Chop Wood, Carry Water 9/19

Let's use our pens wisely!

There are 47 days until we elect our 47th president. Find a toolkit with this and other graphics here. (It also has the abortion-related video I posted yesterday.)

Hi, all, and happy Thursday!

Instead of talking about the news, I’m going to talk about writing.

Specifically, first, about writing postcards. And more specifically, about writing Postcards to Swing States, because I know many of you are working on those cards as we speak.

I understand that some of you have concerns about the message(s) you’ve been asked to write for these cards. I want to explain why they are perfect the way they are and shouldn’t be altered. I also want to explain why, in general, it’s important to not change postcard scripts unless the campaign you’re volunteering for has approved that change.

More on that in a second.

First, Postcards to Swing States offers three choices of scripts. I strongly recommend the first option, which says:

Hi [Voter's First Name],

Thank you for being a voter! Who you vote for is private, but whether you vote is public record. Please vote in the Tues. Nov. 5 election!

- [Your First Name]

Now, over the years many have written to me to say that they object to this message—I’ve heard it described as “creepy,” “sketchy,” “invasive,” or “off-putting,” among other adjectives.

But here’s the thing: these few lines are a textbook example of something called a social pressure message. You can read more about these messages here, and read one of many white papers—this one by scholars at Harvard, Yale, and Columbia University— about their rather stunning effectiveness here. The long and the short of it is that, despite their slightly pushy tone, they are wildly effective at increasing turnout. Much, much more so than any other type of script. There are many randomized, controlled studies to back this up.

According to one brief by Sister District “Social pressure mail is considered the gold standard of political mail within the industry and is one of the two most effective tactics along with relational organizing.”

See why I want you to use it?

Progressive Turnout PAC shares my enthusiasm—in fact they used to offer only this script. But volunteers’ objections to the language grew so constant that they decided to add two more options, even though they knew they wouldn’t work as well.

This, to me, is slightly unfortunate.

I understand that many find the script above pushy, but please remember, we’re “not here to make friends,” as they say in reality TV. We’re writing these cards to encourage recipients to vote. When they do, they will almost definitely vote for Democrats. We need this. It is life or death. We must seek out every vote we can get.

So please, if you’re writing these postcards, consider setting aside your scruples and using the first script option.

And please, too, no matter what campaign you’re writing for, refrain from changing the script to your liking! Remember, a great deal of expertise goes into crafting these messages. Every word is there for a reason. There may even be legal guidelines being considered. Rewriting the script may, though well-intentioned, actually harm the campaign and/or reduce our chances of winning. Tell a friend!

One last note about writing: yesterday I wrote ten letters into North Carolina for Vote Riders. North Carolina has a new voter ID law, and it could decrease turnout dramatically if voters aren’t prepared. So Vote Riders created letter templates with information about NC’s voter ID requirements. Volunteers add a couple of lines at the top, address the envelopes, and send. Here’s a picture of one of my completed letters. (Yes, my handwriting is appalling.)

Writing these letters made me feel great. Voter suppression upsets me, and this was an action I could take to do something about it! So important! Better still, Vote Riders has customized letter templates for every key voter ID state!

So when you’re weighing which campaign to lend your writing skills to, consider Vote Riders! It matters! Here's the self-starters’ link. They also do Zoom training/letter-writing parties if folks want a bit more guidance, these are posted on their Mobilize page. There’s one on the 26th for OH, WI, and PA.

Of course Vote Forward still has hundreds of thousands of letters, too, and Working America has an equally vast amount yet to be adopted (these, too, are proven through rigorous studies to be highly effective). The Sierra Club offers a letter writing campaign, too, to climate voters!

All of these letter-writing campaigns are listed in my postcarding and letter writing doc. Let’s give them some love! Postcards are wonderful but we need the letters, too! Again, each campaign has been carefully crafted to help turn out voters!

And that’s why we’re here!

OK, all. Lots to do, and precious little time in which to do it! Let’s get to work.

P.S. — Don’t forget—Join Vice President Kamala Harris and Oprah Winfrey for a livestream event tonight uniting Team Kamala supporters from across the country. Whether you’re part of White Dudes for Harris, #WinWithBlackWomen, Swifties for Kamala, or another affinity group, this will be the place to assemble, organize, and mobilize under one big tent. Sign up here.

Call Your House Rep (find yours here) 📲

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

I understand that Speaker Johnson brought the SAVE Act and a six-month Continuing Resolution up for a vote yesterday, and that it failed pretty spectacularly. Good. I oppose the SAVE Act—it’s a voter suppression bill— and hope we’ve seen the end of it. It’s time for Congress to get to work passing a clean Continuing Resolution so that the government stays open—which it must. I expect the Congressmember to support such a CR, and then get to work passing actual appropriations bills with full funding for the programs we care about. We should increase taxes on billionaires and cut our bloated defense budget to pay for it. Thanks.

