Joe Biden has won the presidency, and the Democrats held the House. But if the Republicans keep the majority in the Senate, we all know what Mitch McConnell will do — he’ll obstruct everything.
We know he won’t allow any progressive legislation to pass. We know there is an excellent chance he will block every judge we want to put on the bench and every reason to believe he’ll make confirming Joe Biden’s cabinet a complete nightmare. The only way to prevent this nightmare is to make sure that Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff win the runoff elections and become Georgia’s new Senators.
Neither David Perdue nor Kelly Loeffler were able to get more than 50% of the vote on November 3rd, so that’s a good start. But runoff elections are marked by low turnout — it’s anyone’s opportunity to win these seats. Whichever side is more motivated to get out and vote will win these seats.
The amazing grassroots organizers in the state have proved that Democrats can indeed win in Georgia. We all must get involved to help win these two Senate seats. Everything we could want out of a Biden administration will be dead on arrival without them.
One important caveat
Everyone across the country can help, but it is incredibly important to remember that we MUST listen to the people in Georgia. There is no room for error, and we owe it to the incredible organizers in the state who were able to flip the state blue for Joe Biden. They know, better than any of us, what messages will resonate with the voters.
If you plan to amplify these runoff elections and the two candidates on social media, take your cue from their campaigns and the organizations listed in this guide. Take a little while to see what issues THEY are focusing on, and make sure you follow suit. Nationalizing this race could prove disastrous for us.
There will be lots of organizations that want to help Georgia, but again, I think we need to help those who are in Georgia or in close contact with Georgia organizers. This belief informs what you see in this post.
Georgia voters
Request your absentee ballot HERE
Register to vote by Monday, December 7
Early in-person voting starts December 14
Election Day is January 5
For more info, Georgia’s election website is HERE
NEW Consider getting trained to be a poll worker! Power to the Polls can help you get started HERE
Ways to help
DONATE
Funding the candidates directly as well as the amazing grassroots organizations who flipped the state blue for Biden is of the upmost importance. If you can give, please give. If you can’t, consider sharing these links on your social media accounts.
Donate to Warnock & Ossoff’s campaigns HERE
Donate to Warnock, Ossoff, and Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight HERE
Win Both Seats – Donate HERE with one click to donate directly to 16 POC-led, grassroots organizations in Georgia.
HERE is an amazing list of 40 voting/election related organizations in Georgia. It includes their website, the link to donate, plus links to their social media accounts.
[PAST] Stacey Abrams is headlining an online event with 18 icons from a variety of Star Trek casts to benefit Warnock and Ossoff. The event is on Saturday, December 12, and you can donate any amount HERE to RSVP for the event.
[PAST] The Georgia Democrats are presenting a special #HamFam Holiday Celebration with the cast of Hamilton on Sunday, December 13. Donate any amount HERE to RSVP for this special event. All proceeds will go towards winning these two Senate seats.
REGISTER VOTERS
Did you know there are 23,000 young people in Georgia who were not old enough to vote in the November 3rd election but will be for the January 5th runoff? It’s true! We need to get those young people registered to vote! I encourage you to donate to and/or volunteer with the following Georgia organizations who focus on voter registration:
SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER
Sign up with Warnock’s campaign HERE
–> NEW Out-of-state volunteers who want to help in GA can sign up HERE
Find an Ossoff volunteer event HERE
Find active virtual events to volunteer for (with trainings!) HERE
NEW DemCast is keeping track of virtual volunteering opportunities HERE
NEW Can you help with the Voter Protection Team? Sign up with the Georgia Democrats HERE
POSTCARDING
Postcards to Voters has an active GA campaign. Click HERE
Postcards to Swing States has an active GA campaign. Click HERE
Georgia Postcard Project. Sign up HERE
[PAST] Vote Forward has a GA get-out-the-vote letter writing campaign now but all letters must be sent by Dec. 7. Sign up HERE
TEXT OR PHONE BANKING
Fair Fight phone banking HERE
Reclaim Our Vote text or phone banking HERE
Flip the West phone banking HERE
Warnock campaign phone bank HERE
Ossoff campaign phone bank HERE
NEW Text banking can be trickier to find but here’s one place to look: Go to Mobilize US –> Click on More Filters –> Select Text Banks from the Type menu –> Hit return
Social media accounts to follow & amplify
Rev. Rafael Warnock Twitter, Facebook
New Georgia Project Twitter, Facebook
Georgia Democrats Twitter, Facebook
Read more about Georgia
How Stacey Abrams and her band of believers turned Georgia blue
US Senate runoff may be perilous for Democrats
How Georgia became a swing state for the first time in decades
One final note
I can’t stress enough how important it is for us to win these two Senate seats. Without them, expect that no progressive legislation will get passed. There is something on this list that everyone can do — I hope you’ll find some time each week between now and January 5th to help.
