There are two weeks left in this election. The deadline to cast your ballot is November 8—but don’t wait if you can help it, because early voting is easy voting, and there’s plenty of work to do to help build a new Blue Wave for 2022.
Let’s Get Out the Vote through November 8
If you’ve voted already: Great! Here are some more things you can do:
- Talk to your family, friends, and neighbors. Have they voted? Do they have questions? Point them to our handy Vote! page which has step-by-step ballot instructions, drop-off locations, and help lines, as well as links to voting guides.
- Write postcards with us! Our last Pints and Postcards of 2022 is this Sunday.
- Have you ever phone banked? Now is the time to try! There are opportunities to phone bank in person and from home below.
- According to our regional Indivisible representative, phone banking is a particularly useful GOTV activity, especially in these final weeks:
- More contacts = stronger turnout: People often need more than one contact in order to be persuaded or motivated to vote. Simply asking someone how they plan to vote (in person? By mail?) increases their chances of actually turning in their ballot.
- User friendly! The digital divide is a real issue that people across all ages and communities face. Phone banking allows us to rely on scripts while still maintaining 1:1 connections and meaningful conversations with a real person on the other end.
- We won’t leave anyone behind: Phone calls reach rural voters and communities of color that are often inaccessible by other methods of voter outreach. Phone banking reaches those who can’t be reached by other GOTV methods like texting or in-person canvassing.
- It’s high volume, high impact: Phone banks reach hundreds of people in an hour and improve organizers’ knowledge about who supports our candidates.
- According to our regional Indivisible representative, phone banking is a particularly useful GOTV activity, especially in these final weeks:
- Not a phone person? Try canvassing! Canvassing is going door-to-door to talk to voters face-to-face. You get the same engaging conversations as phone banking, along with fresh air and exercise. Like phone banking, canvassing is particularly potent in these last couple weeks. Bring a friend and go out on your route together!
#OctoberIsVotingMonth
If you haven’t voted yet, that’s OK—we know there’s a lot going on. But for the same reason, now is the best time to start filling out your ballot, because early voting is easy voting! We have step-by-step instructions, including a checklist to make sure you don’t miss any essential steps.
Want to know more about what’s on your ballot? We have an explainer on the state and City propositions. We also have a list of voter guides on our Vote page.
If you plan on voting in person, it’s a good idea to add the California Democratic Party’s Voter Protection Team hotline to your phone: 1-877-321-VOTE. We don’t expect to have trouble voting in the City, but if you know any other Democratic voters voting in person in another California county, you may want to pass that info along to them so they’ll have it ready in case they need it. For voters outside of California, give them 1-866-OUR-VOTE, which is Election Protection’s hotline.
Not registered to vote? You can still vote with conditional voter registration. Register at a voting center now, or at any polling place on Election Day, Tuesday Nov. 8. Read more details on the SF Elections website.
Student loan relief: One week left to sign up for Public Service Loan Forgiveness!
The limited waiver expanding eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness expires Monday, October 31. If you’ve worked for local, state, or federal government, or qualifying nonprofits, you may be eligible to have some or all of your federal student loans canceled via the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, even if you would not normally be eligible—but you must apply by Monday, October 31.
The Biden Administration’s online application for student loan relief is live now. Even though a federal appeals court (stacked with Trump appointees) has placed a stay on the program, you can still apply, and your application will be processed when the program reopens.
Don’t miss your chance to get all the relief you’re eligible for:
- If you’ve been working for schools, the government, or non-profits, you may be eligible for expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Apply by the end of this month before expanded eligibility runs out.
- The Department of Education is working on a new income-driven repayment plan that won’t increase your balance as long as you make your minimum payments.
- Borrowers who got fleeced by certain for-profit schools will be able to apply to have entire loans canceled.
- And, oh yeah, there’s that $10,000 or $20,000 of one-time forgiveness.
Our blog post lays out in simple terms what you need to do, and by when, to get the student loan relief you qualify for. Read our explainer here.
If you’re interested in participating in activities like drafting letters to our Members of Congress and developing our strategy for influencing them, the Indivisible SF Federal Working Group is where it happens. We’re on a recess until after the election, so join us at our next meeting on Thursday, Nov. 10.
Final Pints & Postcards of 2022: Sunday, Oct. 30, 4–6 PM at Standard Deviant Brewery. Join us to write postcards to voters in other districts/states to help build turnout and win elections! RSVP on our Eventbrite.
“Hold the House” Meeting with Katie Porter: TODAY, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 5:45-6:30 PM: Indivisible Sonoma County invites you to meet Katie Porter, our ninth candidate participating in our “Hold the House” Zoom series of candidate meetings, on October 26th at 5:45 pm. Register here.
Manny’s Disco Brunch Phone Banks: Sunday, Oct. 30, 12–2 PM at Manny’s. Please join Manny’s, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), and many more for a weekly Get Out The Vote brunch every Sunday until November 6. RSVP on Eventbrite.
Bay Area Coalition Phone Banks: Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Help our friends at Swing Left talk to voters about the upcoming primaries and midterms. Join Swing Left and the Bay Area Coalition on Wednesday evenings, Saturday mornings, and Sunday afternoons to make calls to voters in California and around the nation. Sign up to participate from home or in person:
- TODAY, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 5–7:30 PM
- Saturday, Oct. 29, 10 AM–12:30 PM
- Sunday, Oct. 30, 1–3:30 PM
- Tuesday, Nov 1, 11:30 AM–2:00 PM
Hold the House: Canvass in California’s Central Valley with Swing Left: Saturdays. Canvass for Democrat Rudy Salas in the US House District, CA-22! Join our friends in Swing Left every weekend until Tuesday, November 8, for door-to-door and COVID-safe canvassing to register voters. Sign up here.
- Saturday, Oct. 29, 9 AM–3:30 PM
- Saturday, Nov. 5, 9 AM–3:30 PM
UNTIL ELECTION DAY: Keep it Blue SF Phone Bank w/ Team Pelosi and SF Democrats. Make calls to elect Democrats in key Congressional swing districts and critical Senate races so we can keep our Democratic House majority and add more Senate seats this November! Sign up here:
- Wednesday, Oct. 26, 5–8 PM
- Thursday, Oct. 27, 5–8 PM
- Friday, Oct. 28, 5–8 PM
- Saturday, Oct. 29, 11 AM–5 PM
- Sunday, Oct. 30, 11 AM–5 PM
- Monday, Oct. 31, 5–8 PM
- Tuesday, Nov. 1, 5–8 PM
About this week’s photo
If you’ve seen our newsletter posts on Twitter and Facebook, you might have noticed that we include a photo or graphic with each issue.
Today’s image is a photo of a ballot drop box at City Hall taken by one of our members.