There are lots of ways to get involved in the WA State Election 2020, and not all of it requires cold, hard cash. The key is to do something and do it consistently.
Ask yourself:
⏰ Do you have an hour a week to dedicate to supporting voters in this election cycle?
? Do you have an hour a day to dedicate to supporting voters this cycle?
? Are you a super introvert and need something that fits your personality?
?? Are you the type of person who can chat with anyone?
If you answered yes to at least one of these questions, you can help. There are so many forms of outreach, and we need all hands on deck.
In this blog, we are going to dive into what you can do to support voters getting to the polls, help to pass comprehensive and trans-friendly sex education, educate folks about candidates fighting for affordable housing, and so much more. Let’s dive into how you can get involved in the Washington State Election this year in 2020.
How To Get Involved: WA State Election 2020
We’re going to go through a bunch of different options for engagement and the organizations that make it easy. Some of these are national. And some are specific to the Washington State Election 2020. Either way, you can find the approach that suits you best and maximize your impact.
?? Phone Banking And Text Banking
Not everyone has the disposition for it, but phone and text banking are really important. It’s especially true among communities where voters have been disenfranchised, or who may be otherwise overlooked.
Voto Latino put out some data regarding how often campaigns reached out to Latino Voters. Only 30% of REGISTERED Latino voters received a call or a text during a campaign.
If you’re uncomfortable phone banking, check out Sister District Project’s Phonebanking for Introverts!
Right now Republicans could care less about spreading COVID and are sending out people to door knock. We are going to need to dig deep and reach voters by any means possible. Here are some places to get involved.
- Reclaim our Vote: Targeting North Carolina, Texas, Arizona, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia
- Seed the Vote: partnering with grassroots organizations rooted in working-class communities and communities of color in battleground states including Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Florida
- Code Blue: Flipping red seats blue in Washington, and partnering with Sister District to help in North Carolina
- Care In Action: fighting for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States, most of whom are women
? Letter And Postcard Writing
Postcard writing is perfect for introverted activists. You can pop on your favorite podcast and write thirty postcards in an afternoon. It also helps the post office by purchasing stamps and keeping the movement moving forward.
- Reclaim our Vote: Targeting North Carolina, Texas, Arizona, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia
- Postcards4WA: Washington state-specific campaigns. Great way to connect with local voters.
- Vote Forward: still looking for help in Nevada, South Carolina, and Minnesota
? ??Volunteering for Election Protection
We’re so lucky that for WA State Election 2020 we can vote by mail as usual. We’re voting early, especially after the sabotage attempts at USPS by trump’s administration. But what about other states?
Are you in good health and can you fly to Georgia or Arizona and support Poll Workers?
Sign up, buy cheap plane tickets, and help poll workers on election day. Get your friends and family in other states involved too. Here is a great link at Vote Save America
Protect The Vote is a portal that allows you to sign up as a non-partisan Election Protection volunteer: “Nonpartisan Election Protection volunteers…are the voters’ first line of defense against restrictive election laws, coronavirus-related voting disruptions, or anything else that could silence their voices.” Volunteers will be working in various ways: monitoring polling places, watchdogging social media for disinformation, reaching out to voters to ensure they know their rights, etc.
Folks who live where in-person voting is still the primary option may just want to be an actual poll worker. The pandemic has created a poll-worker shortage, so they are desperately needed. Spread the word about Power The Polls, a portal created by The Fair Elections Center and Work Elections. People can sign up to receive training (and PPE, of course), and in some districts, they will be paid, too.
WA State Election 2020: Support Approve R-90 and BIPOC Candidates NOW
Washington state has a real opportunity to elect a wave of Black/Brown candidates to Olympia. The time is now. And these candidates need cash and volunteers to be successful. In addition, we cannot stress how important it is to teach kids healthy boundaries, how their body works, and how to make safe sexual choices for themselves when they are teens and young adults. Please donate to the Approve R-90 Campaign.
The Approve R-90 Effort In Washington State
Earlier this year, the legislature passed Mandatory, Comprehensive Sex Education (SB 5395), ensuring that all students have access to age-appropriate sex education, no matter their zip code. Extremist, anti-sex ed opponents have qualified an effort to put this bill on the ballot in November. Get educated about the actual content of the referendum and help combat misinformation.
What Can You Do? Here are some ideas:
- Donate to the approval effort
- Sign up to support
- Write a Letter to the Editor at a local publication
- Phone/text banking
- Socially distanced literature drops
- Host a Virtual Party to support it and get the word out
- Spread the word on social media
Election BIPOC Candidates and Support Opportunity PACin WA State Election 2020
Washington state has a real opportunity to elect an unprecedented number of Black/Brown women to office this year. Let’s be a state that leads in diversity, equity, and inclusion.
What Can You Do?
- Donate to individual candidates or to Opportunity PAC
- Phone/text banking
- Socially distanced literature drops
- Host a Virtual Party to support or fundraise
- Sign up as a volunteer with individual campaigns
- Spread the word on social media
More information about Opportunity PAC is available at opportunity-pac.com
Here is the List of Candidates that Opportunity PAC is Supporting
Tanisha Harris, 17th Legislative District (House)
https://www.electtanisha.com/
Joy Pratt Stanford, 26th Legislative District (House)
https://www.joyforwashington.com/
T’wina Nobles, 28th Legislative District (Senate)
http://twinanobles.com/
Representative Melanie Morgan, 29th Legislative District (Re-Elect for House)
https://www.electmelaniemorgan.org/
Jamila Taylor, 30th Legislative District (House)
https://www.electjamilataylor.com/
Kirsten Harris-Talley, 37th Legislative District (House)
https://www.electkht.org/
April Berg, 44th Legislative District (House)
https://www.aprilberg.com/
Representative Debra Entenman, 47th Legislative District (Re-Elect for House)
https://www.electdebraentenman.org/
Shirley Sutton, 32nd Legislative District (House)
https://www.voteshirleysutton.com/
Other BIPOC + QTPOC Candidates in the WA State Election 2020
There are several other BIPOC and QTPOC canidates that we want to make sure Divaland throws their support behind. Specifically Sherae in the 43rd district. Frank Chop has been a huge stumbling block to getting affordable housing dollars to Seattle because of his own personality conflicts with various Mayors over the years. We need someone who is going to fight for our city and not sit comfortably in office because they think they have earned it.
Sherae Lascelles, 43rd District (House)
https://www.sheraeforstate.com/
John Lovick, 44th District (Re-Elect for House)
https://www.reelectjohnlovick.org/
David Hackney, 11th District (House)
https://www.hackneyforthe11th.com/
Get Involved In The WA State Election 2020
With so much at stake nationally and locally, folks need to be doing more than voting. Leading up to Election Day, we need to be volunteering and getting involved however we can. After Election Day…we’re getting ready for protests, given how much shit the GOP is trying to pull to suppress, poison, and destroy voting rights.
Have money to donate to help flip the US Senate Blue? Read our Senate Donation Guide 2020. Lastly, here are a few other links to get you started on your own activist practices this election season.
Divaland Activism at Work
- Register to Vote in WA State
- 60 Days of Actions – Divaland Votes
- Chavi Talks About Actions We Can Do in the Podcast
- Indivisible Plus WA on the Podcast
Let’s do this, Divaland! Let’s make WA State a shining example of fair elections and truly diverse representation.
