Leaves of Change (+ A Text Banking Recap!)
I’m feeling major anxiety now that we’re less than three weeks out from Election Day. I mean, I’ve been feeling anxious about the election for months now…but it’s heightened now that absentee and early voting is underway (in some states) and also because The Big Day is coming up so soon. Anytime I hear or see a mention of November, I feel physically sick. I’m trying to plan content out while simultaneously wondering what our world will look like in a month.
Last week, I joined a call with Women for Biden (hosted by Jess Keys of The Golden Girl and a few other bloggers and influencers) to learn about things we can do to get involved with the election. (Read Jess’s recap to get all the details on the call!) Inspired by that call and a friend that’s been involved for months (hi, Holli!), I signed up to text bank last weekend!
My Experience Text Banking
The goal of text banking is simply to increase voter turnout of folks that will vote Democrat up and down the ballot. We identify and register people that are going to be voting for Biden, make sure they have their voting plan (helping them request an absentee ballot, if needed), and make sure the people who did receive absentee ballots actually mail or submit them! There is no attempt at trying to convince Tr*mp supporters to switch to Biden.
Also, it’s all done through the computer, so no one sees your phone number! And all of the responses are pre-typed, so you don’t have to think too much when sending responses. There are people there to help you through it all, too.
Last weekend, on both Saturday and Sunday, we sent out 170,000 texts each day to folks all over the country! (Each day, there’s a different assignment depending on need. If a voter registration deadline is coming up for specific swing states, there’s likely going to be a large focus on that.) On Saturday, we ran out of texts 30 minutes after they were assigned. I only got to send 400 before they were out! On Sunday, I sent 1,000 before they ran out.
After all of the texts are sent, you just wait for replies and respond to any that you receive. Of course, the majority of people do not reply. Of the folks that do, some folks are nice, and some are mean. All you do is pick a response and move on to the next. It’s so easy to do—and even if it seems like you’re not making a difference (i.e. if no one is asking for more info, if Tr*mpets are throwing obscenities, if people are only telling you to unsubscribe them, etc.)—you’re helping. You’re weeding people out of the database. People are reading the texts and perhaps it was the reminder they needed to figure out their plan to vote. I only got one person that replied “yes” about wanting to register to vote—and I never got a second response seeing if they were successful or needed more help. You help them out as much as you can and hope for the best!
I plan to text bank again this weekend! Sign up here for a training that starts at 2:30 pm ET/11:30 am PT, and then immediately following the training, you’ll be able to start text banking! The training goes over how to use the website including the responses and best practices. You’ll also sign up for the Slack channel, which if you’re unfamiliar is basically just like instant messaging. That’s where you can ask questions and get feedback from others (and also learn from what others are asking!).
Want more info about text banking? Jess wrote a post about her first experience! Please let me know if you sign up to text bank with me this weekend. 🤗
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I recently received my Alice & Wonder vote tee and couldn’t wait to style it! I love it paired with wide leg chambray pants plus a sweater blazer and gold flats for a fun casual workwear-inspired outfit. There are only a few sizes remaining, so snag one now if you’ve been thinking about it. (I’m wearing a small!) I rounded up a wide variety of vote tees (plus a couple of fun pairs of socks) in the widget below—everything is under $100 and most are under $50!
We recently received our ballots in the mail and I’m looking forward to casting mine! I think I’m going to drop it off at our ballot drop box in town to avoid any USPS issues (but luckily, I haven’t heard of or noticed any issues with USPS here as of late). Have you voted or made your voting plan yet?
OUTFIT DETAILS
J.Crew blazer / exact
Alice & Wonder x Jess Keys tee / exact (it’s the last run—limited sizes remain!)
J.Crew Factory pants / exact (limited sizes) or similar by Draper James (last seen here)
J.Crew flats / old; similar by Aerosoles
ABLE earrings / exact
Le Specs sunglasses / exact
Dior Lip Glow in pink / exact