Chop Wood, Carry Water 10/11
Friday Fire-up! 🔥🔥
Hi, all, and happy Friday!
It’s a great day — I voted! I put on my lucky dress, went to my lucky dropbox, and got my ballot in first thing this morning. In past years I’ve let my mail-in ballot sit on my dining room table for far too long—generally until the last minute. But this year, after months of preaching the virtues of voting on day one, I actually did it. Or almost. Technically it’s day three.
Regardless, the joy, hope, and patriotism I felt dropping that envelope in the box—the lightness, the pride, the certainty that I was part of the solution—was truly indescribable. Maybe you can see it in my face—here’s the short TikTok I made as I did it. You don’t have to watch it, of course, but if you do I think you’ll see how happy I was getting my early vote in.
When you vote—and I hope it’s as early as possible—I hope you, too, will post pictures or videos of yourself doing so. Not a social media person? Wear your “I voted” sticker and go to the grocery store! Remember, we are trying to build momentum, and people are more likely to do something they see lots of others doing. I myself was inspired to get my ballot turned in by watching Jason Berlin’s recent Instagram video. Jason, of course, is the founder of Field Team Six; watching him weep as he put his ballot in the dropbox reminded me to get moving myself.
When my husband Mike, furthermore, saw that I’d gone and voted he, too, got his ballot filled out. A few minutes later he was out the door to drop it off. Voting is contagious!
Speaking of which, it’s time for our Friday Fire-up! What are you doing to help us win this weekend? I’m canvassing for George Whitesides in the Antelope Valley tomorrow—one of my oldest friends is coming with me for her first time ever! I also have a ton of letters to work on—both Vote Forward and Working America! And I’ll be scrambling to distribute around 11,000 (yes you read that right) postcards from my front steps. I’ve got TX, FL, and NC Reclaim Our Vote cards, a bunch of CA Congressional cards, some Blue Wave Postcards into NC, and Postcards to Swing States cards into PA, WI, NC and MI. And soon I’ll have cards to Milwaukee, too. Yikes!
If you know ANYONE in the Northeast Los Angeles area who can come get some postcards please send them my way. I may have bitten off more than I can chew, but I’m hoping not. You can have them email at hijesscraven101@gmail.com. I’ll happily take all comers!
OK, all. It’s your turn. Let us know what you’re up to in the comments—whether it’s canvassing, phonebanking, poll-watching, writing postcards, writing letters, texting, registering voters, donating money, making content about voting, or something else. There are so many ways to help!
Thank you for everything you’re doing to save our country. Together we’re going to bring this home—big time.
P.S. —Apparently the link for the Media and Democracy Project’s Rupert Murdoch event was broken in yesterday’s newsletter. The correct one is here.
Call Your Senators (find yours here) and House Rep (find yours here) 📲
Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.
I’m concerned about the gender pay gap which particularly affects women of color, some of whom earn only 49 cents for every dollar earned by white men. The stalled Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 728 / H.R. 17) would address this injustice by closing loopholes in the Equal Pay Act. Please revive and pass this critical legislation, ensuring that women get equal pay for equal work. Thanks. [H/T]
Extra Credit ✅
Calls have intensified for a Farm Bill when Congress returns November 12 to address the agricultural crisis resulting from recent natural disasters. We should send a strong message to Congress that any Farm Bill must protect and strengthen SNAP. Use FRAC’s Action Network form to email your Members to oppose the GOP House’s Farm Bill, which cuts SNAP by $30 billion over 10 years; then send a separate message supporting SNAP Electronic Benefit Transfer card security.
Note: While the provisions and duration of the Farm Bill are not known, it is expected to be attached to an end-of-the-year spending package.
Get Smart! 📚
Women for Harris-Walz has two great “Get Smart” events happening next week:
Join them for a new and different Women for Harris-Walz webinar focused on writing letters to editors (LTEs). With the election right around the corner, the opportunity to write letters and submit them for publication is closing. Their next webinar on Wednesday, October 16th, 7 pm ET will be a working session. Register now for the Oct. 16 webinar.
Next Week’s Women Wednesdays Event (October 16, 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT): You’re going to be hearing from one of the true messaging geniuses of our time: Anat Shenker-Osorio. Along with other brilliant political communicators, she’s developed a pitch-perfect closing message for this campaign. Want to learn how to use it to persuade your friends, neighbors, and strangers? Join them next week! We’ll also be joined by Ariana DeBose, Jenny Slate, Maya May, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, and State Sen. Zach Wahls. Register here.
Spread the Word! 📣
Please share the DNC’s new ad about Jill Stein. We need to get it out widely. You can also share their post on Threads here.
Give 💰!
Last-minute heads-up that Robert Hubbell is hosting an awesome and exciting Zoom fundraiser event this evening for Texas’ own Colin Allred, and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell of Florida. Tune in at 6pm ET for a discussion with two of the most important candidates this election season- if all Democratic incumbents can hold their seats, Allred and Mucarsel-Powell are the key to a blue Senate!! And, of course, getting Senators Ted Cruz and Rick Scott out of government would be the cherry on top…
Click here to make a donation and attend the event. These races are so, so important, and they are winnable!!
Win Races! 🗳
HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS EVENT!!
Are you writing postcards but hesitant about talking to live voters? Or are you new to get-out-the-vote efforts? Join the Center For Common Ground on October 15 at 3 pm PT/6 pm ET for a "Phone Banking for Introverts" training!
