CCDP Newsletter: Our Plan for Helping People Vote by Mail

CCDP LAUNCHES WEBSITE TO ASSIST WITH ABSENTEE VOTING

If you have ever gone through the process of voting by mail in South Carolina, chances are you found the process a little more difficult than you would have liked. First off, you have to request an application for a ballot. If you get it digitally, the application actually doesn’t work on all computers and then you have to print it, sign it and return it. And that’s just the first step – you still have to receive the ballot, fill it out, get it witnessed (?!!) and return it in time for the election. This can be a lot to ask of a busy voter, and in the time of Coronavirus, getting voters to complete this convoluted process will mean the difference between winning and losing in November.

This is why we are proud to announce votebluesc.com – a new web resource from the Charleston County Democratic Party that attempts to simplify the process of absentee voting. It presents voters with all of their options – including requesting the application by mail, which bypasses the issues with the digital version. Most importantly, it gives our volunteers the ability to check in with the voter at each stage of the process to make sure they understand all the steps and when the next step is due. Scheduled emails go out to users alerting them when they should be on the lookout for their ballots and to remind them when they need to be returned by. At any step, volunteers in Charleston County and the team at the South Carolina Democratic Party’s voter protection unit are there to help.

We will need a lot of help from our volunteers to get the word out about the website to their Democratic friends and neighbors – and to help voters with their questions about the process. If you would like to be trained on absentee voting and registering to vote so you can help us answer voters’ questions, we will offer our first “virtual” training on Thursday, May 7 at 6:00 PM. Click the button below to RSVP.

All meetings until further notice will be conducted “virtually” using Zoom. You can connect by computer or telephone. We will have regular training sessions where you can try Zoom out and get comfortable participating this way. We will continue to use MobilizeAmerica to RSVP.

Help Us Stock Our Blessing Box

Please visit our office at at 1379 Ashley River Road and help us provide for our neighbors in need by dropping off household supplies and non-perishable food items. Blessing Boxes are especially important right now with so many people out of work and we are proud to be part of this vital resource network for our community. If you’re not close by our office, you can use the Lowcounty Blessing Box map to find a box near you that could use some help, too!

Nonperishable are excellent, and if you want to go a step further, household and sanitary items not covered by SNAP/WIC are needed that much more right now, consider dropping off some of the following too:
Household Cleaning Supplies (Sponges, Dish Soap, Dishwasher Detergent, Bathroom cleaner, Paper Towels, Dish Towels, Laundry Detergent, etc.) Sanitary (Hand Soap, Toilet Paper, Shampoo, Conditioner, Bars of Soap, Hair Ties, Feminine Products) and Bandanas (for masks) 

Let’s Send Lindsey Graham Home!

In case you missed it, Jaime Harrison just outraised Lindsey Graham by nearly $2 million last quarter and set a new fundraising record in the process. Polling has shown him within the margin of error in his race to unseat Lindsey, but he can only win if Charleston County can deliver the votes he needs. Can you help us get out the vote in the fastest growing blue county in South Carolina?