It may be 69 days to Election Day, but the first ballots (Swing State North Carolina) are being mailed out on September 6th so it’s GO TIME! We have the momentum, the grassroots game and the best possible candidates, but polls are tight in Swing States and it’s gonna take ALL of us doing our part.
DO THESE 3 THINGS TODAY
Donate NOW and generously to grassroots GOTV orgs. With all the excitement and much-needed effort to launch Harris-Walz, many donors upped their donations to Harris-Walz (good!). However, grassroots GOTV orgs saw a significant drop in donations (bad!). We cannot overstate how critical to winning grassroots GOTV orgs are - over the past, three elections, they have been key to winning the tightest of races.
Here’s our curated list of donation recommendations, but if you want just one organization to donate to, we recommend Movement Voter Project which invests in Swing State grassroots orgs with proven track records.
Commit to volunteering every week. Sign up at www.mobilize.us to textbank, phonebank and canvass.
Now that early voting begins in a few weeks, we need to start talking to voters to make sure people are registered to vote and informed about the issues. (Check out Jessica Craven’s fantastic video on talking to voters about how Ds and Rs are different.) If canvassing feels too scary, read these tips and/or start with textbanking! All you need to know is your why.
Talk to your friends and family. We know we sound like a broken record, but people are more influenced by people they know than politicians. And most people do not pay close to attention to politics so we’ve provided handy guides and links below on key talking points.
Kamala and Coach Tim - Don’t assume your friends and family know how great they are - share this primer on why they represent the best of America.
Voter registration - Make sure everyone you know is registered to vote and is STILL registered to vote. (Some Swing States with Republican leadership have purged their voter rolls.) If you have a college student in a Swing State, make sure they are registered to vote in that state (most states allow it). They can check their registration and/or register at www.iwillvote.com.
Know an ambivalent young voter? Here are a 4 facts that we find hit home.
Stop letting old people decide your future. You know who almost always votes? Old people. If young people want to decide their future, they need to vote.
When you vote in big numbers consistently, you build political power. (Don’t vote? You lose your power.) Historically, young voters had the lowest turnout of all age groups and little political power as a result. BUT in 2020, 50% of young voters turned out and voted overwhelmingly for Dems, leading to the largest investment ever in climate action, the first gun control bill in 30 years, $168B in student loan forgiveness, the best job market in 50 years, and historic investments in mental health services for young people.
Your vote matters. Not voting or voting third party helps Republicans and hurts every day Americans. Many elections have been decided by less than 1% of the vote. Here are just two examples:
In 2000, George W. Bush lost the popular vote, but won the Electoral College by 537 votes (.00000515% of total votes cast) with 2.8M Americans voting 3rd party.
In 2016, Trump lost the popular vote by nearly 3M, but won the Electoral College by less than 79K votes (.0000614% of total votes cast) with 5.9M voting 3rd party.
Your vote is not a valentine. Democracy requires compromise and the people we elect have to answer to millions of voters. This means we need to elect candidates whose values and positions most align with ours. And anyone who tells you that “both parties/candidates” are the same is lying to you.
It’s the economy, stupid. Most Americans say the economy is their number one issue. While the economy is booming and inflation is almost back to pre-pandemic levels, many Americans are still experiencing high prices. Why? Because of corporate price gouging and Trump’s 2.2T tax cut for the ultra-wealthy that will only get worse if Trump wins. But Harris-Walz have plans to put more money back into the pockets of everyday Americans.
Also, check out Red, Wine & Blue’s Momonomics video and this link to more resources - it will help you talk to your community about why this election is so important for our personal finances.
Share the fun. Below are some of our favorite videos, articles, memes and photos from the past week - share them with friends and family to get people engaged, motivated and excited.
In your corner,
HH & ML
Articles
USA Today: More than 200 Bush, McCain, Romney alums endorse Harris for president, criticize Trump.
New York Magazine: The media’s double standard favors Donald Trump, not Kamala Harris.
New Republic: As everyday Americans tune in to watch Kamala Harris receive her party’s nomination, they should trust what they see with their own eyes—especially as D.C.’s chattering class tries to gaslight them.
I’m an old person who votes always and votes 🗳️ always and volunteers extensively always and supports GOTV efforts among young folks always. Third Act does good work and sometimes grandparents are more effective than parents in impacting the youth vote. As Joyce Vance says repeatedly, “we are all in this together”. 💙
This is so great thank you!