Virginia’s Changing Winds
By Krysta Jones
After almost 365 days of a clean “COVID car” (COVID has done wonders for keeping my car clean!), that all changed this weekend. After doing lit drops, cutting turf, ordering flyers, managing “Souls to the Polls,” and setting up a phone bank, my car is now full of flyers, canvassing sheets, a tent, a chair and bottles of trial-sized branded hand sanitizer.
While assessing this weekend’s efforts, I marveled at how grassroots advocates have kept up with the changing opportunities and challenges during the last year. COVID forced us to adapt in ways we never thought we could, and expanded access to the polls extended our efforts from Election Day to Election Season.
While we may not yet be accustomed to these changes, the last few days of Election Season are critical to ensuring a strong turnout. Here are a few suggestions for managing the changing winds of our GOTV efforts:
Have real conversations with voters. Be honest about why you vote and the impact their vote could have. The number one reason people don’t vote is because they don’t like the candidates. Learn more about our endorsed candidates so you can inform voters about why they are the best for Virginia.
Use available technologies. Let’s push ourselves to learn more about the technology needed to achieve our outreach goals. Products are evolving and more is on the market. During crunch time, time is of the essence, and we will need to be as efficient as possible.
Connect with other advocates. With the emphasis on “no contact” outreach, it can be easy to do the virtual phone bank from your home or do a lit drop route by yourself. It was refreshing for me to work alongside other advocates who kept me motivated.
Practice self care. I had to stop and calm myself down a few times this weekend. There is pressure to get out the vote, but we can’t be effective advocates if we aren’t in our right minds.
Take good notes. We will learn from our experiences during each election. Take notes about some of the lessons learned to implement next year.
As NWPC-VA members, I know you are excited about the final week of the 2021 Election Season. Let’s come together and use all that we have learned throughout the years, and help elect our amazing candidates. These are outstanding women who will ensure Virginia stays on the right course amidst our ever changing political winds during Election Season, and throughout the year.
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