I will continue to update this post when I learn about new volunteering efforts. In the meantime, please leave me a comment or email me if you become aware of activities or events you’d like me to consider adding to this list.
Thank you!!
If you find these kinds of posts valuable, consider supporting the blog by joining my Patreon for as little as $3. Your support helps keep this site running and you’ll be the first to know what I’m planning for future posts!
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Categories: Uncategorized
Virtual event for Reverend Warnock with Pete Buttigieg Nov 12th https://secure.actblue.com/donate/pb202011g
Virtual event for Jon Ossoff with Pete Buttigieg Nov 17th
ElectJon.com/Nov17
Great!! Thanks for letting us all know.
Lindsey Graham won because the Carolinas turned off by national attention. How do we learn from that? And is this a good idea to put this info on FB?
Thank you Tokyosand.
It’s already all over FB so feel free to post it there.
Thanks for letting us all know.
Yes!! Thank you for this. I want to send more postcards! I enjoyed sending them to South Carolina this election season.
Thanks for helping!! We’ll need all hands on deck to get people to vote again so soon.
I hope Georga voters understand that they could save the whole country from the REPUBLICAN TIME BOMB. 2021 is the year that the Republican tax plan starts raising taxes for lower-income voters (not the wealthy or big corporations.) Republicans hope that by inching up the tax rate, taxpayers won’t notice that Republicans are to blame. Only by electing both Ossoff and Warnock will Democrats have a chance of getting past McConnell to change this. The wealthy, who have actually gained wealth during Covid 19, should pay their fair share, and lower-income taxpayers should get a break, not an increase in taxes.
Amen
Let’s not forget what republicans have been trying to do our justice system, healthcare, social security, climate change, and many other things that effect our everyday lives. This is no longer the party of lincoln as they don’t represent it in no way shape or form they are not for their contituents that voted them in they do not represent them in the least as they do not fight for their voice to be heard only when it has to do with convenience and if it benefits them and their own finances with big corporations. Georgia, i speak to you with the voice of core americans who want only progress for our country and with this current senate there is no way we can help people which are dying cause of covid-19 not with a republican run senate and with someone like Mitch McConnell at the help we need both Jon, Ossoff and Raphael, Warnock.
What about Vote Forward’s letter writing campaign? votefwd.org
It’s been added to the list.
How can a Canadian help?
Use social media to make your American friends aware of the race and how they can help. Thanks!
Out of state volunteers can adopt GA at votesaveamerica.org.😊
Great! I’ll add it to the list.
I’m from California and I’m painting rocks that support the candidates in Georgia’s runoff election. Anyone in Georgia that would like to spread these rocks can e mail me at seasheleyes@aol.com.
I definitely will be sending postcards. But there are other organization also doing postcard campaigns (that provide postcards, which is my preference.) Do you only recommend these particular postcard campaigns?
Can you send me the name or link to their efforts? I’ll check them out.
Women’s March postcarders received a page of stickers with addresses, too. Haven’t heard if they are doing this for GA now, but I loved not having to write
out the addresses!
https://www.bluewavepostcards.org/home
You have got to educate the people on what Socialism really means. Trump and fox news threw this word around like candy and people are scared. Tell them this is a Capitalistic country full of greed and there is no way corporations will allow the government to run or own their companies. The Cubans believed this would happen and I think alot of Trump supporters did which is in my opinion why he got so many votes. Please educate on this word.
Not sure what we can do in less than two months to break the hold of right-media. But yes, we will need to in order to fix the country.
Bringing up educating people about Socialism maybe seems a little off topic among posts about Georgia, but it is so high priority as to be appropriate everywhere. The fear of Socialism is the ultimate bogie man scare tactic that the Right is using, and it is working. The Left confounds the problem by fighting among themselves about the meaning of the word. Let’s all decide on a meaning and be able to go forward to counter its use as a scare tactic. I say leave it in the original Marxist context where it referred to government ownership of business and industry and not to just social welfare programs, etc.. It can be nation-wide, or specific industries. So the VA is socialist as is the Post Office and police because they are government owned. Medicare is not because it uses the private health care industry. By this definition, Sanders and AOC are not socialist either because neither of them is advocating government take-overs of business and industry. They are just FDR, New Deal progressives, and I wish they would quit branding themselves socialists as though they are aiming to wave a red flag in front of a bull–and for no end result except to confuse and scare Americans.
