Why Pennsylvania?

As Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral college votes have gone, so has the nation in ten of the last eleven presidential elections. Pennsylvania’s Senate seat (held by Bob Casey) is critical to hold if Democrats are to maintain their slim majority in the US Senate. At the state level, Democrats have a key chance to hold onto their one-seat majority in the Pennsylvania House and a plan to flip several Republican seats in the Pennsylvania Senate; if Democrats can flip three seats they will undo the Republican Senate majority.  Pennsylvania has more election deniers than any other state. Depriving Republicans of a majority in the House and Senate is critical to upholding our small-d democracy.

Canvassing/Election Day Activities in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania canvassing opportunities are listed below. Please consult our Canvassing Opportunities page for more information about canvassing in PA and in other states.

Philadelphia County/Philadelphia PA

Join the PA Dems in a Final Stretch Canvass

Join the PA Dems for the final stretch! We’ll be going door to door to talk to voters in our community about what issues are important to them, & how they can make a plan to go vote. You’ll receive comprehensive training at the start of your shift. Registration Link and Information.

Help Bank the Youth Vote in Philadelphia

With Harris up by 31 points among voters 18-29, helping young people vote early is key to winning Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral college votes. If Harris wins PA, there’s a 94% chance she’ll take the White House.

Philadelphia’s new Satellite Election Offices (SEOs) offer a unique opportunity for voters to register to vote, apply for a mail-in ballot, and even vote on the spot by requesting and voting on a mail-in ballot.

The Friday Action Group, in collaboration with Swing Blue Alliance, has developed an outreach program to increase early in-person voting at SEOs in areas where there are large numbers of college students and young people. Volunteers distribute flyers during peak pedestrian hours, and guiding potential voters into the SEO to vote immediately. We’ll train you, give you a voting guide and prep you to answer questions.

Volunteers for this program will:

• • Come to Philadelphia for at least 3 days (there may be limited options for homestays).
  • Work two 3-hour shifts per day.
  • Walk 3-5 miles per day.
  • Distribute flyers to guide potential voters to the SEOs for early voting, and help with ongoing canvassing/voter persuasion in key Philly neighborhoods.
  • Complete a minimum of five shifts.

We are also knocking doors with the Harris campaign. For more information and to sign up, please visit our Google form.

Volunteering in South Philly

South Philly Home Stretch Activities with the Harris/Walz Campaign and/or PA Dems

• Weekday Canvass
• Final Stretch Canvass
• Tindley GOTV Temple Special Weekday Canvass
• Final Stretch Canvass in Passyunk

Election Day Activities (Nov. 5)

Here are three important ways you can help secure the vote in the South Philly area on Election Day

Poll Watching

Sign up with the South Philly Voter Project to take shifts as poll watchers (you will have to remain outside the polling station unless you’re a Philadelphia resident). Use this link to sign up and for information on training (which is offered on Friday, November 1 or Saturday, November 2).

Drive Voters to the Polls

Help voters who lack transportation reach their polling locations on Election Day. There are two groups we are currently aware of that are taking volunteer drivers:

• • • Rideshare2Vote
    • Philly Souls to the Polls

Bucks County, PA

Bucks County is the quintessential purple county in Pennsylvania. There is so much at stake here, from a flippable Congressional District (PA-01) to many critical state legislative seats.  Our focus will be Bensalem, one of the most populous municipalities in Bucks County, with a diverse community that includes a substantial Southeast Asian population from the Indian state of Gujarat.

We’re looking for people willing to canvass for at least two days, including Election Day.

Housing and Transportation

Very limited hospitality housing, and limited carpool options may be available.

When:
10am-1pm every morning.
3pm-6pm every afternoon.

We expect folks to participate in all the sessions and be on time.

What:
You will learn and use proven strategies for connecting with potential voters who feel disengaged from the political process, and persuading voters to vote Dem. We are now working to get out the vote and follow up with mail-in ballot voters whose ballots may have issues.

Fill out this Google form to book your visit to connect with voters in Bucks County.

Sign Up

Berks County/Reading PA 

Berks County, especially in areas like Reading, the 4th largest city in PA, has a rapidly growing Latino population and other diverse communities that are often underrepresented in the electorate. Registering and getting out the vote of  Democratic voters in these areas can help mobilize voices that traditionally align with Democratic values but may not be fully engaged in the political process.  Our canvassing is being coordinated with the Harris Campaign.

Spanish language skills are helpful but not required for canvassing as we’ll team volunteers in pairs and many if not most Latino voters speak English as well as Spanish.

When:

• • Weekends (most helpful) until Nov. 5th election
  • Saturdays:  9:00 a.m., 12 noon and 3:00 p.m. (3 hr. shifts)
  • Sundays:  12 noon and 3:00 p.m. (3 hr. shifts)

More info can be found at this link. Background & Interest Form  Complete the Interest Form at the bottom for further info and to schedule dates. Weekend days are particularly helpful but there will be canvassing 7 days/week. 

Chester County with the Coordinated Campaign

The Coordinated Campaign started 25 days late in Chester. The main field office is at 3923 W Lincoln Hwy, Downingtown, PA 19335 (open weekdays 11 AM – 8 PM, and Monday 2 PM – 8 PM).
Canvasses launching from this office:

Weekends

Northern Chester weekday canvass

Central Chester weekday canvass

Southern Chester weekday canvass

Phoenixville (Weekday afternoons).  Phoenixville office at 131 Bridge Street, open from 1 PM – 6 PM.

Weekends

Weekday Canvass

WEEKEND ONLY

Coatesville, PA    23 S 5th Avenue, Coatesville, PA 19320.   Spanish speakers welcomed  10/26-27. 11/2-5.  (still on its first pass as of 10/23).  

