Help Elect Progressives
Time and again popular legislation is thwarted by lawmakers who control the U.S. and MN Senates. It is very clear that we need to elect candidates to every level of government who reflect the values of and serve the American people.
Voting is important, but we need to do more!
Donate money. The first $50 is free!
All campaigns need money for things like postage, printing, signs, phone calls, staff, etc. Every little bit helps. In Minnesota we have the Political Contribution Refund, which means that each year the first $50 that you donate to any Minnesota political parties and/or candidates running for state office will be refunded to you. (The limit is $100 for married couples). Find out more about how to take advantage of the PCR.
Identify candidates worthy of your support
Explore the pages of local organizations you trust, who endorse candidates. Here are some we partner with/know.
Find out what help the candidates need
Contact their campaigns for specific asks - donations, delivering campaign literature or lawn signs, phone banking or text banking, volunteer snacks/beverages delivered.
Deliver literature/lawn signs
The campaigns might need help doing a literature drop or delivering lawn signs to people who want them. These activities are very important as they help raise the profile of the candidate.
Phone/text bank for them
Door knocking is not an option this year, so candidates are doing most of their voter contact by phone banking, and some are using text banking as well. A campaign might have 2 or 3 phone banks a week. Sign up to join one and ask a friend to join you. It will almost definitely be a virtual phone bank and you will meet the phone banking team via Zoom. You will be trained so don’t worry if this is your first time. Staff are there to help you and check-in. If you can’t find information about phone banks for a specific candidates, check with the political party they belong to. The parties keep calendars of these campaign events.
Although phone banking is the most effective form to voter engagement after door knocking, some campaign are also doing text banking. If this feels more your style, check to see if the candidate you want to support has text banks.
Attend their events
Candidates attend lots of events - parades, town halls, meet and greets. Although these all look very different now, find out when their events are and attend. They will appreciate it. Invite some friends to go with you.
Post about them on social media
It’s very hard for a first time candidate to run against an incumbent, as they most likely won’t have the name recognition their opponent has. One way to help them is to spread the word about them. Talk to your friends, neighbors, family members about them. Share about them on social media. Like their posts. Share their posts. Help their messaging go further by amplifying it through all your social media channels.
Phone banking to voters in other states
Sign up for a shift with Women’s March’s Text Back Tuesdays - texting women in key states to make sure they have what they need to vote. The goal? Activate 3 million women voters!
Our friends at Indivisible have an excellent phone banking system, Windivisible, where you can access all the tools you need to call voters in key states across the country. Training is provided.