From the Truman Library,
Thank you for your question regarding the quote about Truman and socialism.
In President Harry’s Truman’s remarks in Syracuse, New York on October 10, 1952, he said this:
“Socialism is a scare word they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years.
Socialism is what they called public power. Socialism is what they called social security.
Socialism is what they called farm price supports.
Socialism is what they called bank deposit insurance.
Socialism is what they called the growth of free and independent labor organizations.
Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people.
When the Republican candidate inscribes the slogan “Down With Socialism” on the banner of his “great crusade,” that is really not what he means at all.
What he really means is “Down with Progress–down with Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal,” and “down with Harry Truman’s fair Deal.” That’s all he means.”
You are so correct in noting we must listen to Georgians! They are about to be so completely overwhelmed, if they are not already, that we could encounter resistance – it’s human nature. Strong but gentle, with respect. But we need Warnock and Ossoff like we need air
I am so proud of Georgia! (From a MS girl) Our country needs Georgian Democrats to vote now in this election. It will be hard for President Biden to get a lot done in Congress if McConnell is still entrenched and we don’t have more Democrat Senators. It is a lot to ask I know considering we didn’t get to far in our own states. But Georgia made us sooooo proud! We will do what we can from our states to help. Donate, write, provide supplies, call, text, post on Facebook. Whatever GA feels we need to do. Let’s go American’s Dems. Help GA win these incredibly important Senate elections.
I highly recommend the Movement Voter Project’s Georgia Fund — they’re doing what WinBothSeats is doing (funding POC-led on-the-ground progressive community organizing groups doing GOTV work) but they’ve been doing it for years already: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ga-fund?refcode=mvpsite-homefund
I’ll check that out, thanks!
I want to sent postcards and send text messages!!!!
Great! Do sign up early as I expect they’ll run out of addresses quickly.
I live in NC but I can text for Ossoff and Warnock. I see nothing on mobilize. Is there textbanking for them?
I checked yesterday and found some text banking events. If you don’t see any now, try again in a few days. Alternatively, check the social accounts for the candidates and/or Fair Fight. Sometimes they’ll inform their followers of opportunities.
Organizations to know about: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ho5HxLJhuWxy1QKzi4_7Ryt6Nvk2wm3RakOgeGiOWK0/htmlview?fbclid=IwAR0bm_RY4YHdVnMHlS6Kr_vsWluySFodrPtEflTrJkugbWCZ_YkKi3_WJnc#gid=0
Donated for Michelle Baird and Susan Doughty and myself. Help turn Senate blue!!
Is it feasible to move from out-of-state to Georgia, become a Georgian citizen, and register to vote in Georgia before the run-off election?
I encourage you to read this: https://law.georgia.gov/press-releases/2020-11-11/consumer-alert-georgia-residency-requirements-voting-runoff
You have a sentence that says “Click to share:” but that sentence is not hyperlinked. I know it only takes a moment to copy/paste but some might simply put that off and forget, or, possibly, not know how to do that.
Under where it says “click to share” are a bunch of social media buttons. Tap or click on any of them to share the post.
Anyone that is not a Dem. is not allowed to post ? & you don’t think we have a problem ?
Hi Pat. All comments have to be approved. It’s how I filter out spam/marketing comments. If you want to add something constructive to the conversation, by all means do.
As the pandemic rages and kids are being educated at home, more and more people are jobless, hungry & in need – how can we reach out via dem sponsored community efforts to raise our profile as a party that is doing something now?
Is anyone working to get internet to kids who have none, food to the hungry & PPE & medical supplies to underserved areas, helping to lift up small businesses?
I’d love to be a part of that Kind of grass roots work on behalf of our Dem Candidates.
From a Florida voter perspective, as a pivotal state we were inundated with unwanted texts and phone calls. Television commercial overload is a turn off too. I used to get angry at the mailbox with all the expensive glossy mailers that immediately went to the trash regardless of party or candidate. I would spend the minimum in those areas and try to connect to people one on one in the street or gathering places. Just my suggestion.
Yeah, Georgia is going to be inundated these next 2 months. Nothing can prevent that as the stakes are too high. But if our side can be authentically Georgian, that will help.
