilant Inc.—which is how we got the name for our film. Back then, the Klan set out to challenge every Black voter in Georgia. The FBI was about to arrest the governor of Georgia for this, as it was a violation of the 15th Amendment. However, the governor drank himself to death before the agents arrived.

Now, we’ve got 851,000 Americans being challenged. According to Martin Sheen, who is right, they’re claiming to aim for two million challenges. There’s virtually no coverage of this. These are not government agents; it’s not the government removing people. These are self-appointed challengers, and every one I’ve investigated is a white GOP operative. They’ve signed up 40,000 people for this effort. As shown in my film, one woman challenged 32,000 voters by simply sending in a list through True the Vote in each county. Another person challenged 4,000, 10,000, or even 20,000 voters.

The problem is, in states like Georgia, it’s becoming harder to challenge these vigilantes. I’m here at ground zero in Georgia, where the NAACP has sued to stop this. Some of these challenges are new—they’re planning to challenge ballots on Election Day. If your ballot hasn’t been counted, they can challenge it afterward. In some states like Nevada, Wisconsin, and Michigan, voters can re-register on the spot thanks to same-day registration. But this situation is a nightmare.

The courts are complicit. The Supreme Court recently ruled that Virginia could remove voters in the week before the election. This eliminates the protection provided by the National Voter Registration Act, which forbids removing voters within 90 days of an election. Vigilante challenges are now unchecked. The NAACP’s main argument is that this undermines voter protections, and they’ve sued over it. I spoke with Gerald Griggs, the NAACP president in Georgia, who is featured in our film.

Adding to the chaos, provisional ballots are being handed out like candy. If you’re challenged, you might receive a provisional ballot. Black, Hispanic, and Asian-American voters are 300% more likely to get provisional ballots than white voters. In the last election, 2.7 million provisional ballots were rejected—mostly from voters of color. If you’re Black, your ballot is 700% more likely to be rejected compared to a white voter’s. These are government statistics.

This is leading to a massive disenfranchisement. If you want to protect your vote, visit GregPalast.com or SaveYourVote.org to check your registration and learn how to challenge these actions. Sometimes, you have to cure your ballot—bring proof of citizenship, a government ID, and proof of address to your local registrar’s office. It’s work, but it’s necessary. One of the heroes of our film, Galo Turner, flew 5,000 miles to cure his ballot. You can go to your local office and do the same.

And then there’s the threat of violence. I’ve spoken with Three Percenters here in Georgia who are blunt. They’ve said, “We’ve got the guns, we’ve got the AR-15s, and we’ve picked out our spots on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. We’re ready for the revolution.” They believe Harris winning could only happen by cheating, and they claim it’s their right to revolt. If violence is needed, they’re prepared for it. They’ve said, “We have more guns than they do.”

Meanwhile, Alex Jones and Ali Alexander have stood in front of the Georgia State House saying, “If you don’t give us Trump, we’re going to burn this place down.” The NAACP has cited our film as evidence of violations of Georgia’s anti-terrorism statutes. If these groups prevent the Electoral College from meeting in state capitals, states like Nevada, Michigan, or Georgia could lose their electoral votes.

Georgia’s new state election commission—controlled by MAGA-aligned members—has signaled they might not certify votes from Fulton County (Atlanta). If that happens, Georgia loses its electoral votes, and Harris could drop below 270. If no candidate reaches 270, the decision goes to the 12th Amendment: one state, one vote. California gets one vote; South Dakota gets one vote. D.C. gets no vote. With 26 Republican-majority state delegations, Trump would be elected.

These are the dangers. I’m not saying this will happen, but we need to think about how to respond to violence, non-certification, the disenfranchisement of voters of color, and these racist vigilante challenges that could hit two million voters without them even knowing.

Thom: I get it. And this is all because we’re one of maybe a dozen democracies worldwide that doesn’t guarantee an absolute right to vote. We’re aligned with nations like Iran and Syria—not European or Western-style democracies.

Greg: Exactly. As a reporter for the BBC, Al Jazeera, and other outlets, I’ve found that mainstream news globally is shocked by this. In many nations, voter challenges like these simply don’t happen. Some countries don’t even have voter registration because they don’t assume voters are criminals. The real problem is systemic racism—voting while Black, Hispanic, Asian-American, or young. Among OECD nations, the U.S. stands out for allowing this kind of voter suppression. It’s reminiscent of Jim Crow in the worst way.

Thom: Incredible. Greg Palast, visit SaveYourVote.org or GregPalast.com. Greg, thanks so much for stopping by.

Greg: You’re the best, Thom.