We can agree that we are all on the same page regarding turning Arizona Blue during the November 2020 general election. Now, the big question is how are we going about getting this done?
During unusual, unorthodox, and never-before-seen times and circumstances, we have to move far past the comfort we usually work/volunteer/reside in, into areas that are not easy. Are not normal. Are not “business as usual.” These are those times.
A pandemic unlike anything seen in a century has caused a change to nearly every aspect of life. Needless to say, campaigning during COVID has been dramatically affected. Field organizers are organizing without the field. Canvassing has gone into hibernation for the foreseeable future.
So, just like not going to movie theaters, like not eating in restaurants where precautions aren’t addressed, like not going out without a mask –activism has changed too.
During these times, you must answer these questions:
- Do you want to flip the Arizona House?
- Do you want to flip the Arizona Senate?
- Do you want to get Democrats elected to important local, county-wide and state-wide positions?
- Do you want real change for Arizona that looks fundamentally different than leadership does now?
The best way to contact voters
| Jeff Fortney is offering to be the point person to make this happen and take the guesswork out of getting started. Send an email to jeffrfortney@gmail.com. Make the Subject Line: Phone Banking Volunteer. He will connect you to the parties needing your help. |
Then the least we can do is make calls to get this done. It’s also the most important thing now.
Many people aren’t thrilled with the idea of phone banking. It’s not as popular as knocking on doors. The contact rate isn’t usually as high as physically canvassing. You might get hung up on, talked to rudely, or even yelled at a bit. It doesn’t matter. This is what we have now to get the future we want and need in Arizona.
Canvassing is not an option, so we need to quit pining for it. Phone banking is the best way to contact voters at this time. Period. It is the only way to have a direct conversation with voters at this time.
Postcards (a frequent choice for easy activism) does not result in any conversation. It doesn’t get the candidates the information they need. We don’t even know if it gets looked at — no matter how personalized, pretty or clever.
I’ve personally made hundreds of calls – persuasion calls to Independent voters and Republican voters. I’ve even called several Libertarian voters. I can count the rude calls on one hand. Maybe two. Phone banking is the key at this time. Now is not the time for “Activism on a Silver Platter.”
Now is the time to get down to business, and that means picking up the phone. The candidates need these calls made. So sign up, commit, and then show up and do the work. The candidates are counting on you, and the future of Arizona depends on doing the work.
The State House does not get flipped without phone banking. There is no way the State Senate gets flipped without calling voters. Real change in Maricopa (School Superintendent, Attorney, Treasurer, Assessor) does not get done without making calls. Reelecting the County Recorder and Sheriff requires voter contact.
We must step outside the easy and comfortable. COVID-19 has adjusted everything in our daily lives, and it has changed the political races as well. People are dying. Two viruses are plaguing our state and country: COVID -19 and systemic racism, and they are killing Americans daily.
The absolute least we can do is make phone calls that – might – make some people uncomfortable. Your results will be greater than you could ever imagine. We need to talk to people that may not initially agree with our message. We need to do this to get them to realize that issues today go far beyond the Party. They go to humanity and justice and having the moral compass to move this state in the right direction. Simply put: we need to talk to voters. Today. Everyday. Or. Nothing. Changes. Period.
Now more than ever, volunteerism is the key to making the change. Want to help? Want to contribute to a far better, safer, healthier future? Then take those steps that are outside your comfort zone and challenge yourself to be a part of the change. Ready to talk to people regardless of the potential silliness that lies within something like this? Then take that step if you want to help do the “field work” to get things done.
I am offering to be the point person to make this happen – to take the guesswork out of getting started. Send an email to jeffrfortney@gmail.com. Make the Subject Line: Phone Banking Volunteer. I will connect you to the parties needing your help. Remember, people are counting on people like us doing the work. Sign Up. Commit. Show Up. Repeat. Often.