Are You Ready To Swing The Presidency From Home?

-by Harvey Wasserman

OK….there’s less than a month to 2024’s life/death presidential choice… and you may not be in one of the seven sacred swing states, where it’ll all be decided. So let’s start with three names:  Center for Common Ground, Communities United for Justice, USGrassroots.

Let’s say that from where you are, you can’t knock on doors where it’ll actually matter.  You can’t corner swing voters on street corners or parking lots.  You can’t flaunt fliers at pivotal MAGA football games or woke pot shops.

But if you’re in California, you could fly or drive to Nevada or Arizona. From New York or Chicago, you can reach Pennsylvania, Michigan or Wisconsin. Leaving DC, you can get to North Carolina or maybe Georgia. BUT… let’s assume none of the above is possible. So what can you do from home? (disclosure:  in Los Angeles, my mail-in LA ballot has arrived… but I know it’s not enough).

In many states, early voting has begun, so it’s too late for hand-written US-mailed post cards reminding people to vote. And in some places (like Georgia) Get-Out-The-Vote organizers really prefer that young locals do the face-to-face canvassing.

So from your home, you can (1) send money to help pay those canvassers, and/or (2) make phone calls and/or (3) see about protecting the election from the MAGA minions. For each function, there’s is a great group whose prime organizers you can see up/front & personal at our October 7 Green Grassroots Emergency Election Protection (GREEP) webcast.

If you ask, the legendary Virginia-based Andrea Miller’s Center for Common Ground will send you a critical list of names and phone numbers for primarily Black/Indigenous/People of Color voters in key states. Your call may remind and energize them to get registered and get their ballots from/to the election board in time to have them counted.

Since many Americans no longer answer even their cells, phone canvassing can often mean you speak personally to just to a tiny handful of those you call. But by leaving a phone message or even a text, you can have an impact. For all that, also go to the Center For Common Ground.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta-based Ray McClendon’s Communities United for Justice has been organizing teams of canvassers for door-to-door / face-to-face campaigning, primarily in Georgia. Rather flying personally to Georgia, you might send that airfare to pay mostly young people who’ll urge their neighbors and friends to vote. Your donations can help keep them on the streets and in the neighborhoods through November 5.

So… again… that's the Center for Common Ground and Communities United for Justice. AND… if you want to research or support the great grassroots groups working to protect this election, visit the Democracy Hub.  

We’ll all be glad you did!

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Harvey Wasserman co-convenes the Green Grassroots Emergency Election Protection (GREEP) zoom calls most Mondays at 5pm ET/ 2pm PT (www.grasrootsep.org), and helped compile the USgrassroots.org website.