Everyday Election Activism: The Opportunities
An opportunity for every mood! ☺️ 😺😡 😜 😱 😼 💥 💪 🫠 🤔 😎
Interested in the Insider’s Guide to Everyday Election Activism?
Click here to check it out. I hope it speaks to you!
PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU DIVE IN!
This ‘Opportunities 2025 Edition’ is North Carolina-centric but also covers has sections on Federal Government Accountability, and Special Elections Across the Country. Starred Actions (*) are virtual and can be done from anywhere.
Remember this: Although the Republicans are wreaking havoc (and worse), their power is riddled with weaknesses for them and opportunities for us. The best way to lower our stress is to stay focused on taking action, and speak out about the current crisis, while at the same time building for a better future.
NORTH CAROLINA
Advocacy
Protect Justice Allison Rigg’s 2024 win for NC Supreme Court by fighting back against the challenge of 60,000 votes by her Republican opponent, Jefferson Griffin. The case is in the courts. Our voices help! THIS IS A NATIONAL ISSUE! If Griffin succeeds, future elections in every state are threatened.
* For information and actions anyone can take (there are five !), consult Common Cause NC website.
* Join a phone bank with the NC Democratic Party to voters on the Griffin List, to let people know their votes have been challenged and what they can do about it. Upcoming events are 2/25 and 3/4 with the Durham County Dems. Click here to sign up.
* Join a phone bank reaching out to voters on the Griffin List with the New Rural Project on 3/6, 3/13, and 3/20. This is another great grassroots organization serving rural counties in NC. Click here.
For folks in the Triangle area, make sure the state legislature (General Assembly) knows we're watching. Sign up to pack the NC General Assembly Gallery in Raleigh on Wed 2/26 at noon. Sign up here.
And for something fun! Attend the "Disenfranchised Disco," an in-person gathering on 2/28 to celebrate the voices of the 60,000 voters whose rights have been challenged. “Dance, plan, rejuvenate, make friends, and make a difference, while connecting with fellow advocates, individuals and organizations, sharing stories, and empowering each other to stand and dance! for justice. Together, we will ensure that every vote counts!” It’s free! Sign up here.
Engaging Voters
* Canvass or phone bank with the Durham County Democrats. Go door to door to organize unorganized precincts and, on 3/1 and 3/2, also to publicize the Board of Elections’ next free Photo ID clinic. OR phone bank to invite volunteers to attend their first precinct meeting. Check out opportunities and sign up here.
* Phone bank with the NC Dems to invite Democrats around the state to their Precinct Kickoff Meetings. Join any Wednesday at 5 pm. Upcoming dates: 2/26, 3/5, 3/12, and 3/19. Click here to sign up.
* Phone bank or canvass with Neighbors On Call/County To County, recently merged into one organization. They are dedicated to turning the NC General Assembly blue. Join them for their online kickoff on 2/27 (sign up here), then reach out to constituents of some of the Democratic state legislators who helped break the Republican supermajority in 2024. Phone bank for Rep. Bryan Cohn & Sen. Terence Everitt on 3/6. Canvass for the same on 3/8 and for Rep. Dante Pittman on 3/12. Sign up here.
Voter Registration
In Durham register voters with the Durham Democratic Party every Saturday at the Farmer’s Market. Click here to sign up (slots are limited!). If outside of Durham, check with your own county Democratic Party website.
Another option: Join the League of Women Voters and find out where they are registering voters near you.
More Ways to Plug In
* Learn about All in for NC, a program of Massachusetts-based Swing Blue Alliance, This is another great organization to know about. They are holding a forum on 2/24 at 4 pm with some of the NC leaders to talk about cutting edge communications tools to reach and cultivate voters. The featured organizations are working separately and together to amplify our movement's voices. Sign up here.
* Help Voters obtain a Photo ID. Support voters to get state-issued photo IDs. Having a photo ID gives people access to the polls but also makes it possible to get housing, jobs, bank accounts, and more. It’s life-changing! Learn more about the work of VoteRiders, the only nationwide organization that provides free 1:1 assistance. They have a physical presence in Charlotte but provide virtual assistance to any voter anywhere. Volunteer and commit as little as an hour per month. The next training sessions is 3/18.
* To get your own up-to-date action alerts for advocacy and action, I recommend subscribing for email updates from several of the following organizations: Down Home NC, Common Cause North Carolina, Carolina Federation, and Indivisible groups in NC (e.g., Bull City Indivisible, Indivisible Charlotte, and others). See below under Federal Government Accountability for tips on making calls to elected officials.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
First Step: Find calls to action!
* Speak out against tyranny! Push back against the coup by making sure your elected Members of Congress hear from you. Tell them how they should be voting and make them understand we are watching. Whether it’s opposing unqualified and dangerous nominations, fighting illegal Executive Orders, ensuring court rulings are obeyed, or pushing for stronger opposition in the U.S. House, there are always plenty of calls to make on a daily basis.
* Speak out and oppose the SAVE Act (H.R. 22), the so-called Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. This may be the most significant national-level threat to free elections. It will require all voters to produce a passport or birth certificate to vote in federal elections. Up to 150 million Americans would have trouble providing either of these. We know whom this will impact the most - women, people of color, young people, and older adults! It is expected to come up for a vote soon.
