Actions
At Swing Left North Shore/Cape Ann, we engage with a variety of actions to help get Democrats elected up and down the ballot. Rather than reinvent the wheel, we research opportunities to take meaningful actions and share them with our Massachusetts community.
Checkout the activities we do to make a difference:
Postcard and Letter Writing
A key way we make a difference is activating a network of 1000+ volunteers to write letters and postcards to prospective Democratic voters. We partner with a variety of organizations including Swing Blue Alliance, Working America, Center for Common Ground, Rural Freedom Network, and Vote Forward (to name a few), in order to find what resonates with voters and where our work can make a difference electing democratic candidates up and down the ballot.
Since our founding in early 2019 we have sent 250,000+ letters and postcards prompting Democrats to request mail-in ballots, reminding people to vote in primaries and special elections, and highlighting the platforms of candidates in key elections. The good news is that this work can move the needle. An analysis of a 2023 campaign in Ohio revealed that people who received our postcards were 1.2% more-likely to vote then those who did not. While this might sound low, we know that given how tight key elections have been over the past few cycles,1.2% might make the difference between winning and losing!
We make it simple for you to participate by providing the postcards (usually twenty to thirty per person, per project), the messaging, and mailing lists. What you provide is your time and postage.
If this sounds interesting to you, email us at swingleftnsca@gmail.com and put WRITING in the subject line.
Voter Protection
VOTER PROTECTION encompasses a wide range of activities all aimed at making sure everyone can vote and that every vote is counted. Volunteers text, email, call and do online research. It is very high value in terms of the degree to which the work leads to votes.
More specific actions include:
Recruiting poll workers from lists of activists
Letting people know that they have been placed on inactive status and need to take action to make sure they are on the voting rolls
Making sure that people who requested absentee ballots vote and send them in (“ballot chase”)
Letting people know they need to correct their absentee ballot because it was not filed properly and won’t be counted unless they take action (“ballot cure”)
Getting trained to staff the voter protection hotline
We coordinate our voter protection actions primarily through the all-volunteer group VoPro Pros. You can learn more about them CLICK HERE.
If you want to help, email us at swingleftnsca@gmail.com and put VOTER PROTECTION in the subject line.
Canvassing and Phone-banking
As the election heats up, we will be working with local groups in the key states to get out the vote. We know that there are few better tactics than knocking on someone’s door and asking for their vote. Over the course of the year, we will be arranging trips down to key states and districts to help citizens vote -- by providing voting process and candidate information AND listening to what's on voters' minds. We will of course provide training and help you fine-tune your talking points to make your efforts as effective as possible.
If you can’t make a trip in person, phone-banking may be up your alley. We will work to set you up for success, training you on the best way to reach out to voters without becoming annoying.
If talking directly to voters appeals to you, email us at swingleftnsca@gmail.com and put CANVASSING in the subject line.
Fundraising
We all know how important money is to winning a campaign. Unfortunately, none of us have endless resources. We are here to help.
We are recommending a minimal number of funds that are regularly evaluated and adjusted to the changing circumstances on the ground. Our fundraising committee meets every week to talk about giving options and create events so that our volunteers can hear from the people making the decisions and have their questions answered. We also make sure that donors understand the importance of donating early in this critical election. We need everyone to understand that every dollar counts and when combined with our friends and neighbors, we can become a powerful financial force.
To see the current funds we are recommending, please CLICK HERE.
To join our fundraising committee, email us at swingleftnsca@gmail.com and put FUNDRAISING in the subject line.