(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . DoJ Request: Don’t Use American Flags [1] ['Greg Dworkin', 'Belinda Ridgewood'] Date: 2026-05-25 It’s a simple thing, really. The Trump Administration not only insists that it define who is an American but also who can (and how) use the American flag. Even the Hope Springs from Field PAC volunteer lawyers with me in the room were stunned. My question was, how the hell did they know? Seriously. I’ve mentioned numerous times that we (me and several of our volunteer attorneys) have met with DoJ officials (four meetings this year all at their request). It’s a courtesy in order to maintain the courtesy of our requests for meeting right before Election Day. One of Hope Springs from Field‘s core mission is Election Day activity, whether it is building up a GOTV (Get-Out-the-Vote) database from canvassing, to placing Poll Watchers into suspect polling locations (the whole reason we are organized as a Federal Political Action Commit-tee with its severe contribution limits (instead of a SuperPAC, with none) is so we could qualify for Poll Watcher credentials in most states) to more recognized GOTV activities. One of the latter is Running (or pulling) our 1s and 2s who have not yet voted on Election Day. I discussed this a little in the diary, ‘Knock Three Times and Tell Me that You Voted‘ where Hope Springs volunteers would knock on the doors of our 1s and 2s in three rounds on Election Day until we knew they had voted. But one device we use to help our Runners (volunteers who knocked these doors on Election Day) identify the houses of our 1s and 2s was to put a small American Flag at the end on their driveway so that we were sure we were at the right house. This diary is specifically about what the Justice Department asked us NOT TO DO this election in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina and Texas. Yes, they were that specific — despite there is no indication we will be responsible for GOTV in those states in November. Nonetheless, we were being cautioned. They argued it “confused” their MAGA observers and activists. That they might try to mobilize voters in houses with small American flags at the end of their driveways. IOW, Democrats (or, rather, voters we identified by then of supporting Democratic candidates). I am not kidding. Note, they didn’t mention Maine! Kurt Olsen basically accused me and Hope Springs from Field of “misleading” voters and intentionally confusing a MAGA activism that “guarantees the integrity of American elections.” “You could just say it,” one of our volunteer attorneys interrupted Olsen’s screed, “that you don’t want Democrats to vote.” These lectures at DoJ always center around some activity Hope Springs‘ volunteers are doing to boost support for Democratic candidates to federal office. But not putting out American flags to identify our 1s an 2s??? Come on, Man! Hope Springs from Field PAC has been knocking on doors, serving as a resource to Elections Committees in Black Churches and partnering with local civics and civil rights groups to raise awareness of the fact that Democrats care about our voters and are working to protect their rights. We are thinking about how to mitigate Voter Suppression efforts, get around them and make sure we have “super compliance,” both informing and helping our voters meet the requirements and get out and vote. Obviously, we rely on grassroots support, so if you support field/grassroots organizing and our efforts to protect our voters, we would certainly appreciate your support: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hopevoteprotect Hope Springs from Field was started by former Obama Field Organizers because field was the cornerstone of our success. Election Protection was central to the Obama primary effort in 2008 because we were running against a party favorite with strong roots in state and local party organizations and we needed to appeal to voters outside that framework. We are returning to the old school basics: looking for patterns, addressing issues that have come up in the past and making sure authorities know about issues that are likely to (or even just may) come up in this election. Especially in light of True the Vote activities in majority minority areas. Here’s the thing: we don’t do this everywhere. It’s a device we’ve used in Red counties in Arizona, northern California, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and New Mexico — most often in special elections. Often in areas where our 1s and 2s are afraid of being identified as supporting Democrats (we do a lot of work in these kinds of areas). But, still, asking us not to use American flags as voter identifiers? One question posed at this specific meeting by the DoJ was, “what happens if Republicans do the same thing. What’s stopping them?” We didn’t explain that the American flag was an aid for our drivers (or Runners), one associated with their driving instructions. It wouldn’t matter to us if Republicans did the same because they wouldn’t be on our driving lists. In the end, none of us could come up with an explanation for this request. It didn’t make sense. Except save harassment. Hope Springs from Field will continue to lay down the marker for Voter Protection and Turnout, making sure that we mobilize our voters and get them to cast a ballot that counts. Let people vote, have their votes counted and prevent voter intimidation and suppression. Seems simple. We are prepared. But we do need your help. Like everyone else, we are asking for your financial support for these vital efforts. If you are like me, you are inundated with requests. We don’t have any cute pets, or special treats, to offer up to encourage your support. Nor will we try to guilt you by telling you the threat is real, ongoing and getting more sophisticated. We are all getting tired of it. No other Democratically-aligned org has been methodically trying to circumvent MAGA efforts to rig the House Midterm elections in 2026. And we need your help to continue. Our printer costs alone are way beyond our budgeting and we are asking for your help (if you are able). Hope Springs from Field is trying to reinstitute best field practices, such as canvassing with people who look like the voters we are talking to and targeting former voters thrown off the rolls. But we have also want to adopt best practices we find “out in the wild,” like these first time voter parties. But because we study and teach field work as a profession, we bring in skillsets and tactics that may be new to the Democratic party regulars as well as activists in the area. But it is a two way street. That’s why it is so important to start developing Election Protection strategies now, and not wait until a couple of weeks or so before the general election. We have a lot of work to do. Can you help? If you are able to support our efforts to protect Democratic voters, especially in minority communities, expand the electorate, and believe in grassroots efforts to increase voter participation and election protection, please donate. We need help more than ever because of all the literature supporting Democratic candidates that we left at more than 13,765,242 doors last year: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hopevoteprotect You can follow that link for our mailing address, as well (for those who would rather send us a check). Thank you for your support. This work depends upon you! [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/5/25/800044163/community/doj-r/ Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/