Welcome to the October Sister District DC/VA/MD Newsletter!

In this newsletter, we will cover:

• THANK YOU -- Results from our September 30 Dancing for Donations with Nisha Singh
• GOTV!  Canvass with us on October 15!
• Roe, Roe, Roe your vote -- ONLY 35 DAYS UNTIL VIRGINIA ELECTION!
• Phonebanking Continues for GOTV
• Who is Sister District DC/VA/MD?
• Before You Go...

Thanks to everyone who participated and donated to our Dancing for Donations on September 30 to support Lashrecse Aird  and Joshua Cole.  We raised $840 to support Lashrecse's and Josh's campaigns!  🤑  

THANKS also to Nisha Singh for her tireless energy and dedication to our fundraising efforts!  And her great playlist!  You can listen and dance to it here:

Couldn't make the big dance?  You still can help by donating to Lashrecse's and Joshua's campaigns!

We will canvass for Joshua Cole on October 15 and are organizing carpools to leave from the DC area at 10:30 am that day. All you have to do is show up, bring your friends, and help us knock on some doors! If you can help transport volunteers, great!  If not, no problem!  We will find a ride for you.

Canvassing is one of the most effective ways to increase voter turnout — and it's FUN if we do it together. Virginia's legislative elections can be very close. In 2021, Democrats lost the majority in the House by a total vote difference of 733 in the three closest districts. Joshua Cole's new 65th District is considered extremely competitive. Your canvassing efforts can make a critical difference!

Did you know...THERE ARE ONLY 35 DAYS UNTIL THE VIRGINIA ELECTION? 

☑️☑️Mark your calendars with these important dates:

Oct. 16 -- Voter registration deadline to vote in the 2023 election. You can still register after this date, through Election Day, and vote using a provisional ballot. 

Oct. 27 -- Deadline to apply by mail, by fax, and online for an absentee ballot to be mailed to you. 

Nov. 4 -- Last day of early, in-person voting, ending at 5 pm. Also the deadline to apply for an absentee ballot in-person. (And this is the last day a voter can request a replacement absentee ballot if there's a problem.)

Nov. 6 -- Last day a voter can request an emergency absentee ballot.

Nov. 7 -- ELECTION DAY!  If you have not yet voted, today is the day to get to a polling place and vote...and take your friends!

We continue to phonebank every Wednesday at 6:30, and have now added Saturday sessions from 12N-2pm.  In September, we made 2,307 calls📞💪!

Join us over Zoom to reach the voters who will be CRITICAL to turning Virginia BLUE this November!

We are volunteers who agree that elections for state legislatures are where the real change is made, and understand the impact small efforts and donations can make in these critical elections.

One of our key GOTV tools is our phonebanking, and one of our most important phonebank leaders is Erika Mckibben.

Erika Georgette Mckibben joined Sister District as a Fellow this year to help support Virginia candidates supported by Sister District.  Erika has stayed on to continue this work, and has been phonebanking with the DC/VA/MD Team and National phonebank teams.  She brings her experience not only with phonebanks and reaching potential Virginia voters, but also uplifting Sister District volunteers!

Erika has worked for 15 years in social work/advocacy beginning with her volunteer work at a local domestic violence shelter in her home state of Georgia.  These efforts led her to become a case manager to Outreach Advocate for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Erika started her advocacy work years ago after being chosen as an Obama Fellow in Georgia when President Obama ran for his first term.  She expanded her advocacy work in early 2020, when she lost her father to COVID.  She then worked as a poll worker in the 2020 election in GA.  Her broad experience also includes GOTV work for the Sen. Jon Ossoff campaign, and Regional Field and Community Coordinator, Region 3, for the Stacey Abrams governor campaign (notably, only one of the six counties Erika oversaw did not turn blue).  After working for the Abrams campaign, she became an independent contractor working for Sen. Warnock in his runoff campaign by getting voters to the polls with “Party to the Polls”.

In addition to all of this, Erika does volunteer work as a member of the Junior League of Atlanta, serves as a coalition member for GA Cover, as an ambassador for Atlanta Early Education program as a member of its Diversity and Equity Committee, and as a member of the Community Needs Assessment Committee (CNAC).  She also volunteers for Covid Survivors for Change, Right to Health Action, and Introverted Girlfriends, and is a member of VFW. 

Erika is a disabled Navy and Army veteran who graduated from Mercer University with an undergraduate degree in Criminal Justice and from Colorado Technical University with an MSCJ.  She is a wife and mother of two boys, Christian and Jordan, as well as a grandmother to CJ and soon to be Chloe.  In her free time, she loves to play tennis, shop, and volunteer of course!

Sister District's mission is to imagine, build, and expand progressive power in state legislatures, and we know that organizing around elections is just one piece of the puzzle.

That's why we're amplifying the voices of local lawmakers, educating the public about the importance of state leaders and policies, and inspiring people to deepen their civic engagement -- especially locally and down-ballot.