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GOTV

Perhaps the most important volunteer activity we undertake is our GOTV (Get Out The Vote) work, helping elect Democrats up and down the ballot. Although we do not campaign for or endorse one Democratic candidate over others in primary elections, once Democratic voters have made their choice, we are all in, contributing our time, talent, and treasure.

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WHAT DO WE DO?

In DC:

 

  • Voter registration

  • Voter education

    • About issues in our city: through our newsletter, our salons, and our Ward 6 Matters panel discussions

    • About candidates: through our candidate profiles, forums, and debates

    • About the nuts and bolts of voting in DC

  • Recruiting and supporting poll workers for the city

  • Campaigning for Democratic candidates in the general election

 

Results: For the 2022 Democratic Primary, we held very well-attended candidate forums to introduce Ward 6 voters to the candidates for Mayor, Council Chair, Attorney General, and At-Large Councilmember. In the 2020 General Election, we contributed to Democrat Robert White’s re-election as At-Large Member by significant plurality in a crowded race.

 

We also filled the vital role of educating Ward 6 voters about their pandemic-expanded options for casting their ballots, resulting in the highest voter turnout of any Ward in the city. And even during a pandemic, we continued our legendary donut and coffee drops for poll workers at precincts throughout Ward 6!

 

In races in states outside DC:

 

  • Writing postcards and letters to voters

  • Text banking

  • Phone banking

  • Canvassing

 

For our state-level races, we have been largely focused on Virginia for reasons of proximity, impact, and the fact that their state elections occur in odd-numbered years, when there are no DC or national races.

 

Results: In 2017, we contributed directly to the election of Gov. Ralph Northam, Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, and Attorney General Mark Herring, and to the significant and surprising Democratic gains in the state Senate and House of Delegates.

 

In 2019, a non-gubernatorial year, we campaigned for challenger Dan Helmer (HD-40) and Del. Wendy Gooditis (first-term incumbent for HD-10), both of whom won handily. Although our third candidate, Sheila Bynum-Coleman (challenger for HD-66), fell short, our efforts led directly to Democrats taking control of both houses of the Virginia state legislature for the first time in more than 20 years.

We supported Del. Joshua Cole and Katie Sponsler in 2021, who ran terrific campaigns and came up just short in a very difficult cycle. Thankfully, Briana Sewell did win her race and we've shored up several NoVa seats that will allow the Virginia Dems to fight back over the next two years.

In 2023, in coordination with the DC Democrats Blue Wave committee, we wrote more than 1,000 postcards in support of the successful campaign Michael Feggans ran to be elected delegate for VA-97 and participated in two canvassing trips in support of Danica Roem's campaign for state Senator representing VA-30. Although Travis Nembhard, our third "official" candidate, fell short, we were also able to provide a little last-minute assistance in Joshua Cole's successful race to represent VA-65 in the House of Delegates.

 

In national races:

 

  • Writing postcards and letters to voters

  • Text banking

  • Phone banking

  • Canvassing

 

Results: In 2018, we supported challengers Leslie Cockburn, Elaine Luria, Abigail Spanberger, and Jennifer Wexton, all vying for long-time Republican House seats in Virginia. Thanks in part to our efforts, Luria, Spanberger, and Wexton all won their races, flipping three seats that were crucial to Democrats’ regaining control of the House of Representatives.

 

In 2020, we again supported Rep. Luria and Rep. Spanberger, as well as challenger Jaime Harrison in South Carolina. Harrison fell short, but don’t feel too bad for him – he’s our new chair of the DNC!

 

In the winter of 2020-2021, we worked with various DC Statehood organizations and the DC Democratic State Committee to bundle donations for the Georgia runoff election that flipped both Georgia Senate seats and elected Senator Raphael Warnock and Senator Jon Ossoff, winning control of the Senate for Democrats and allowing us our best chance to advance the agenda of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

In 2022, we once again supported Rep. Luria and Rep. Spanberger, in addition to contacting voters on behalf of Senator Warnock's re-election campaign in Georgia and John Fetterman's campaign for Senate in Pennsylvania. We're pleased to report that three of our four chosen candidates were successful, and although the Dems narrowly lost the House of Representatives, Senators Warnock and Fetterman have been critical members of the slim Democratic majority in the Senate.

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GET INVOLVED!

Ready to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot, in DC and across the country? Contact Lindsay Swisher, our GOTV lead, for more information.

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