If winning the White House is one of your goals for 2020, then winning the Electoral College is how you achieve the goal.

As much as I’d prefer that we go by a national popular vote, the fact remains that the system that will be in place to elect the next president is the Electoral College. (And yes, I know there is momentum around the Popular Vote Compact which I’ve written about HERE, but it won’t be in place until 2022 at the earliest.)

Winning the EC will come down to the swing states. Here is a quick rundown of Virginia, plus how you can help the state go blue on Election Night. Bonus: Virginia has their state legislature elections in November 2019, so getting involved now could mean big wins in both 2019 and 2020!

Electoral Votes: 13

Presidential Voting History

2000 – R
2004 – R
2008 – D
2012 – D
2016 – D

Recent Turnout

2016 Presidential Election
Democrats 1,981,473
Republicans 1,769,443

2018 Midterms
Turnout in Virginia skyrocketed in 2018. The previous midterm election in 2014 saw 41.6% turnout, while in 2018 over 59.5% turned out to cast a vote.

Primary Election Date

March 3, 2020 (a.k.a. Super Tuesday)

Key Down Ballot Races in 2020

High profile or competitive races at the state level can drive turnout to the polls. Here’s what’s on deck next year.

U.S. Senate
Democrat Mark Warner currently holds the seat, and he is expected to run for re-election. There are currently 4 Republicans who are running for the seat.

U.S. House
All 11 House seats are up for re-election. Districts 2, 5, 7 held by Democrats and District 10 held by a Republican are considered to be the most competitive.

How You Can Help

Get involved with voter registration and voter turnout efforts. You can join or donate to one of the following organizations, or you can volunteer for a candidate you’re inspired by. *A quick shout-out to the local organizers who supplied me with this impressive list of great organizations in the state!* Here’s a list to get you started:

Find your local Democratic party organization: Virginia Democratic Party

Find voter registration events: League of Women Voters of Virginia

Find campaign related events in Virginia: Mobilize America

Sign up with DLCC to help flip Virginia blue: Flip Virginia Blue

Get involved with registering VA voters: 90 for 90
>>They also have an impressive list of organizations you can get involved with HERE

Spread the Vote (getting folks their IDs) is in VA: Spread the Vote Virginia

New Virginia Majority works to get marginalized communities registered to vote: New Virginia Majority

Stay of top of VA election info and actions: Blue Virginia

Know anyone at UVA? Get them hooked up with University Democrats at UVA

Join an Indivisible group in Virginia: Indivisible Virginia

Voter Registration Info: VA Secretary of State — Elections Website

Train to Register Voters: VA Department of Elections

Volunteer for a candidate: 15 Ways to Help a Campaign Win Their Election

NOTE: If there are other organizations and resources specific to Virginia that you can recommend, please put them in the comments so other readers can see them, too!

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Tags: 2019 Elections, 2020 Elections, 2020 presidential election, Elections, Electoral College, featured, primary election, Swing State Series, swing states, turnout, Virginia, voter registration