In this Issue
Recap of Social   ●  CA Recall  ●  GOTV Time  ●  NC plans  ●  S1 Results 
● Connecting with Voters   ●   Money in Politics  ●  Early Voting in VA

Recapturing the Spirit of Unity

Celebrating our new name and logo

The day dawned clear and bright, a perfect day for over 50 volunteers to come together for the Swing Blue Alliance Volunteer Social. The park in Waltham was a perfect setting to celebrate our new name and identity.

As people arrived at the park in Waltham, Zoom partnerships transformed into flesh-and-blood friendships. As Daniele Skopek said, “We couldn’t stop smiling!”

Everyone contributed refreshments, games, tables, and other necessities of an outdoor social, as well as set-up and clean up before and after. Kindness and generosity were the order of the day.

We marked the transition of Swing Left Greater Boston to Swing Blue Alliance with lots of time for networking, a few speeches, and volunteer awards.

In her opening remarks, Susan Labandibar made the connection between the celebration and the spirit that prevailed after the 9/11 attacks, twenty years ago.  Quoting President Obama, she said:"Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11."

CA: Sanity Reigns!

Gavin Newsom maintained his seat as the the governor of California, nixing the recall attempts. With a  63% margin, Newsom described the triumph as "a win for science, women’s rights, and other liberal issues, and it ensures the nation’s most populous state will remain in Democratic control as a laboratory for progressive policies."

Real Connections in NH

Our canvassers are applying an open-ended, meaningful approach to their conversations (see the article below about High Potential Voters), creating connections that promote change. As we working with  local campaigns, we give elected officials the ability to connect with people. 

This week, our canvassers talked to a soon-to-be homeless veteran, a woman with a disabled son, and several people concerned about rising rents. The canvassers collected and passed the constituents' concerns to people who can help. These residents will receive personal responses and help from either the campaign or Mayor Craig’s constituent services staff, as appropriate.

Sat through Tue, Sep 18-21 @ 10 am and 12 pm

S. 1 Postcards Produce Measurable Results

All the work on S1/the For the People Act paid off this week with significant movement on the voting rights front. Introduced Tuesday, the new Democratic bill, the Freedom to Vote Act, offers strong protections and increased voting access.

Among the bill's provisions are making Election Day a national holiday, a minimum of 15 days of early voting, same-day voter registration, minimum standards for availability of mail-in ballots and drop boxes, restoration of voting rights in federal elections for persons released from prison, and nonpartisan oversight of elections.

Phonebanks and postcarding to targeted states are continuing. Phonebanks connect constituents to their senators to support the Freedom to Vote Act and eliminate the filibuster. Postcards urge selected constituents to contact their senators to step up the pressure for voting rights.

Choose your next event from the Swing Blue Alliance calendar.

Planning for NC

All In for NC plans to collaborate with these groups to take back North Carolina and lay the groundwork for winning a Republican-held US Senate seat, which will be open in 2022. We’re already immersed in three projects, all of which would welcome your support:

• Starting up our own regular phone bank, the All In for NC Picnic Table. Each Sunday, we'll make calls for whatever projects are most urgent (see below), including expanding our volunteer base. Our first candidate will be Rep. Ricky Hurtado, who won the narrowest Democratic flip of a legislative seat in NC last year, with our help. 
• Helping County to County (C2C) and Neighbors on Call (NoC) defend incumbent state legislative Democrats who won by narrow margins in 2020. We’ll be holding phone banks to connect those officials more closely with their constituents.
• Helping NC Asian Americans Together (NCAAT) re-register over 6,000 Asian-Americans who were recently purged from the voter rolls. We’ll be phone banking and (led by our partner Activate America) writing letters.

We look forward to our next meeting when we’ll hear how these projects are going and what we can do for the next two months.  Our speaker will be Sister District leader Neal Morgan on “The Road to North Carolina Leads Through Virginia.”

Mon, Sep 27 @ 2:30-4 pm ET

Connecting with High Potential Voters

Last year 34% of the voting eligible population didn’t vote. What would it take to change that and build power for a progressive agenda?

Learn how to have meaningful conversations with these “high-potential” voters. This interactive training will show you how to draw out voters’ own desires for change and channel their energy into voting. You’ll also get a chance to practice these skills in a supportive environment.

Whether you’re brand new to phonebanking and canvassing or have been talking with voters for decades, come build your phonebanking and canvassing toolkit and help increase participation in the democratic process! Sponsored by Swing Blue Alliance, Swing Left San Francisco and Swing Left Peninsula.

"I have been to this training and it's excellent. You should definitely attend if you want to learn to have meaningful conversations with voters." Janet Singer, activist coach.

Wed, Sep 22 @ 7:30-9:30 pm ET

Getting Big Money Out of Politics

Corporate and special interest money and influence wreak havoc on our political system and negatively impact democracy. Political spending by corporations and special interest groups overshadows the voices of citizens and corrupts our ability to freely and fairly elect a representative government of, by, and for the people.

Learn about the problem, how activists are working to effect change, and what we each can do to help.

• John Bonifaz, co-founder of Free Speech for People
• Ayden Nichol of American Promise
• Massachusetts State Representative Tami Gouveia

Tue, Sept 21 @ 7:00 - 8:15 pm ET

Our Mission

Swing Blue Alliance (formerly Swing Left Greater Boston) is the largest all-volunteer, Democratic grassroots organization headquartered in Massachusetts. We use proven methods to protect our democracy, work on competitive local and national elections, and strengthen the Democratic party at the grassroots level.

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