October 14, 2024 – 21 Sleeps To Go!
Ways we can help get out the vote
Oct 14
- DIAL-A-THON TODAY – LET’S HIT ONE MILLION CALLS
If we have Indigenous People’s Day off here’s a great way to spend it with our fellow Democrats! Groups from Women for Harris to White Dudes for Harris to Swifties for Kamala are coming together for a GOTV dial-a-thon this afternoon, with a goal of making one million calls between 12PM and 6PM Eastern! Let’s sign up for a shift here. (h/t Chop Wood Carry Water)
- GET OUT THE ENVIRONMENTAL VOTE IN THE FINAL DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION
The Environmental Voter Project is preparing for a last-ditch effort to get inconsistent environmental voters to the polls in the final days before the election. Volunteers will be calling voters in key states on Nov 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5. No experience necessary. Let’s sign up for a shift or two.
- HOW TO TALK WITH STRANGERS
For so many people, talking with strangers about anything can be daunting, but talking about politics can make it especially uncomfortable. Fortunately, Elizabeth Chur wrote a book to help us ease into this task. Grassroots Connector shared some of her wisdom in Canvassing: Navigating the First Minute, and in this video, Chur talks about her book, The Joy of Talking with Strangers. Let’s check these out and use the skills we learn when we interact with voters.
- LET’S BE POLL WORKERS!
Poll workers—also called election workers—are on the frontline of democracy, welcoming voters to the polls and seeing that elections proceed smoothly and in accordance with the law. What’s it like to serve as a poll worker? We can read personal accounts here and here. Let’s give serious thought to helping our communities to vote by becoming poll workers. We can sign up to be poll workers here.
- STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONSMA – ACLU ACTION TEAM MEETING
The ACLU’s Massachusetts action team is gearing up for Election Day and beyond. They’re holding a virtual meeting to talk more about how individuals can get involved with their work in the weeks and months to come this THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17th at 6 PM. If we’re interested, we can sign up here.
October 11, 2024
- COUP PLOTTER COULD LOSE HIS SEAT
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) was a key co-conspirator in Trump’s coup attempt. As a leading figure in the House Freedom Caucus, he has fought to shut down our government and opposed infrastructure investment and the Violence Against Women Act while backing defunding the FBI and banning abortion and IVF. Unlike many of the major MAGA figures, however, Perry’s seat may be genuinely competitive in November. A recent poll had him trailing Democratic nominee Janelle Stelson, a longtime local TV anchor who champions reproductive rights and has been endorsed by EMILY’s List, the United Mine Workers and the Philadelphia Inquirer, by nine points. Perry is clearly running scared – in the course of a month he went from praising Project 2025 to pretending he knew nothing about it and his debate performance was marked by repeated lies. Let’s hold him accountable! The DCCC is organizing phonebanks for Stelson five days a week we can sign up for here. - JOIN SISTER DISTRICT’S PHONE BANKS FOR KEY STATE RACES
In order to make sure downballot races are not forgotten, Sister District is focusing GOTV efforts in key state legislative districts, with virtual phone banks happening nearly every day. Let’s find out more here, and sign up to participate during the times we are able.
- TEXT, TEXTS, AND MORE TEXTS TO GOTV
Need a break from phonebanking? There are tons of texting opportunities coming up in the next few days! Activate America has started their texting GOTV program, aiming to reach over a million voters in Arizona, California, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Let’s sign up for a shift here. We can also find a master doc with even more times to text via Will Baum here. (h/t Jessica Craven)
- THE “BIDEN 17” DISTRICTS COULD DECIDE THE HOUSE
Hurricanes are lashing the Southeast, and FEMA has burned through almost half its Disaster Relief Fund in just eight days – before Milton made landfall. Yet Speaker Mike Johnson is refusing to call the House back into session to approve more aid, even with President Biden and lawmakers from the affected areas on both sides of the aisle urging him to. Let this remind us of the human costs of Republican control and rededicate ourselves to firing Johnson next month. The road to flipping the House runs through the “Biden 17” – 17 districts currently held by Republicans that Joe Biden won in 2020. (An 18th, NY-03, already flipped after George Santos’ expulsion.) Let’s check out volunteer opportunities for Democratic candidates in all these districts:- AZ-01: Amish Shah (challenging David Schweikert) on Mobilize
- AZ-06: Kirsten Engel (challenging Juan Ciscomani) on Mobilize
- CA-13: Adam Gray (challenging John Duarte) on Mobilize – special request for Spanish speakers
- CA-22: Rudy Salas (challenging David Valadao) on Mobilize
- CA-27: George Whitesides (challenging Mike Garcia) on Mobilize
- CA-40: Joe Kerr (challenging Young Kim) on Mobilize
- CA-45: Derek Tran (challenging Michelle Steel) on Mobilize
- NE-02: Tony Vargas (challenging Don Bacon) on Mobilize
- NJ-07: Sue Altman (challenging Tom Kean Jr.) on Mobilize
- NY-01: John Avlon (challenging Nick LaLota) with the Human Rights Campaign and Swing Left
- NY-04: Laura Gillen (challenging Anthony D’Esposito) with the New York State Democrats
- NY-17: Mondaire Jones (challenging Mike Lawler) on Mobilize
- NY-19: Josh Riley (challenging Marc Molinaro) on Mobilize
- NY-22: John Mannion (challenging Brandon Williams) on Mobilize
- OR-05: Janelle Bynum (challenging Lori Chavez-DeRemer) on Mobilize
- PA-01: Ashley Ehasz (challenging Brian Fitzpatrick) on Mobilize
- VA-02: Missy Cotter Smasal (challenging Jennifer Kiggans) on Mobilize
- ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO VOTE EARLY
Voting early allows organizers to direct their GOTV efforts to a smaller pool, ultimately reaching more people. It’s a proven tool for increasing turnout and we should try to get more Democrats to put it to use! Let’s encourage our friends and networks who support the Harris/Walz ticket to vote as early as possible. We can check this site from Vote.org to find out when early voting starts in our state. And if we’re postcarding, the Forward Together Hub has free downloadable stickers that list the voting starting date for each state we can add before we put them in the mail. (h/t Robert Hubbell)
- STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
- CO – PROTECT PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND OPPOSE PRIVATIZATIONThe school privatizers have gotten their agenda on the ballot in our state this year. Amendment 80 would add “school choice” to our constitution – opening the door for a voucher scheme that would sap money from public schools and direct it to private and religious education. The text follows a plan promulgated by Americans for Prosperity and ALEC. Parents, students, educators and community members are coming together as Public Schools Strong to urge Colorado to vote no on Amendment 80. Let’s join them by signing up to volunteer here or joining efforts to rally voters against this initiative with the Colorado Education Association here.
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