Raise your hand if you worry about the survival of democracy in the United States. I see you.
Given the recent “Trump years” of fascistic bullying in the American government, the January 6th attack, and the rantings of your favorite hypocritical politician, it’s no wonder so many of us are on the verge of writing off our democracy as unfixable.
But please don’t.
Instead of caving into doom porn as we approach the Midterms, I invite you to join my friends and me in something we’ve done during recent election cycles:
Sending letters encouraging underrepresented citizens to vote
Writing letters together
Knocking on doors and making phone calls can rally people to the polls, but writing letters to potential voters is an introvert’s dream. (And for the socially inclined, you can still do this with friends!)
VoteForward is a well-regarded nonprofit organization that makes the process easy. Volunteers focus on writing “get out the vote” letters directed toward voters who are “underrepresented in our electorate, including people of color and young people”, or to “voters with partisanship scores indicating their likelihood to vote for Democrats.” The messaging uses nonpartisan language, which has proven effective in turning out more voters — including those in districts that made a difference in the 2020 election.
How it works
With VoteForward, there’s a simple sign-up in order to be approved as a volunteer, after which you follow the basic steps:
Choose a campaign