In the months before the presidential election, our country was holding its breath, waiting for November 3rd and the future that day would predict. After Biden was declared the president-elect, people all around the country breathed a collective sigh of relief.
But the fight isn’t over, we need to look beyond the White House. Biden may become the president-elect (soon to be president), but he won’t be able to do as much with a senate led by Mitch McConnell.
The elections aren’t over, there are still two senate races left in Georgia. On November 3rd, no candidate in either senate race received a majority of votes, pushing them to runoffs, scheduled on January 5th.
These two races will determine the next four years of our country. If Democrats are able to win both seats, they will control the senate and be able to pass progressive legislation on climate change, health care, and education.
These two races are of the utmost importance to our country’s future.
If you want Democrats to win these seats, here is a list of things you can do to help.
Canvass
The face-to-face interactions that canvassing facilitates make it extremely effective at increasing voter turnout. If you volunteer to canvass you will be knocking on people’s doors and having conversations with them. The goals of canvassing are to sway undecided voters and help supporters develop a voting plan.
If you’re comfortable canvassing during the pandemic, Ossoff is holding canvassing volunteer opportunities across Georgia.
Phonebank
In-person connection may be the most effective way of getting out the vote, but COVID-19 has made it more difficult and dangerous to canvass. Phonebanking isn’t as good as personal connections, but when done at a large scale, it is successful in getting voters to turnout.
Phonebanking can also be done anywhere. If you don’t live in Georgia or are nervous about the COVID-19 risks from canvassing, phone banking is an excellent alternative. Both Ossoff and Warnock are holding daily phone banking sessions that include training at the beginning.
If you’re involved with local or national organizations, check if they have volunteer opportunities too. The Sunrise Movement, a movement of young people dedicated to fighting for the environment and social justice, is running its own phone banking. The New Georgia Project, which is dedicated to register voters and encourage political engagement in Georgia, is accepting volunteers too.
Donate
If you are a citizen or green card holder and are over 18, donate to the races. You can donate to the Democratic Party of Georgia, Ossof’s campaign, or Warnock’s campaign.
It’s okay if you can’t contribute a lot. In 2019, Bernie Sanders got $96 million in donations with an average donation of just $18, which shows you that every little bit makes a difference.
Vote And Encourage Others To Vote
If you live in Georgia and are a U.S. citizen, vote. If you aren’t registered to vote, you have until December 7th to do so, and you can find out how here. Once you’re registered, you can vote by mail using an absentee ballot or in person. If you are planning to vote in person, you can vote early starting December 14th. Otherwise, you will have to vote on election day, January 5th, between 7 am and 7 pm.
It doesn’t matter how you vote, but make sure you plan out when and where you will. Simply making a plan makes it a lot more likely that you will vote. iwillvote.com is an excellent source of information for learning about where and how to vote.
At points, it may seem as if these efforts are futile. Do a few phone calls or a few dollars truly make a difference? The answer is, yes, they do.
One vote, a ten dollar donation, thirty phone calls, they all make a difference because it is the small acts of thousands of people that add up to something big.
Read more:
A Historic Election In More Way Than One
Here Are The LGBTQ+ Senators And Legislators Who Made History In The 2020 US Election
Children’s Books That Teach About Elections And Voting
Our Voter Suppression Crisis
