by Pa Rock
Regular Voter
There are lots of ways that ordinary people can be working to increase voter turnout and influence the outcome of the November midterms. The county Democrats where I live have been out the past several weekends "canvassing" and promoting the candidacy of the local Democratic candidate for Congress. Their efforts are laudable primarily because they are teaching people how to become involved at the grassroots, front door level. But this district is deeply red and the chances of defeating the entrenched Republican incumbent - at least this time around - are slim to non-existent.
There are several groups on the internet which are focused on the congressional races that are winnable by the Democratic candidates. I have run across one that is looking for volunteers to make calls from their own phones to voters in competitive districts, and another that is looking for texters for the same purpose. Both would require minimum effort, but as someone who is easily enraged by telemarketers, I tend to find the efficacy of those efforts dubious, regardless of what research might indicate - and I certainly wouldn't relish spending a beautiful October afternoon being yelled at by complete strangers.
Recently I came across another venue for becoming involved in elections from the comfort of my own home. The good folks at votefwd.org have developed a game plan for contacting voters in districts where the races promise to be very close. Through working with various state and local election officials, the group has developed lists of registered voters who tend to lean Democratic and who have irregular voting histories. They are using volunteer letter-writers to contact these people and encourage them to vote in November.
The twenty-nine districts being worked by votefwd.org are: AZ02, CA10, CA 25, CA48, CA49, FL16, FL27, GA06, GA07, KS02, KS03, ME02, MN02, NC02, NC09, NV03, NY01, NY11, NY19, NY22, OH01, OH12, PA07, PA10, TX02, TX07, TX233, TX32, and VA05.
Volunteers can request to adopt either five or twenty-five voters to contact. They then print out the letters. The prepared letters have a non-partisan message that encourages the recipients to be sure and vote on November 6th. The volunteer writes the recipient's name at the greeting-level of the letter, and signs each letter with their first name and last initial. The letter also contains the sentence "I have pledged to vote in every election, because . . . " with room for the volunteer to expound on why he or she votes regularly - and to encourage the person who received the letter to go vote.
I put a lot of thought into the message that I wanted to send to my twenty-five adopted voters in Kansas 03 (where two of my grandchildren also happen to live!). My end result was"
And with those simple words, scrawled in my own handwriting, I hope to influence a complete stranger to make a little time to go to the polls on Election Day.
The writing requires some work. I'm old, and it takes a special effort for me to do much writing by hand without taking breaks. Then each envelope also has to be addressed by hand - something that helps to make the effort appear much more personal. A return address within the district is provided (a mail drop) and that has to also be laboriously penned onto each envelope by hand. Letters that undeliverable for one reason or another are returned to the mail drop, and those names can be trimmed from the list so that it becomes more accurate for the next election cycle.
And finally comes the real expense of the process, placing a first class stamp on each envelope - currently 50 cents per! The volunteer pays the postage - so my twenty five letters ran $12.50 plus the cost of the envelopes.
The stamp itself is also a way of adding a personal touch to the project. votefwd.org suggests using one that is somewhat engaging, like the recent Mr. Rogers stamp. I checked at two local post offices only to learn that they have run out of Mr. Rogers stamps. I finally came up with one almost as warm and fuzzy: Scooby-Doo! (How's that for being cool!)
I routinely toss junk mail without even bothering to open it, but if I got a letter that had been addressed by hand, with a local return address and a cool Scooby-Doo stamp affixed, chances are my curiosity would get the better of me and I would open it.
And just a few people opening their letters and pausing to read my handwritten lines - and then deciding to vote - could turn an election.
I understand that all of the targeted voters in Kansas 03 have now been adopted out, but I am considering taking a second group from some other district. That is something that I can do to make a difference in November!
Regular Voter
There are lots of ways that ordinary people can be working to increase voter turnout and influence the outcome of the November midterms. The county Democrats where I live have been out the past several weekends "canvassing" and promoting the candidacy of the local Democratic candidate for Congress. Their efforts are laudable primarily because they are teaching people how to become involved at the grassroots, front door level. But this district is deeply red and the chances of defeating the entrenched Republican incumbent - at least this time around - are slim to non-existent.
There are several groups on the internet which are focused on the congressional races that are winnable by the Democratic candidates. I have run across one that is looking for volunteers to make calls from their own phones to voters in competitive districts, and another that is looking for texters for the same purpose. Both would require minimum effort, but as someone who is easily enraged by telemarketers, I tend to find the efficacy of those efforts dubious, regardless of what research might indicate - and I certainly wouldn't relish spending a beautiful October afternoon being yelled at by complete strangers.
Recently I came across another venue for becoming involved in elections from the comfort of my own home. The good folks at votefwd.org have developed a game plan for contacting voters in districts where the races promise to be very close. Through working with various state and local election officials, the group has developed lists of registered voters who tend to lean Democratic and who have irregular voting histories. They are using volunteer letter-writers to contact these people and encourage them to vote in November.
The twenty-nine districts being worked by votefwd.org are: AZ02, CA10, CA 25, CA48, CA49, FL16, FL27, GA06, GA07, KS02, KS03, ME02, MN02, NC02, NC09, NV03, NY01, NY11, NY19, NY22, OH01, OH12, PA07, PA10, TX02, TX07, TX233, TX32, and VA05.
Volunteers can request to adopt either five or twenty-five voters to contact. They then print out the letters. The prepared letters have a non-partisan message that encourages the recipients to be sure and vote on November 6th. The volunteer writes the recipient's name at the greeting-level of the letter, and signs each letter with their first name and last initial. The letter also contains the sentence "I have pledged to vote in every election, because . . . " with room for the volunteer to expound on why he or she votes regularly - and to encourage the person who received the letter to go vote.
I put a lot of thought into the message that I wanted to send to my twenty-five adopted voters in Kansas 03 (where two of my grandchildren also happen to live!). My end result was"
"Voting is my voice and the super-power that I use to make change. I hope that you will use yours, too!"
And with those simple words, scrawled in my own handwriting, I hope to influence a complete stranger to make a little time to go to the polls on Election Day.
The writing requires some work. I'm old, and it takes a special effort for me to do much writing by hand without taking breaks. Then each envelope also has to be addressed by hand - something that helps to make the effort appear much more personal. A return address within the district is provided (a mail drop) and that has to also be laboriously penned onto each envelope by hand. Letters that undeliverable for one reason or another are returned to the mail drop, and those names can be trimmed from the list so that it becomes more accurate for the next election cycle.
And finally comes the real expense of the process, placing a first class stamp on each envelope - currently 50 cents per! The volunteer pays the postage - so my twenty five letters ran $12.50 plus the cost of the envelopes.
The stamp itself is also a way of adding a personal touch to the project. votefwd.org suggests using one that is somewhat engaging, like the recent Mr. Rogers stamp. I checked at two local post offices only to learn that they have run out of Mr. Rogers stamps. I finally came up with one almost as warm and fuzzy: Scooby-Doo! (How's that for being cool!)
I routinely toss junk mail without even bothering to open it, but if I got a letter that had been addressed by hand, with a local return address and a cool Scooby-Doo stamp affixed, chances are my curiosity would get the better of me and I would open it.
And just a few people opening their letters and pausing to read my handwritten lines - and then deciding to vote - could turn an election.
I understand that all of the targeted voters in Kansas 03 have now been adopted out, but I am considering taking a second group from some other district. That is something that I can do to make a difference in November!
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