Five Alternatives to Doom Scrolling and Fretting About Biden’s Age
There are four weeks until the 2023 general election and 392 days until the 2024 general election. If you’re freaked out about what might happen, how will you use those finite number of days?
What’s not an option is fretting about Biden’s age and allowing each new national poll to keep you up at night. As a political advisor, my job is to help my donor clients use their time and resources to achieve their goals as effectively as possible. I offer these five recommendations as alternative ways to spend the next few weeks and months — with the hope that it might help you more constructively use your time, sleep better, and consequently help save our American democracy.
1. YES, 2024 — BUT FIRST 2023
Some are saying that the first elections of 2024 will take place in 2023, especially in Virginia where GOP Governor Glenn Youngkin is pushing for total Republican control so he can push through his extreme right-wing policies (think abortion restrictions, anti-LGBTQ laws, book bans, etc.). Republicans control the House of Delegates with a 49–46 majority, while Democrats hold a two-seat majority in the State Senate. Virginia voters started early voting on September 24, and there’s still time to help make sure people cast their ballots. There are high-stakes elections in Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, and lots of local races across the country. Check out www.indivisible.org to find the best way to volunteer and help turn out voters over these final four weeks.
2. BUY STAMPS
Right now is when a lot of voters start to consider who they might vote for in November. Check out Postcards to Voters or Vote Forward’s letter writing campaigns to find easy ways to reach out to voters. Studies have found that this form of communication can be effective in turning out voters around elections. You don’t even have to brave the fall weather to have an impact — just load up some Netflix and write some letters as you binge watch.
3. GIVE $5
Pick a candidate you like. You don’t even have to love them or look for perfection — just someone who you think has a compelling reason to be a public servant and might need your support to win. Even better — sign up for a monthly donation. Even $5 a month can help provide a stable base of support to help a candidate bring on staff earlier or buy ad time further out from an election when it’s cheaper. Don’t know who that might be? Check out the newly launched Oath platform which offers an easy way to find worthy candidates as a “one-stop-shop for political giving.”
4. WHO DO YOU KNOW IN ARIZONA?
Looking ahead to 2024, all signs point to another close election with huge consequences for our democracy. Ask yourself — who do I know in Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and other battleground states? In 2024, that will include California and New York (where control of the US House will likely be decided) as well as Montana and West Virginia (where control of the US Senate will likely be decided). Check out When We All Vote to learn more about how to engage your family and friends around voting.
5. CHECK YOURSELF
Voting laws have changed significantly over the last few years — often for worse, sometimes for better. Like putting on your mask first on a plane, check to make sure you’re able to vote in your own elections. That includes the 2024 primary elections, the first of which happen in a few months (South Carolina’s presidential primary is 115 days away on February 3). Go to https://vote.gov to learn more.
When we organize and vote, we win. Democracy depends on you, so let’s go!
