96 Days to the Election – Whatcha’ Doin’?
We’ve seen the donation numbers, which increase every day. Here’s the heat map of the first week of contributions to the candidacy of Kamala Harris, from Act Blue. The larger the circle the more contributors in that location.
We’ve heard about the 170,000 volunteers. Plus, the 40,000 new voter registrations in the first 48 hours after her candidacy was announced.
We know what Vice President Harris is up to: this was her speech in Atlanta on Tuesday night. If you haven’t seen it yet, you’re missing out! It’s really worth watching. It will imbue you with hope and joy.
Me? I’ve been training and fielding Block Captains, and there’s another training this weekend, as well as talking to intermittent voters in my village. (I live in a suburban development comprised of 24 “villages” – I don’t live in an actual village.)
So how about YOU? What have you been doing? Here’s your checklist to start on NOW:
Contribute money to the Harris Campaign. Even if it’s only $5. EVERY person who contributes is A VOTE – and it terrifies MAGA world that we have so many more people than they do.
If you live in a swing state (Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin): go to your local campaign office and SIGN UP (if you haven’t already). Plan to work this weekend. They will find something for you to do – canvassing is optimal (and they’ll send you out with a partner if you’re new), but campaign offices need other help, too: administrative work like scheduling people and entering data, texting, phone banking, errands. And when you go to the campaign office, bring a case of water and easy to carry snacks (like granola bars) to be sent out with the canvassers.
If you live in a blue state: determine how far you are from a swing state. Can you go to an office there? Maybe a carload of friends to enjoy the trip. If not, see “Mobilize” below.
If you live in a red state: See “Mobilize” below.
MOBILIZE! There is a great site called Mobilize (link here) where you can find local volunteer opportunities, as well as virtual opportunities. While we all want Vice President Harris to be Madame President on 20 January 2025, there are other elections:
o There are toss-up Congressional races. There are 19 pure toss-ups nationwide, and another 23 seats that are leans. These races are in red, blue and purple states. Mobilize has information. YOU can make the difference in whether we control the House in 2025. We only need four seats!
o There are ballot initiatives. For example, a number of states have abortion-related ballot questions. Details. There is not always a correlation between abortion rights and candidate outcomes. For some reason, pro-choice voters in red states have not learned that elected officials impact abortion access, but I digress. If you’re in a state with a ballot initiative – get out there!
o There are state, county and local races. These differ from state to state. The Mobilize site has info on state races. If you need help regarding local races, drop me a message and I’ll let you know what is in your area. Think this doesn’t matter? Last cycle, through a lot of hard work, here in Pennsylvania, we retook the General Assembly. We need only four seats to retake the State Senate this year. It’s critical to get people to fill out their ballots from the bottom UP – so that they don’t miss any ballot initiatives or state or local races. We don’t want people to mark “Kamala Harris and TBD” and be done. We need to win it all. And with YOUR help, it’s within our grasp.
In addition, there are several other things you can do.
First, sign up with your local Democratic organization. Local organizations often do lit drops, and they staff tables on Election Day to hand out sample ballots. In concert with the campaigns, they help arrange rides to the polls. This is pure grassroots, boys and girls. The stronger the local organization, the easier it is to win elections! (If you don’t know how to contact your local Democratic organization, drop me a message, and I’ll hook you up.)
Second, consider working the polls on Election Day. I worked the polls as a clerk, and later as the elected Majority Inspector for more than 20 years. This is run either by your county or your city. They provide training, and they pay you. (Not a lot, but a bit of spare change.) Poll workers check in voters, give them ballots, help voters with questions (ONLY bipartisan voting questions, NOT candidate-type questions) and make sure that the election is fair and the results accurate. They always have trouble getting people to work the polls – how about you? Want to help?
Next, contact your local high school and see if you can run a voter registration drive in September. Different states have different rules about who can register when, but it’s a great way to get new voters. In some states, like here in Pennsylvania, you can register up to 6 months before you turn 18. The registration isn’t active until your 18th birthday, but you’ll be all set. In some states, people can register on Election Day, in other states, registration stops days to weeks prior to an election.
While you’re at the high school, see if they have a Student Democratic Club. Let them know that in some states, 17-year-olds can work the polls. You might find kids willing to help out at the polls.
And finally, prepare for what is going to happen on Election Day and then through certification. It’s going to be rough, and I’ll post in more detail as we get closer. But there will be issues, defiant MAGA heads, and the divine Mark Elias filing all sorts of lawsuits in pursuit of the side of truth and light.
GET TO WORK! There are 14 weekends between now and the election. Find TWO HOURS each weekend to be contributory to winning!
In November of 2016, I received literally hundreds of phone calls, texts and emails. They all said some variation the same thing:
You’ve been asking me to help with voter registration drives and canvassing for years, and I was always too busy. I didn’t have the energy after working all week. I wanted to spend weekends with my family. You reached out all the time and I always said no. Now that Hillary has lost, I don’t know what’s next, but now, I have time. What can I do?
In January of 2017, I became the first chair of our local Indivisible group. At our height, we had about 3,000 members. And WE DID THINGS. When we lost that time, we were able to organize, and roar back in the 2018 midterms. If we lose this time, there will never be another election.