June 11, 2018 Newsletter
A Record Week for Swing Left Events
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Activism + music = new voters

Posted on June 21, 2019

Lisa Kolarik made it easy for volunteers to learn how to register voters in Maine by setting up a training at Joe Sent Me where her husband was playing in a band. About 20 people came, enough that the group ended up on the street so everyone could hear.

After introductions, Lisa distributed green Maine voter registration cards and pointed out critical issues: applicants must be US citizens; they need to identify other places they have been registered to vote; they have to choose a party affiliation; they must record the last four numbers of their SS# or their Maine driver’s license number; and they need to sign the card. At that point, the volunteer collects the card, which Swing Left mails in. 

The group agreed that it was valuable to role play how to approach the potential voter: “Would you like to register as a Democrat today?” or “Would you like to save the world from Trump?” 

In other words, Lisa added an event to the Swing Left calendar, went to a bar, and got 20 activists ready for Portland Pride. Piece of cake!