This training will help you overcome your hesitation to make calls in a supportive and fun environment where you'll be among other folks who, like you, may feel nervous about calling voters.
Elizabeth Chur, author of The Joy of Talking Politics with Strangers: How to Save Democracy, One Conversation at a Time, will kick things off with an energizing pep talk! After Elizabeth speaks, we will start our training, during which you will learn to use our phone bank platform and gain confidence in making calls.
Phone banking may be out of your comfort zone, but it is a very effective way to make an impact on this election. Talking to a voter increases the likelihood of them voting by 47%, and voters who receive a voicemail from us are 16% more likely to vote.
Almost all postcard addresses will be out of the door by October 15. But the work we must do to reach more Black voters is far from over! Join us for "Phone Banking for Introverts" on October 15.
Win Races—Make Calls!
Nightly, into Georgia for GOTV. Sign up here. Can’t make the nightly phone bank and want to make calls on your own time? We got you! From 9am-9p you can engage with voters at this link.
Tuesday, October 15 - Call voters in Washington and Oregon at 6pm ET/3pm PT. Get out the vote for Kamala Harris and Congressional candidates Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03), Kim Schrier (WA-08), and Janelle Bynum (OR-05).
Monday, October 21 - Call Ohio voters for Sherrod Brown and Kamala Harris at 6:30pm ET/3:30pm PT. If we hope to hold our Senate majority, it's critical we do everything we can to re-elect Sherrod Brown this November! Join us for a virtual phonebank and help us reach out to Ohio voters in support of Sherrod Brown for US Senate and Kamala Harris for President.
Tuesday, October 22 - Call voters in Pennsylvania at 6pm ET/3pm PT. This entire election could come down to PA and Kamala’s lead over Trump in the Keystone State is narrow -- help widen that gap by calling voters in Pennsylvania with Indivisible.
Monday, October 28 - Call voters with podcasters at 5:30 ET/2:30 PT. Love fighting to save democracy AND listening to podcasts? Join Indivisible for an exciting phonebank party where we will contact voters and hang out with our special co-host, Podcaster Chelsea Devantez of Glamorous Trash.
Wednesday, October 30 - Call-o-ween! Call NY voters at 6pm ET/3pm PT. The path to taking back the House runs through New York. Let’s scare the pants off of MAGA Republicans by joining fellow Indivisibles for our Call-o-ween phonebank to call voters to support Harris/Walz and congressional candidates Laura Gillen (NY-04), Mondaire Jones (NY-17), and Josh Riley (NY-19).
Sunday, November 3 – Mobilize voters in North Carolina at 1pm ET/11am PT. Trump won NC in 2020 by an incredibly slim margin and recent polls show that his lead over Kamala in the state is nominal. Join us in contacting NC voters to make sure they turn out for Kamala and Tim – the voters we contact now could push this purple state in the right direction!
Monday, November 4 – Support and amplify BIPOC candidates at 7pm ET/4pm PT. The Indivisible BIPOC Caucus is proud to sponsor this phonebank for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) candidates. Texas is a critical state this November, so we’ll be engaging voters just before Election Day to make sure they're ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and vote Ted Cruz out of the Senate. Let’s turn Texas a little bluer by turning out Texans to elect Colin Allred as their next Senator!
Win Races—Write Postcards!
Field Team 6 has a new postcard campaign to help register likely Dems in Mecklenburg County, NC. Why Mecklenburg County? According to the Chair of the Mecklenburg County Democratic Party, it is the largest but poorest performing Democratic county in NC. It has 36,000 more registered Democrats than Wake Co., the second largest Democratic county, but produces 40-50,000 fewer votes for Dems every election cycle! In 2022, when Dems overperformed nationwide, poor turnout in Mecklenburg County cost NC a Senate seat and control of the State Supreme Court. Turnout in Mecklenburg County will determine who wins NC, and NC may determine who wins the electoral college. The deadline for mailing postcards is 10/26.
Chop Wood, Save the Planet 🔥
Join Climate Action Now and League of Conservation Voters for a joint letter-writing event on Thursday, Oct. 17 at 7:30 pm ET. You’ll learn about the Vote Forward platform, and craft messages to add a personal touch to prewritten letters for voters.
If you can, they also recommend registering with Vote Forward by Tuesday, Oct. 15. This will allow you to adopt 5 voters and print your letters before the event. Of course, this step is optional—whether you register ahead of time or not, they encourage anyone who wants to learn more about letter-writing with Vote Forward to participate.
Resistbot Letter (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.) 💻
[To: all 3 reps] [H/T] [Text SIGN SIGN PJEWPA to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]
I’m writing in support of expanded eligibility for Afghan women and girls seeking asylum in the U.S.
The Taliban operates a gender apartheid system in Afghanistan using intimidation, violence, and restrictive edicts as tools of repression. I’m calling on Congress to expand eligibility for special immigrant visas so that Afghan women and girls can leave this oppressive system behind and seek a better life in the U.S. Thank you!
OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.
Talk soon.
Jess
Sorry all the Resistbot code is SIGN PJEWPA
I just mailed my 200 postcards from Moms Rising to Florida residents to remind them to vote. Hopefully, those affected by the hurricanes (two already, damn) will still find a way to vote! Three hundred more postcards go out next week to AZ voters via Postcards to Swing States. AZ early ballots went out on October 9; I haven't received mine yet but I'm expecting it tomorrow. It will be returned ASAP and I'll track it --and hubby's-- online to make sure it's received and which batch it's in to be counted. LET'S DO THIS!