Chop Wood, Carry Water 11/29 🎊

Hi, all, and happy Tuesday!

This morning I got a very happy text.

It was from a woman I’ve never met, in a state I’ve never visited, and included the above picture. Notice the “I Voted” sticker on the older guy?

Here’s the backstory: About ten days ago, right before I got COVID, I did an Environmental Voter Project phonebank into Georgia. One of my calls was to a 94-year-old man in Gwinette County. This man answered the phone with a polite drawl, and, after some back and forth, informed me that he did, indeed, wish to vote badly, but doubted he’d be able to, as he couldn’t drive and had no one to take him to the polls.

I asked if he’d applied for a vote by mail ballot. He said he wasn’t sure.

As we ran through the various options it became clear that none of the usual quick hacks would help. Ralph couldn’t see well enough to read, couldn’t drive, and had no one who could drive him. Further research showed it was too late to request a mail ballot for him and—even if he could see to fill it out correctly—hope he could get it back in time.

I suppose most people would, at that point, have just said “Well, I’m so sorry, Sir. Maybe next time.”

But I hate to let a good vote go.

So, with Ralph’s permission, I decided to see if I could find someone to take him to the polls and help him with any logistical hurdles once he got there.

But who? Not living in Georgia myself, I opted to make a Tiktok. In it I described the situation, and asked if by any chance any of my followers happened to live near a place called Peachtree Corners in Georgia and felt willing to help. I said I knew it was a long shot…

But almost immediately a young woman named Shiggy, a Tiktok creator with no small following herself, replied. “I’m ten minutes from there! It would be an honor to take him!”

This morning, at 9AM, she did. Afterwards she texted me the above picture, telling me what a wonderful time they’d had. She added “he was so, so happy just to vote. He thanked me over and over for helping him.” Later this week they are having lunch. And Shiggy has promised to help him vote in every election going forward.

She was overjoyed to do so, of course. Because community feels great. Democracy feels great. Helping voters vote feels…great.

I hope, when you phonebank this week, that you, too, find a Ralph to help. Believe me, it’s worth it—for you, for the country, and maybe even for the lunch to follow. 🍑

Call Your Senators (find yours here)

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is ______.

I’m disappointed to hear that Congress will likely pass a bill this week that would force railroad workers to adopt an inadequate agreement. These workers have ZERO sick days. They are asking for four. To force them to accept a deal that continues to offer no sick days is not OK. I recognize that the nation can’t afford a rail strike before the holidays, but if Congress does force them to accept this new contract they should then also immediately pass S 1195, the Healthy Families Act, which will force railroad companies—and all other companies with more than 15 employees—to give their workers the paid sick leave they deserve. The US is the only industrialized country to not have a law like this. It’s ridiculous. Please pass this bill now. Thanks.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here)

Hi, I'm a constituent calling from [zip]. My name is _______.

I’m disappointed to hear that Congress will likely pass a bill this week that would force railroad workers to adopt an inadequate agreement. These workers have ZERO sick days. They are asking for four. To force them to accept a deal that continues to offer no sick days is not OK. I recognize that the nation can’t afford a rail strike before the holidays, but if Congress does force them to accept this new contract they should then also immediately pass HR 2465, the Healthy Families Act, which will force railroad companies—and all other companies with more than 15 employees—to give their workers the paid sick leave they deserve. The US is the only industrialized country to not have a law like this. It’s ridiculous. Please pass this bill now. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

Please sign onto this Open Letter to President Biden, Chuck Schumer, and Nancy Pelosi asking them to approve more funding for COVID relief and pandemic planning.

Get Smart! 📚

Democracy Movement Briefing: Wednesday, 8-9pm Eastern

Join Declaration For American Democracy this Wednesday for a Movement Briefing to learn about the state of the democracy  from leaders and organizers from across the country, and to discuss what their work will look like in the new Congress.

As a part of the nationwide movement to pass the Freedom to Vote John. R. Lewis Act and the important accountability work related to January 6th, they're coming together to discuss how we'll defend democracy in the new Congress, while working to enact sweeping reforms to create a democracy that works for all of us.  

RSVP for the Our Freedoms Our Vote Democracy Movement Call on November 30th here! 

Give 💰!

Friendly reminder: tonight from 7 – 8pm EST you are invited to a night of comedy and politics hosted by the Movement Voter PAC and featuring ROY WOOD, JR., ALONZO BODDEN, and KEITH PRICE. Sign up if you are looking for some fun and great information about the best way to reach voters of color and youth in Georgia, to ensure they turn out to vote for Raphael Warnock on December 6th.

RSVP here, and/or just donate here.

Win in Georgia! 🍑

[Don’t forget, the whole “Help Us Win in GA” doc is here.]

The Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda has texting every day between now and next Tuesday. They are texting Black voters and making sure they have the correct ID to vote. Sign up here.

The Center For Common Ground is calling Black voters to help them overcome voter suppression measures. Shifts with trainings are on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sign up here.

Activate America has phone bank shifts all week long. Sign up here.

Fair Fight has phone bank shifts here.

Joan’s Democracy Cafe has awesome phonebanks Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Sign up here.

DNC has phone bank shifts here.

Georgia Working Families Party has text banks here.

Supermajority has a text bank here.

Resistbot Text (new to Resistbot? Go here! And then here.)

To your HOUSE rep] [h/t] [Quick send: text SIGN PJMLCK to 50409]

This week, the House is voting on the bipartisan Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Reauthorization Act of 2022, to ensure the voluntary, evidence-based Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program can continue serving more families, expanding into additional service areas, and supporting our home visiting workforce. I’m asking you to vote “YES” on this critical bill when it comes before the floor.

This bill will help to pair families who often have limited support and resources with trained home visitors such as nurses, social workers, and educators. It will ensure thousands of community-based programs remain open, and help more families access the services they need to help their children thrive. We know from libraries worth of research that the MIECHV program helps to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity, improve infant and child health, improve school readiness, decrease incidence of child neglect, and promote family well-being and stability.

I am pleased to see this bill has strong bipartisan support with 186 cosponsors. Now, as your constituent, I’m relying on you to help pass it when it comes before the House and ensure it is signed into law before the end of the year. If this bill fails to pass, authorization for this critical federal program could expire in the coming weeks. Thanks.

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OK, you did it again! You helped save democracy! You’re amazing.

Talk tomorrow.

Jess