Helping with GOTV

July 18, 2024 9:57 PM

I live in AZ, so I should find a good way of harassing AZ voters, but I just had Covid last week. Last time I had a months-long recovery, so I really can’t be doing door knocking or phone calls right now. What should I be doing? Who should I be doing it with?

Phone calls are out because I still have to have work meetings, and I can’t talk for any more hours than I already have to.
Doorknocking is similar, I am using all the time I can be vertical already.

I can text, I’d be happy to do data entry or anything very dull that I can do lying down. I could write postcards too.

Extra challenge: I am only in the US (AZ) for the next six weeks, and I can probably manage 5 or if I’m lucky 10hrs each of these weeks. So I’m a pretty low value volunteer, except that I live in AZ.

What should I do? What have you done or are you doing that might work for me?

posted by nat to Law & Government (9 answers total)

Definitely offer to do a text bank, that is a thing. Contact the local party, but also think about aligned political action groups that will be doing voter turn out. Thanks for your work.
posted by Toddles at 11:07 PM on July 18

VoteRiders are looking for all sorts of help, and AZ is one of the states they mention needing more volunteers in. They help people get voter IDs and get registered.
posted by Pallas Athena at 4:08 AM on July 19 [4 favorites]

You could write letters through Vote Forward. Once you are signed up as a volunteer, you can adopt as many voters as you like, from an array of swing states. These are get-out-the-vote letters that will be mailed in October. It takes about an hour to write, address, and seal twenty letters but you can work at your own pace and write letters between meetings or whenever you have a few moments to spare. It doesn't necessarily capitalize on your being physically located in Arizona, though, and you might need to entrust someone with the actual mailing of the letters before the election since you'll be out of the country then.
posted by DrGail at 7:03 AM on July 19 [1 favorite]

Also came in to recommend letter writing with Vote Forward. I did it during High Covid on my own but now do it with a local group that comes together once a month.
posted by greta simone at 9:48 AM on July 19

Vote Save America has tasks for volunteers.
posted by otherchaz at 10:43 AM on July 19

Text banking is great. It can all be done from a regular computer and it's quick and easy and you can do brief bits at a time if you aren't feeling up for hours-long shifts.

My friend who does lots of organizing recommended Mobilize as a good place to find organizations who can use your help.

Thank you for doing this!
posted by kristi at 12:24 PM on July 19 [2 favorites]

I've written postcards for the Progressive Turnout Project before. They provide the postcards, addresses, verbiage, and instructions on when to send. You provide handwriting and a stamp.

I know the guy that started the program back in 2018, and he worked with a local university to study the effectiveness of messaging and timing of the postcards using A/B testing. Results of the studies are available here.
posted by little king trashmouth at 1:04 PM on July 19 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks all! Many great answers so far. I’m going to reach out to some of these. Holding out on best answers for now because I don’t know which ones will work for me yet, but this has been already a useful and inspiring list for me (and hopefully others will be able to use it too).
posted by nat at 3:41 PM on July 19

Volunteer to text bank
posted by Scout405 at 7:26 PM on July 19 [1 favorite]