Extra Credit ✅

The U.S. Department of Energy just announced that $182 million of Inflation Reduction Act funding meant for climate solutions will go to burning plastic waste—specifically a yet-to-be constructed facility in Pennsylvania that would shred tens of thousands of tons of plastic waste per year and burn it in Gary Indiana 

This is not OK. Join Moms Clean Air Force in urging the DOE to use taxpayer dollars to combat climate change and the plastic pollution crisis, not to bankroll a polluting plastic facility.  

Go here to send your letter. Please personalize!

Get Smart! 📚

Sister District is continuing their voter education series and their next event is on Monday, September 23—and it features

Heather Cox Richardson

! The conversation will be centered on why voting down-ballot in 2024 is so critically important. As some of you may guess, I am VERY excited about this webinar.

September 23, 2024 at 8 pm ET – Why States Matter: Voting Downballot in 2024

• Join Sister District, Daily Kos and The Downballot for a virtual event highlighting why voting downballot in 2024 is so critically important. The event will be moderated by Sister District Co-Founder Gaby Goldstein and The Downballot’s David Nir.

• Special Guests:

  • Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones

  • Author and historian Heather Cox Richardson

  • Virginia State Sen. Danica Roem

Register here!

Spread the Word! 📣

Here’s the VIDEO OF THE WEEK from the excellent Amplifier!

This week’s story is from Alondra, a 2nd grade teacher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her parents brought her to the U.S. when she was two years old in pursuit of the freedom to thrive.  

What to know: 

• ➡️ Moves voters overall toward supporting Harris-Walz, popping with Latino voters

• 📈 Increases motivation to vote

• ✅ Increases Harris’s favorability and decreases Trump’s favorability

Please use their toolkit to share!

Give 💰!

On September 23rd at 5pm PT/8pm ET, I'm helping Swing Blue Alliance Power Up Pennsylvania. Please join us!

Janelle Stelson is a former moderate Republican who ended her 27-year career as a popular TV news anchor to fight for women's rights after the Dobbs decision. She's running to defeat "Stop the Steal" Republican Scott Perry.  The fundraiser includes three more Red2Blue candidates, including former Apache helicopter pilot Ashley Ehasz running to flip PA 01, and Sara Agerton and Anna Payne who are both running to flip Pennsylvania House seats. 

Swing Blue Alliance is one of dozens of grassroots groups supporting these campaigns with voter registration, canvassing, phone banking, letters and fundraising. RSVP and donate here.

Win Races-Write Postcards! 🗳

Among Activate America’s many postcard campaigns, they’re offering a massive Get Out the Vote postcarding campaign focused in the states of Michigan, New York, and Ohio.

This is a nonpartisan collaboration with the Turnout Education Fund focused on boosting voter participation among voters who are Black, indigenous, and people of color. Up-and-down the ballot, these states have important elections, and we’re making sure these voters know what it’s going to take to be able to vote-by-mail this year.

To sign up, just request a list HERE.

Win Races! Join the Great Rust Belt Voter Registration Chase! 🏃🏽‍♀️

Join Rust Belt Rising to help make sure that everyone in WI, MI, and PA is able to vote in this year's General Election!

Rust Belt Rising's innovative voter registration programs helped thousands of these states’ residents register in 2020 and 2022 and will do so again this year.

Here's how it works: RBR partners at Civitech find targets of people who would likely vote our way but are unregistered at their current address as they compare commercial mail lists and voter file. They will mail these targets a pre-filled voter registration form with a motivational flyer and postage to their clerk (some of us donated to this cause last week!)

Here’s where we come in! In addition to texting them, we need volunteers to call these targets to encourage them to complete the easy process of registering. I’m going to do this. Join me!

Sign up to call WI voters here.

Sign up to call MI voters here.

Sign up to call PA voters here.

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

[To: ] [H/T SPLC Action Fund] [Text SIGN PFKEYB to Resistbot at 50409 or via Apple Messages / WHATSAPP / MESSENGER]

As Congress returns from recess, I am writing with concern about funding for housing. Both parties recognize the ongoing affordability crisis, so it’s shocking that any proposal for FY ‘25 funding would cut funding for housing and threaten key protections.

From Housing Choice Vouchers to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, Congress must both fund programs and retain critical protections for renters. There is no reason people in America should be on the street or in dire financial condition because of the cost of housing — there is especially no reason this should be the case because of their own government.

Please fund all housing and community development at substantial levels in the forthcoming budget.

Thank you for your time.

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

Talk soon.

Jess