We are hearing from people every day who desperately want to end this administration and their enablers and pave the way for a better, more progressive future, but aren’t sure how to go about it. Many feel paralyzed or overwhelmed. Some say with an air of fatalism, “you know he’s going to get reelected.” Well, we have good news. There are things we can do. We have agency in determining our future. We've compiled a simple list of effective actions you can take. So let’s get started.
MAKE A PLAN TO VOTE
We know we’re beating this one into the ground, but make a voting plan NOW, and encourage your non-MAGA friends, relatives, coworkers, etc. to do the same. It’s literally the most important thing you can do.
We prefer voting absentee. Request your absentee ballot either via the new Secretary of State’s absentee ballot request website (here’s a step-by-step guide), or by downloading a Ballot Request Form, following this guide on how to fill it out, and then emailing it to your county elections office.
Then track your request on Georgia’s My Voter Page.
Once you receive your ballot, fill it out ASAP and drop it into one of the collection drop boxes for immediate ballot delivery. Worried about whether your absentee ballot will be counted? Don’t be. Read this.
REGISTER VOTERS
Making a voting plan is great, but it’s not enough. Not if we want to win. Not sure how to help someone register to vote? There are literally a million websites that can help with the registration process. We prefer this one from our friends at Indivisible Georgia. Knowing how to register someone to vote is one thing, but finding unregistered voters and convincing them to register is quite another. Here are some opportunities:
Volunteer with New Georgia Project, which has a goal of registering 100,000 new voters before the election
Register voters at apartment buildings in the greater Atlanta area via COVID-safe, no contact, literature distribution
Text bank to register voters with the Center for Pan-Asian Community Services
Virtually phone bank with the Georgia Muslim Voter Project
And just to be clear, it’s not only registering new voters, it’s making sure that anyone who thinks they are registered actually is. Georgia has this habit of “disappearing” voters from the rolls. So have everyone check their registration.
GET OUT THE VOTE
Okay, fast forward to October 6. You’ve been a total badass and have registered a ton of new voters and confirmed that all of your family and friends’ registrations are up to date. You’ve made sure they have a voting plan. Maybe you’ve even convinced them to vote absentee, and they’ve already voted. But we still need to make sure that all the other voters actually show up and vote. This effort is referred to in activist circles as GOTV (Get Out The Vote). Here’s how.
Let’s start at the top, why don’t we? Make calls for Biden/Harris or text for Biden/Harris or download the Vote Joe App and they’ll keep you busy.
There are also tons of phone banking and text banking opportunities with Democratic Party of Georgia. Just click here!
Are you better with the (hand)written word?
You can write letters to voters in Georgia via Vote Forward. It’s easy and effective. Trust us, our hands hurt from writing them.
Afraid of envelopes? Maybe writing postcards to democratic voters in Georgia via the Georgia Postcard Project is for you.
Or, want to do something really targeted and specific?
You can work with Common Cause to call jails in Georgia to determine if they have a plan for eligible voters currently incarcerated to cast absentee ballots.
FLIP THE SEATS
But you say that you really care the most about the Georgia State Legislature and want to work to flip both chambers?
Here’s our list of must-defend and most-flippable seats in the Georgia House and Georgia Senate with links to each of the candidates. Pick one and get to work for them. We promise if you reach out to help, they’ll take you up on it.
VOLUNTEER DURING VOTING
Now you’re really feeling great. You’re leaving it all on the field. You’ve already voted absentee, and you’ve harangued everyone you know about this election. What are you going to do during early voting and on election day? We’re so glad you asked. Since you’re reading this now and thinking ahead you can…
Sign up to staff the Democratic Party of Georgia’s voter protection hotline.
Be a poll watcher. (Not sure if you’ve heard, but the “law and order” president is putting together his own voter intimidation poll-watching effort, so we need to have people on the ground everywhere looking out for shenanigans.)
Be a ballot-processing monitor. The Democratic Party of Georgia is looking to place 3-4 people in each of Georgia’s 159 counties to serve as paper ballot processing monitors and vote review panel members.
So when you or your friends or your aunt or uncle or mom or dad say, “but what can I do?” the answer is, “quite a lot.” Now when you wake up on November 4, no matter what happens, you can feel like you did everything you could to make a difference. No excuses. No regrets.