Time to look alive!

tools for the home stretch

There sure are a lot of screamin’ mimis out there. (maybe that’s an Iowa expression?!) All sorts of doom-and-gloom media are vying for our clicks and trying to distract our focus from talking about positive stuff with our friends and neighbors, which is what it is time to do now. Time to wear that swag and start a conversation in the checkout line, etc. etc. Mind you, you’re not going to turn any cult members. Any noise in your head about being intimidated can and should also be squelched. Legal heroes are on the case making sure these voter suppression tactics get dealt with.

I’ve been volunteering for Get Out The Vote things, judiciously, because a cold call is hard for me to do. (I don’t like receiving them either, but I’m gentler now that I’ve been on the calling end. I hate rejection too, so there’s that.) BUT there are a couple cool phone banks on mobilize.us including rideshare2vote, which helps folks book rides to their polling places, or trains you to drive people to polling places. Most any task on mobilize.us includes a training zoom call.

I’m going to be a poll judge at a local polling place and my sweet husband will be a clerk. It’s good to buddy up! Check with your Bureau of Elections. They train and pay you for your time to work in this non-partisan capacity. Common Cause has an Election Protection (poll-watcher) role that is also non-partisan for election-day volunteers. That site has hot-lines in various states on which you can answer general voter questions. Here’s one I’m training for tomorrow October 12 to be on the horn for Arizona voters.

Everything I’ve discussed is non-partisan (except for encouraging your friends, neighbors, and townspeople to vote blue up and down the ballot.) Check to make sure your voter registration is active and up-to-date by going to vote.gov

All gas, no brakes.

Your fellow citizen, Julie