TX Early Voting Has Started! Plus Wendy Newspaper Endorsements and TexKos Weekend of Action Updates

Yes, early voting has officially begun here in Texas and will last until October 31. Have you voted yet? As for myself, I couldn't get to the polls fast enough today to cast my vote for Wendy Davis, Leticia Van de Putte, and other Texas Democrats. I haven't had a fire lit under me like this since I cast my vote for Barack Obama in 2008, and I couldn't stop grinning at the voter booth. I might be worried if so many other Texans didn't share my enthusiasm for this election. It has been said before, but there is something different in the air right now, and it leaves me full of optimism. But it's going to be a push, which is what this Monday evening October series is all about.

If you haven't gotten out to vote yet, and if you haven't convinced every person you know and love to get out to vote for Texas Democrats, it's GOTV time! Now is the time to ignore the naysayers and those who say it can't be done based on likely voter polls. It comes down to getting those unlikely voters out. And yes, it sucks, sucks, sucks that SCOTUS didn't put a halt on the Texas voter ID law, which means you will have to show your Texas driver license or ID in this election. This is all the more reason to GOTV. Texas Republicans want to keep voter turnout down because they know it is their only chance of holding onto the reins of power. Pick up the phone, make some calls, shoot some texts. This is too important not to pester people you love. And, of course, take part in our TexKos Weekend of Action, which is coming up this weekend, October 25-26. If you missed my diary announcing the Weekend of Action and nomandates'diary last week with action updates, here is the rundown:

The designated TexKos Weekend of Action will be the last weekend of the month: October 25-26. [...] During the Weekend of Action, we strongly encourage every single Texas Kossack to do something with Battleground Texas, whether it is making phone calls or walking door to door. It doesn't have to be all weekend, although the more activism you can do the better. If it's only a few hours, it's still something toward prying Texas out of the grips of Republicans. Then, either nomandates or I will be posting a diary on Monday reporting on our Weekend of Action here in Houston and asking everybody else from around the state to report how it went in their neck of the woods.

Of course, this TexKos Weekend of Action should not be taken to mean that every weekend (and, indeed, every day) should not be action-filled. That's why, leading up to our big Weekend of Action, nomandates and I will be posting diaries every Monday in October asking Texas Kossacks to report back about how their weekends went. But we know people are busy. We know that not everybody can devote every weekend to this election. So we ask that, if you can't do anything the rest of the month, at least try to participate in whatever way you can in our Weekend of Action on October 25-26.

And, of course, while Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte are at the top of the ticket, we know it is going to take more than electing a Governor and Lieutenant Governor to swing the balance of power in this state. So we have modified our call to action as follows:

During the Weekend of Action, we strongly encourage every single Texas Kossack or Wendy Davis supporter to do something with Battleground Texas or with a Texas Democratic candidate's campaign, whether it is making phone calls or walking door to door.