Join a phone bank with Common Cause to call voters across the country, asking them to call their elected representatives. Sign up here to make calls Thursday 3/6, 3/13, and 3/20 from 5-7 pm.
To find out more calls to action:
Indivisible puts out calls to action and serves as a great resource for learning how to make phone calls, send effective emails, and make visits to your members of Congress. Check out their 2025 Indivisible Guide, and use their website for information and guidance.
Try 5Calls.org (also a phone App). It has scripts for important national issues, along with contact information for your elected officials.The easier it is to make a call, the better. This app makes is easy!
Calls with Friends is a tool created by Swing Blue Alliance that you can use to urge people you know in red or purple states to speak out. Sign up to get weekly alerts.
Other organizations with reliable action alerts: Chop Wood, Carry Water (and look for the state-specific pages as well!), as well as Declaration for American Democracy. Look for your state-specific organizations wherever you live.
MAKE CALLS - SOME TIPS
Look up and save contact information for your two U.S. Senators and your U.S. House Representative. Store the numbers for their DC office as well as for their offices across the state. Then make calls!
Making calls: Republicans make it difficult to get through to a real person. If you can not get through to a real person, call back, try the official’s other office numbers, or leave a message. Be sure to give your name and zip code. Remember, it’s nice to talk directly with a Legislative Assistant, because you can ask about the elected official’s position, but leaving messages (even after hours) is always an option. In the end it is the number of calls that makes a difference.
For more information and where to donate:
* For messaging guidance about the MAGA agenda, including executive orders, check out the Guidance for Executive Orders from the Research Collaborative, headed by Anat Shenker-Osorio.
* For updates about legal challenges, follow Democracy Forward on their Legal Response Center page.
* To learn about and support litigation against unlawful and unconstitutional government action, pay attention, and donate if you can, to Democracy Docket, the coalition of litigators at Democracy Forward, as well as ACLU, Public Citizen, and Common Cause.
SPECIAL ELECTIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Important Special Election in Wisconsin
Election Day for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and other races is April 1. Early voting starts March 15. The Supreme Court race will determine whether Democrats retain control of the court, and the Democratic candidate does not have strong name recognition yet.
* Join phone banks with WisDems, the Wisconsin Democratic Party. Talk to voters about the issues and the importance of the election: Click here for almost daily phone bank events. You can also help recruit volunteers for WisDems (click here) or for the county parties: Click here for lots of choices of dates and time across the state.
* Join phone banks to Black voters with Reclaim Our Vote, a project of the Center for Common Ground. Sign up for one of their every Wednesday phone banks here, or learn how to make calls on your own here.
* Join phone banks with Swing Blue Alliance every Monday evening. To reach out to voters, click here. To help recruit poll observers on Wednesday evenings, click here.
* Join phone banks to voters with Swing Left every Tuesday evening. Sign up here.
* Join phone banks to voters with Field Team 6 to voters they have registered. Sign up here for Sunday phone banks.
* Write postcards to WI voters with Postcards to Voters. Sign up here and then request between 1 and 50 postcards. Ask for as many as you can finish within three days, and then sign up again!
* Write postcards to WI voters with Activate America in support of Judge Susan Crawford. Mail postcards as you finish them up to 3/20. Sign up here.
* Write postcards to register voters. Volunteer with Field Team 6 to write postcards (to mail by 3/25).
* Write postcards to voters of color with Reclaim Our Vote, a project of the Center for Common Ground. Mailing date for postcards is 3/1 - 3/11. Sign up here.
* Write postcards to WI voters with Blue Wave Postcards. Order your postcards here!
Other Important Special Elections
Help build Democratic power through small but important elections. Some are municipal elections, some are critical state legislative or governor races, some are state court races. Still others are Congressional races that will help determine majority rule in the House of Representatives and Senate - right now in Florida, we have a chance to flip two Congressional seats from red to blue!
*Join Phone Banks
Make phone calls with the Environmental Voter Project. Another great organization to know about! Environmental Voter Project uses multiple outreach methods to turn environmentalists into consistent voters. Calling voters ahead of small elections is one of their strategies. For an overview of their research and strategy, sign up here to attend a webinar on 2/26 at 12 pm. Current phone banks include: Florida (2/25) for two Congressional races for U.S. House, New Hampshire (2/27), a municipal election, Georgia (3/4), Colorado (3/5, 3/6, and 3/11, Arizona (3/10), Alaska (3/13), (Pennsylvania (3/18 and 3/20), and Louisiana (3/19). Sign up here.
* Write postcards to register voters
Help register voters through postcard writing with Field Team 6. This is the largest partisan voter registration organization in the country. They contact voters through multiple outreach methods. They are now focused on fall elections for NJ Governor, PA Supreme Court, and VA Governor. Info Sessions to introduce you to Field Team 6’s strategy are held every Wednesday. The next one is on 2/26 at 12 pm. Sign up here to write postcards.
* Text voters
Join a text bank to register voters with Field Team 6. This is the largest partisan voter registration organization in the country. They contact voters through multiple outreach methods. Get started on texting every Wednesday (next dates 2/27 and 3/6). Sign up here.
* Write letters to voters to help them obtain a Photo ID.
Sign up with Vote Riders to join a letter-writing party on 2/26, and every Wednesday, to reach out to voters at risk for not having an ID.