I’m Yasmin Radjy, and I’m very excited to introduce myself as Vote Forward’s new executive director! As Scott mentioned in his message earlier this month, the voter turnout work this community has done over the past several years has been absolutely incredible. As a proud letter writer myself, I’m thrilled to be taking on this role and to be working more closely with you.
In what may be one of the best parts of this new gig, I have the distinct honor of getting to share that we’re about to launch new Virginia letter writing campaigns in the next few weeks. That’s right, two letter writing campaign announcements in June—it’s a big month for our democracy!
I’ve been volunteering to get voters to the polls in Virginia in every election since 2017. Early on in my volunteer time, on my drives back to Washington, D.C. from knocking on doors, I would call a former behavioral science professor of mine to talk about what I was seeing. Some campaigns and organizations were using tactics to reach voters that research showed weren’t as effective as we’d hope, and when it came to research-backed options with proven effectiveness, many were being underutilized. As a volunteer, it was frustrating to know that there were more effective ways to motivate voters out there that we sometimes just weren’t using.
That’s exactly why I love Vote Forward’s focus on offering effective ways to support our democracy. Our team puts incredible effort into the research that drives our letter writing campaigns and continuously tests aspects to improve them. And, the analysis shows that it works: handwritten letters to voters are among the most effective voter turnout methods.
This fall, every seat in the Virginia General Assembly is up for election. This means that in November, Virginia voters will determine the makeup of the entire state legislature, setting the stage for critical decisions on issues from voting rights to public education to abortion access. We’ll be working together to increase voter turnout in Virginia, to make sure as many voters as possible make their voices heard on these critical issues.
As we put the finishing touches on these campaigns, you can support our team’s work to design campaigns that help reach historically underrepresented potential voters by making a contribution to Vote Forward. |
