What are YOUR ideas for getting more people to vote for us in 2018 and 2020?

[Ken Burch]

We all agree that voter suppression needs to be addressed. There's no debate on that.

And we all agree that Trump is horrible beyond horribleness and needs to be stopped.

But we can't assume that those two things, by themselves, are the path to a comeback.

To win the votes we need to add, what do we do NOW?

To make nonvoters into voters, to win over the people who we should have been able to win before, what ideas, what do others here think we need to add or offer to make a difference in the next two cycles?

[world wide wally]

1. Question denied voting rights in groups.

Find others who have been scrubbed from the voting rolls and confront your City Hall as a group.
Demand they reinstate you. Bring a lawyer if you can and record the entire encounter.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. Well, for one I'm going door to door again. I want to defeat Mimi

Walters and am going to do all I can.

[Blue_true]

3. That is the best idea.

I think going face to face with people that should be natural allies is the best route, especially in Black and Hispanic communities where people ARE NOT using their right to vote.

Voter suppression works only if a critical mass in communities that republicans are trying to suppress don't even try to use their right to vote and do so regularly.

Door to door campaigners need to stay on non or casual voters, give them real (as opposed to some blue sky dream) examples of things that they are being denier because they don't vote regularly in all elections at all levels.

[YOHABLO]

4. People don't want to register to vote because they think they'll be called up for jury duty.

[maxsolomon]

11. that's a pitiful reason

how would you address this?

[crazycatlady]

5. Go after teenagers

For the 2020 elections, people born in 2002 will be able to vote.

From working with many teenagers/gen Z (born approx 1995-2010) they are very liberal on social issues, particularly LGBT rights. Hit up their wallet issues (college) and get them to register in large numbers.

[pnwmom]

6. Helping them get their required ID's. We should be doing that right now

in all the states that have special ID requirements.

[LongTomH]

9. Here, here!!!!

We need to help every group that's being discriminated against, from young people to minorities to elders.

[maxsolomon]

12. Bingo

clear the lists that have been purged.

[ms liberty]

13. This. n/t

[mercuryblues]

7. Advertise heavily

for people to check their voter status, before the deadline. Go to county fairs, churches, and so on with laptops so people can check. give them a printout of the page. If their status is active and then they are denied at the booth they can pull it out to prove it. If their status is not ok, it gives them time to fix it. I do not trust provisional ballots to be counted.

[Bradshaw3]

8. A national comprehensive voter registration project

I appreciate all the money that Soros and others have given to Dems over the years but to my mind their money would be well spent on a nationwide effort separate from the Democratic Party targeted at those voters the repubs are trying to suppress - beginning NOW. Turn the energy of the resistance into localized, door-to-door campaigns to sign people up with thousands and maybe hundreds of thousands of volunteers. Hire attorneys ready to file suits against those trying to stop it and who are up on the laws of each state.

Could the money be raised and enough people volunteer? And would people vote if they are signed up (or allowed to vote)? I don't know, but while protests marches and venting on forums are fine the resistance ultimately has to have an effect at the ballot box. To me this country is in crisis mode, as is the whole world when it comes to democracy versus the likes of drumpf, Putin and the fascist oligarchs who are literally trying to completely rule the world. If we don't start to change things in 2018 and 2020 then I really think it is too far gone. We have to register as many as possible, get every voter we can out to vote (including every Berniecrat and Hillary supporter, the WWC who voted for drump, younger voters, etc.) to vote Democratic.

[chia]

10. Reach out to independents

I'm an independent (in CA it's called "unaffiliated) who voted straight Democratic ticket in 2016.

I'm considering changing my affiliation to Democrat for 2020.

[ms liberty]

14. Great thread, some great ideas so far . K&R. n/t

[Mediumsizedhand]

15. There are a lot of people too lazy, uninterested in their right to vote.

You are going to always have a large percentage that do not come out to vote. It is a reality.

We tighten up on the Democratic message and address the suppression of votes and gerrymandering. We need the supreme court for that. We are kind of fucked on that and that is what made 2016 so very very important and why many of us are angry about the division created.

[tech3149]

16. door to door face to face we have got to educate

The #1 problem is that most people who don't is that they don't know anything about who they're voting for. I go through this with every local election. Especially judicial races.

I have never seen any substantial coverage of candidates in local media, national media is even worse for national races. If the media can't be pressured to inform the public it's up to us.

The other problem is candidates that are truly worth voting for. I think the most positive thing to come out of the Sanders campaign is that people who really give a shit have been inspired to run for office. I used to say the worst thing about politics is the worst people are the only ones running for office. That paradigm might be changing if we really support and groom candidates that will actually serve the public while in office.

I am not proud of my political participation. It took the madness of 2002 to drive me to become more aware and active. I don't doubt for a minute that most non-voters can't see the harm done by those elected to public office.