Election 2016 (US)

[serene]

When it was important to me that there be a Green Party in California, I worked for it. Collected signatures, got the party on the ballot, attended platform conventions in Santa Cruz, marched, made posters, talked people's ears off about proportional representation, etc.

When it was important to me that Obama win the presidency, and that diverse voices be heard in the election, I got out the vote -- registered ex-felons and others, went on neighborhood canvas runs with like-minded folks, talked people's ears off about his platform and record.

It's important to me that a billionaire fascist with no sense of honesty and decency, who is completely unsuited to rule a company, much less a nation state, not win against arguably the most qualified candidate who's ever run for the office. I don't always agree with Secretary Clinton's decisions around foreign policy, and I think she has moments of tone-deafness that make me cringe (on Twitter, you can see me cringe), but she's qualified to do the job. She's a stateswoman. She's presidential. And she isn't a nazi, misogynist, jingoistic, foul sack of shit.

I'm in California, so I'm trying to figure out how to help make sure she wins -- and then after she wins, that Trump and his rabid minions don't foment unrest in the country.

Some ideas I've had so far. Thoughts welcome.

* donate to her campaign and/or DNC and/or MoveOn and/or...?
* go to battleground states and help get out the vote (not sure I have the wherewithal to do this, but I'm considering it)
* phone bank in said states (again, not sure I have it in me, but it's an option)
* Your Idea Here

I can't just sit and watch this happen. I have to do what I can do. Not sure what that is yet. But I have to do it.

Comments

[stonebender]

I love you so much! You know that?

Mwah!

[serene]

Thank you! Love you too. Thanks for not dying!!

Re: Mwah!

[stonebender]

I only did for you my love! :-)

[redbird]

I think it's possible to do the get-out-the-vote phone banking thing remotely, and for states you don't live in. There are people with a Hillary Clinton table at my local farmers' market, and Massachusetts, like California, is considered such a shoo-in for the Democrats that nobody is even bothering to do polls. (I was looking at electoral-vote.com, and the way they present the news and current state-by-state predictions, it's straightforward to see when the most recent poll was taken in each state. It turned out that there are 15 where the projected percentage for each party is the numbers from the 2012 election.)

[serene]

Thanks. I appreciate the link, too.

[tim]

You can definitely do the get-out-the-vote phone banking remotely. I did it for Obama in 2008. It's probably the best payoff for effort. (Yes, it's emotionally draining.)

If you have the spoons for going to a battleground state, I think that's even better, and personally I find it somewhat less exhausting to talk to people in person than on the phone (they're usually nicer in person). But it's a huge commitment. (It is possible to do door-to-door get-out-the-vote in pairs, which again makes it a little easier, though never not draining.)

[serene]

Do you get the impression the phone banks are effective? My gut says most people would just hang up.

[stonebender]

It's been a while since I've done any precinct or phone banking. When I did it, I did get a fair amount of hangups, but usually their lists just include people who voted in the last two elections. So I got a number of people to talk to, but that's quite a while ago now.

[merielle]

Ooooh, call on me! I totally hear you. I think this is the most terrifying election of my lifetime - legit scarier than Bush v. Gore, and that's saying something. I also am feeling like, shiiiiiiit I gotta do something. I'm not a campaign professional anymore, but I still know a fair amount.

Block walking is the single most effective part of any field operation. There is just no substitute for person-to-person contact.

Phone banking can definitely be done remotely. Either the Clinton campaign or your state or county party should have the tech for you to do it from home with a laptop and cell phone if you want. If you want some company, they'll probably do phone banks at party or campaign HQ, friendly law firms, anyplace with a lot of lines. If you haven't done it much, it can be good to go to one; you'll get some training, you'll have a coordinator to ask questions of, you'll have people to decompress with, etc.

Donations are great if you can afford them. Money given directly to a candidate is best because it offers the most flexibility in the ways it can be legally used. Confirm this with someone who lives in CA, but IME if you want to get out the vote, give to your state or local party, whichever is more on the ball. In a state with a decent party infrastructure, the party typically does the heavy lifting in terms of poll watching and rides to polling places. Giving to c4s (ex NARAL, PP Votes, etc) or 527s is good, too, but they cannot legally coordinate messaging or actions with candidates, so sometimes if their messaging isn't well done, they can do more harm than good; thus it's best to give only to ones you trust.

I personally no longer give to national Democratic orgs. I don't trust them. I give locally or directly to candidates I like. YMMV.

Other ideas for places to give:

- southern state ACLU chapters - here in Texas they do good work helping people experiencing voter suppression
- swing state disability rights orgs - same, specifically with disabled folks
- Election Protection does anti-suppression work but also helps folks make a plan for voting and other good stuff - http://www.866ourvote.org/

Other ideas for things to do:

- Talk to people you know in swing states. Let them know why you care so much. Help them make sure they are ready to vote - current registration, know their polling place, or easiest of all if they can vote early - and have a plan for how and when they'll do so. This makes it way less likely that they'll forget or just not show up.
- Use social media to help people educate themselves or encourage them to get involved. Know a bunch of folks in Pennsylvania? Post a link to somewhere that will help them figure out what they need to know to vote (PA secretary of state, county election boards, etc). Tweet about a positive experience volunteering for HRC's campaign, registering voters, etc.

I'm glad to talk more with you about this if you like. <3

[serene]

So useful! Thank you very much! Will pick your brain more on some day that's not 90 degrees in the shade. Brain melty.

[merielle]

Oh! I forgot, the League of Women Voters does a lot of voter protection, too. They set up a dedicated fund this year just for that because of all the garbage voter suppression legislation that's been passed recently. :( I just got email about it and I'm planning to give.

[tim]

Most people don't hang up, actually, though some do. They use an auto-dialer that screens out the answering machines and people who just don't answer the phone. People who answer the phone with an unknown number calling are usually willing to listen at least for a little bit.

I think it's somewhat effective. The main reason for phoning (unless the volunteer coordinators direct you to do "persuasive" calling, which isn't usually the case) is to remind people who were going to vote for your person anyway that an election is happening. It's one more thing putting the bug up somebody's ass to vote and in that way, I think it means that a certain number of people who wouldn't have voted otherwise will vote.