Oxford, PA  758 Ewing Rd., Cochranville, PA 19330.  10/26-27. 11/2-5.  

Kennett Square, 112 S Broad St, 2nd Floor, Kennett Square, PA 19348

Phone Banking to Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania phone bankin opportunities are listed below. Please consult our Phone Banking Opportunities page for more information about phone banking to PA and other states.

Anytime Phone Bank with PA Dems

Join the PA Dems Anytime Call-Crew to make calls on your schedule! Now offering Anytime Calling in both Spanish or English.

To make calls you MUST first go through their live training.

Spanish Language Phone Bank for Harris Campaign, PA 

Wednesdays 6-8 pm

Reading is the 4th largest city in Pennsylvania, with a Hispanic population of over 70%. Many of the  individuals being called  are not typically reached by campaigns, largely due to language barriers. Organized by PA Dems/Berks County with the support of Swing Blue Alliance, this is the only Spanish language phone bank to voters in PA and it is expected to expand its targets to Spanish speaking voters statewide in the near future.  Bi-linual Spanish/English skills are required. RSVP here.

Phone Bank with SBA for Chris Deluzio in PA-17: Volunteer Recruitment!

Thursdays 4-6pm EDT

We are calling potential volunteers in Democrat Chris Deluzio’s district in the Pittsburgh suburbs to take action for Congressman Deluzio’s re-election campaign. These are friendly calls to super-Democrats. RSVP here.

Call PA Voters to Elect Janelle Stelson to Congress: Fire Scott Perry

Thursdays, 6 – 8pm and Sundays 4-6pm EDT

We are calling voters to support popular TV news anchor, Janelle Stelson, who is running to defeat MAGA Republican Scott Perry. We think she can win. A court filing showed Rep Scott Perry (PA-10) tried to help Trump overturn the results of the 2020 election. Thursdays, 6pm-8pm ET. RSVP here

Completed Projects

In September, Swing Blue Alliance raised $85,000 for four PA candidates to help flip the U.S. House and the PA House, Ashley Ehasz, Janelle Stelson, Sara Agerton and Anna Payne.

In October, Swing Blue Alliance volunteers, in partnership with AFL-CIO community affiliate, Working America, sent 365,000 personalized letters to their members about the importance of healthcare cost and access.  Healthcare is the #1 concern for their PA members.  Working America helps persuade these voters through follow-on door-knocks, texts and phone calls to remind their members just before the November election which candidates for what offices are especially good on healthcare cost and access.

Swing Blue also mailed early vote flyers to 8,000 newly registered young voters, likely to vote Democratic, who live near a Satellite Election Office in Philadelphia.  Many of these voters don’t know about their option to vote early and in-person at these offices.  The Swing Blue Alliance Research Team randomized who got these letters and will follow-up after the election to analyze the effectiveness of this mail campaign.  Thank you to the donors who contributed over $9,000 to fund this campaign.

We fought back against Trump billboards that vastly outnumbered any other political billboards along highways in Pennsylvania.  We created an ArcGIS story map to show the extent to which Harris was being outgunned. Then we got to work. Partnering with Rural Freedom Network, we placed 30 billboards along highways in Pennsylvania at a cost of $40,000.

Swing Blue finished the postcard season strong with a critical campaign that will be key to the success of our postcarding efforts on behalf of down ballot candidates in future elections. The cards are a repeat of an experiment we ran in Virginia in 2023, but instead of being in rural districts, these cards are in support of Nicole Ruscitto, who is running in PA’s most flippable Senate district.

We’re building on the 2023 results of the 2023 postcard campaign, where we increased net Democratic votes for all three of the candidates we targeted. The more cards we sent to voters in a targeted precinct, the more votes the candidates received!

Most postcard studies measure increases in turnout. In this experiment, we are able to directly measure the effect of our cards on Democratic votes. As a postcard campaign, it is likely to assist Nicole Ruscitto in her bid to flip PA SD-37 and achieve an important strategic objective for the PA Dems.  As an experiment, well, even the Analyst Institute is looking forward to seeing our results.

The Swing Blue Alliance Philly House and the Bucks County campaign are still in full swing.  Weekly cohorts of volunteers have been registering voters and knocking doors since July.  They have also spread Kamala joy by distributing thousands of Harris posters featuring original artwork from Swing Blue Alliance volunteers.

Other Organizations

Philadelphia – Deep Canvassing with CTC for Progress

One technique for creating a meaningful connection with people who may not believe voting is for them is to exchange personal stories. Most people will not remember what we tell them, but they will remember what they said.  And studies show that these experiences can affect people’s choices weeks and months later.

Learn Deep Canvassing with Changing the Conversation for Progress (CTC for Progress), and canvass in West Philly, weekends only. Once you register for a canvassing event (see link below), CTC for Progress will set you up with a Zoom training session to learn the deep canvassing technique. No prior canvassing experience or training is needed.

See calendar of upcoming deep canvassing events:
Deep Canvassing Event Dates in Philadelphia (in-person).

To register for deep canvassing events in Philadelphia:
https://www.mobilize.us/ctc4progress/

For general Information about CTC For Progress:
https://ctc4progress.org/

To email CTC for Progress with a specific question:
Info@ctc4progress.org

MAFlipPA

MAFlipPA is linking canvassing volunteers with each other, rides, and lodging every week between now and Nov. 5th. Tell the times, locations (Scranton/Wilkes Barre or Lehigh Valley) you’re interested in using this form and they’ll do all they can to help. Your work will help Kamala Harris and Tim Walz carry key swing areas of Pennsylvania and re-elect “must defend” Congressional Democrats Susan Wild (PA-07) and Matt Cartwright (PA-08.)