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How YOU Can Fix America: Volunteer for the Democrats and GOTV

By Morit Chatlynne

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Election results got you down? Worried about the future of America and the world? You have the power to fix it by volunteering for the Democrats.

Oh, 2016. Just when it looked like we’d finally turned a corner and would elect a woman for president. But fate (i.e., Russian hackers, fake news, and a blatantly partisan but successful hail Mary from the right-wing within the FBI) stepped in and kicked us in the gut. I’ve been sick to my stomach since November 8.

The very loud and aggressive pessimist in me is telling me to give up, that there’s no hope. But then there’s another part of me that won’t shut up. It’s saying, “Hey, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by almost 3 million. If we just would have registered enough voters and stepped up to the plate? What if WE would have tried harder? Some states were so close that a few thousand voters could have turned the election. There is hope.”

So Close

A few thousand voters. Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida were practically tied, percentage-wise.

  • Wisconsin (10 electoral votes): 47.8% to 47.0%, 22,871 pop. vote margin
  • Pennsylvania (20 electoral votes): 48.8% to 47.6%, 68,236 pop. vote margin
  • Michigan (16 electoral votes): 47.6% to 47.3%, 11,612 pop. vote margin
  • Florida (29 electoral votes) 49.1% to 47.8%, 119,770 pop. vote margin

That’s 75 electoral votes from winner-take-all-states. Trump would have ended up with 231 electoral votes and Hillary would have had 307. We were so close. This was one of the closest elections in history! Think of what we could have done if we’d all have worked harder to register voters and support the Democrats instead of blaming each other and the party.

It’s not Hillary’s fault. It isn’t the DNC’s fault. It’s ours.

We need to get behind the party that’s working for women and LGBTQ people, for immigrants, for the sick and for the poor. For the party that upholds international standards and human rights, that tries to fix the system instead of purging the world by fire. We must get Democrats elected at all levels. To do that, we need to vote, and we need to volunteer for the Democrats.

All Elections Matter

The state Democratic parties are fired up and ready to fight. Wondering what they’re doing to fix things? Check the state party websites. They are overflowing with information about state-level and national issues. But don’t stop there. Don’t wait for other people to fix America. Volunteer for the Democrats in your state. They need us, and not just during presidential election years. We need to get Democrats elected down-ticket if we’re ever going to stop state legislatures from destroying the civil society we’ve worked so hard to build.

How Do I Contact My State Party?

You can find your state’s Democratic party through The Association of State Democratic Chairs. Their mission is:

"To help build strong state parties in order to elect Democrats from the State House to the White House. To accomplish this goal, the ASDC focuses exclusively on the current and future needs of State Democratic Parties. It acts as a service organization dedicated to supporting and educating its members, State Party executive directors and staff.The Association of State Democratic Chairs is comprised of all state chairs and vice chairs from the 50 states, as well as American Samoa, District of Columbia, Democrats Abroad, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands."

Just click on the name of your state to see what’s happening locally and what they need from you.

Volunteers: What Do They Need Me to Do?

When most people think of volunteering, they think of making phone calls and knocking on doors to register voters. These are vitally important, but there is so much more you can do.

  • Give rides to polls
  • Help out at an event
  • Host a house party
  • Attend a training session
  • Become a precinct captain
  • Commit to vote
  • Donate money
  • Write letters to the editor
  • Call radio stations
  • Enter data
  • Office support

Ohio even has a Truth Team that you can join! Check out your state’s site for details. (Each one is a little bit different.) Click the volunteer link, enter your contact information, and get ready to take action.

Next: All The Estimates For Building The Death Star Are Wrong

We need to get out the vote for the Democrats in the 2018 midterms and in the 2020 presidential contest. If we all still have our voting rights. But rebellions are built on hope. We have to hope.

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