Exactly so! Nobody likes outsiders trying to tell them what to do or pushing influence. Let’s be practical: give money and/or raise money to send to Georgia. Giving groups in Georgia the ability to do their work on the ground is far more practical and effective than applying any kind of pressure from the outside. $$ talks!
With limited funds, which of the suggested organizations is the single most important for my donation?
I’d make your donation to Win Both Seats. They need it AND deserve it.
First of all, STOP using the term “defunding the police” and pivot to “reallocating resources” instead. Educate the masses about socialism and the false narrative that Republicans have created around it. Those two pivots are critical for low information voters.
We’re up against a sealed off media bubble. If a voter is in the Fox News – Breitbart – right wing meme internet bubble, nothing that we do can penetrate that. At least not before the runoff elections on Jan. 5. That’s why funding organizations that are getting volunteers out and about in Georgia is so crucial. Nothing better than voter-to-voter contact. Long-term, yes, we have to do something about the rampant mis/disinformation.
Can we please add Daniel Blackman’s statewide PSC runoff to this? It’s an excellent resource, but if people vote downballot for a progressive candidate who has actually formed coalitions with conservatives to get progressive policy enacted, they’re definitely gonna hit our Senate candidates too. It’s a win-win-win.
I’m thinking about including that race in a separate post. I’m so glad they combined the various runoffs. They’ll all benefit from being on the same day.
I speak Spanish fluently and know others who speak Spanish as well. Is there any organized effort to assist first time voters in Georgia with Spanish as a first language?
I can imagine voters with Spanish as their first language are intimidated by not knowing what to expect in the voting booth. Any effort to educate this population may well just be an investment that pays off in the future.
A visual aid mailing to replicate what Spanish as a first language voters will find in voting by mail or in person would be a welcome tool. Voting education has to be made clear and easy for Spanish speaking people. Fear engaging with a government system such as voting in person or by mail is prevalent. Even young voters may feel disenfranchised from the US voting process.
I am happy to send out Spanish/English or just one language postcards too.
I seek guidance from those in Georgia who know best whether dual language postcards would be received well or not.
I encourage you to check in with poderlatinx.org
Bring awareness to voters to rely on authentic news sources. Many of them get their news through Fox News, other right wing extremist media (talk shows, websites, twitter feeds and text messages sent by unreliable sources). Once they are informed of the atrocities being committed with massive corruption, nepotism and disregard for the public health and safety, then it becomes less of an effort to make them understand to vote for the right candidates!
That is the trick, isn’t it. The whole country needs that prescription.
I just lost my State House race in AZ & hubby was sent home to teach virtually for the remainder of semester. We want to road trip to GA to help with voter registration through Dec. 7. Which is the best organization to connect with to make this happen effectively?
Hi Kathleen. I’m sorry to hear about your race. Thank you for running! As for traveling to Georgia, right now I’m hearing that they want people to stay put. Part of it is the travel advisory in place in the state. And the other part is, organizers (including Stacey Abrams) are currently saying that they don’t need people coming into GA right this minute. However, they do want to know that you are interested in volunteering. I’d suggest signing up with Fair Fight as they seem to have the most resources to put towards organizing non-local volunteers.
I was a loose forward race, and did my job to help get Mark Kelly, the presumptive nominee over the finish line here, and some critical ballot initiatives passed. My ruby red district was important for deep canvassing at safe distances! Hubby coming home to teach is a bit more of a blow, TBH;) SO, now we are trying to figure out how to make the best of it! I will contact Fair Fight. Let’s go GA!
My family has considered making phone calls. However, we live in New York. How might people in Georgia react to our accents? Honestly, I don’t know how I’d feel if someone from the south called me about a local election here.
People seem mixed on that. I’ve seen some organizers who say don’t call unless you’re from the south and others who are ok with that.
I want to donate to an EFFECTIVE organization, but I really like to use the “Match” offers which, as I understand it, multiply my donation amount. Are any of the organizations you list likely to do any “matching?”
I’m unaware of any matching offers out there right now. The organizations I’ve highlighted are all there because organizers in the state are letting us know that they are effective, so you’re free to pick one whose mission you like best.
Many people are on the Nextdoor social network. Messages are limited to a 5 mile radius from your home, so you are dealing with your neighbors. Offer to help people with registration, absentee ballots, and voting locations.
It’s not as popular as Twitter or Facebook, but dealing with neighbors is more personal, and in my opinion more effective.
Excellent suggestion.