Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with readers of Daily Kos who aren’t throwing pies at one another.Drop by and tell us about your weather, your garden, or what you cooked for supper. Newcomers may notice that many who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but we welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
Peregrine kate recently Wrote about an easy GOTV activity suitable for introverts, the housebound, or anyone, really — and it is something Daily Kos is supporting. She wrote:
Wondering how you can help promote voting without leaving the comfort of your house? Awkward about texting, uncomfortable with virtual phone banking, unable to get out to make calls or knock doors? Then Vote Forward is the GOTV Support Activity tailor-made for you.
Vote Forward is based on a two-part strategy to promote voting by people who tend not to participate in mid-term elections. First, that people will respond positively to being encouraged to vote; second, that personal, hand-addressed letters will get people’s attention because they’re different from the usual campaign literature.
It really is easy. The only hard part is waiting a couple days while your application is reviewed and an assignment given. Mine (a batch of 25) came through for me last night. I intend to go for a second and a third batch (or more) while there is time. The idea is to prepare all your letters, afix stamps (pretty, commemorative ones if possible) and drop them in the mail ten days before the election. Vote Forward will remind you by email on the day.
Sign up as soon as possible because it will be a couple days before your application is approved. You can do as few as five letters — or start with a batch of twenty-five as I did. This really does work. From the Vote Forward website:
Proven in Alabama
In a randomized controlled trial in the special election for U.S. Senate in Alabama in 2017, turnout among letter recipients was 3.9 percentage points higher than turnout in the control group. (3.4 percentage points after controlling for gender, age, and other factors). This is big! It appears to be one of the most effective known tactics to boost turnout.
So go for it! There is nothing as crucial as turning out the vote for this election because our democracy is in deep, deep trouble — and these letters will help get people to the polls.
The weekend is upon us. Come in, be comfortable, and share your day, your weekend plans, your menus! This is an open thread.