Thurs – 2/6: Waking the sleeping giant, one person at a time.

There are 3 actions, with one event happening today!

We need everyone to vote. If you’ve been waiting on the sidelines, it’s time to join in to make this happen. 

The GOP is a minority party. The only way they can stay in charge of a huge populace who disagrees with their policies is by cheating and voter suppression, including repressive laws and  divisive social media campaigns, the latter aided by their Russian allies.  The 2016 election was close enough to allow  the Electoral College system to take it away from the majority for the second time in the last five elections. We won’t be able to fix the iniquities of this system before the November election, so let’s focus on what we can do. What we need is a landslide. What we need is the 91 million voters. What we need to do is wake the sleeping giant amongst us. Today we are concentrating on just two strategies.

Action #1 – Reach out to disenfranchised voters across America.

• Thursday, (TODAY!) Feb. 6: – Letters to Georgia 2020
  • What:  This campaign targets traditionally under-represented registered voters in Georgia who we believe are unlikely to move soon, and unlikely to vote. By helping under-represented voters get to the polls in Georgia we can ensure that the electorate reflects the true preferences of the state’s people.
  • When: 2:00pm – 4:00pm
  • Where: Unitarian Universalist Church, Berg Hall, 5654 Ralston Street, Ventura
• Thursday, Feb. 20 – 3rd Thursday Pizza and Postcards
  • What: We are taking part in the Reclaim our Vote campaign, a coalition with NAACP, Black Lives Matter, the Center for Common Ground and others. Community of color voters are being placed on “Inactive” or “Unregistered” lists at a 16% higher rate than whites. With the help of postcard writers from all over the US, 80,000 people of color in Dallas County have been alerted that their rights to vote might be in danger and we are now working on the next area of deliberate voter disenfranchisement.  Learn more about this campaign here.
  • When: 11:30am – 1:30pm
  • Where: Santino’s Pizza – 4231 Telegraph Rd.
• Not close enough to join us? Start your own participation in Reclaim our Vote  campaigns here.

Action #2 –  Indivisible Ventura and the Unitarian Univeralist Church are teaming up to reach out to college students. Join in!

Empowering young voters is important in this political climate. We will be engaging students at Oxnard and Ventura colleges, ensuring that they are aware of the importance of their vote in the upcoming elections. If you’ve never joined in on a voter registration event, this your opportunity to make a difference. Experienced folks will be on hand to teach you the ropes! Check out the schedule for this month’s events and then look at Action #3 below to start rethinking our approach to young people.

• Wednesday, Feb. 12 (9:00 am – 2:00 pm)
  • Oxnard College Voter Registration Drive

• Wednesday, Feb. 19  (9:00 am – 2:00 pm) 
  • Ventura College Voter Registration Drive
• Wednesday, Feb. 26  (9:00 am – 2:00 pm)
  •  Oxnard College Voter Registration Drive

Action #3 – The old arguments aren’t working. We need to re-think our approach.

Yep, we’ve all done it. We’ve talked to young non-voters about the importance of voting, their duty to vote, the crises we’re in because people don’t vote, etc… Most people report back that this is all stunningly ineffective. The folks at the Right Question have an interesting “Why Vote” tool that we’re going to try out, inviting students to think about the value of voting by choosing three services that are important to them. PDF’s to print out are available in English and Spanish here.