I'm Kelly Sawyers, MoveOn's Director of Email Fundraising. You've probably received a lot of emails in the past that my team and I have worked on, but this is the first time I am emailing you myself—because I want to share my experience as a battleground-

Dear MoveOn member,

I'm Kelly Sawyers, MoveOn's Director of Email Fundraising. You've probably received a lot of emails in the past that my team and I have worked on, but this is the first time I am emailing you myself—because I want to share my experience as a battleground-state voter in North Carolina.

On Saturday, I checked my mailbox, and like many of my fellow North Carolinians, inside I found my ballot for the 2020 general election. It was an emotional moment, realizing that after four years of fighting and resisting, I had the most powerful weapon to defeat Trump and end GOP control of the Senate in my hands: a ballot.

But it was also nerve-wracking, because correctly completing my ballot and ensuring that it is counted is complicated, and I know that millions of other voters across the country—many of whom are voting by mail for the first time this year—are experiencing the same anxiety.

Luckily, my colleagues at MoveOn are here to help!

I've seen firsthand as a small but mighty group of my fellow MoveOn staffers have worked around the clock to make sure that swing-state voters like me, who together will form the critical mass that will defeat Trump, are so focused and driven to inspire and mobilize young voters, first-time voters, voters of color, and others all across battleground states and help provide us all of the information we need to safely cast our ballots.

And as the person who helps build our budgets and plan our fundraising efforts, I know how much it costs to take these programs from ideas into reality. That's why I am personally reaching out today to ask: Will you to chip in $3 a week and help fuel MoveOn's efforts to help battleground state voters like me? This could be the difference between winning and losing in just 56 days. (MoveOn will bill your weekly donation to your credit card once a month starting today and will contact you shortly after the election to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.)

Count me in.

No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.

I have to be honest with you: Even as a person who considers herself well-versed in politics and the process of voting, reading the instructions for my mail-in ballot took me by surprise. The instructions were four pages long—my ballot itself is just a single page!—and include a lot of complex legal jargon that could easily confuse or intimidate a voter out of participating in the election. That's where MoveOn comes in.

Here is what my colleagues have up their sleeves to make sure that my fellow swing staters and I have what we need to win:

• Using sophisticated analytics to identify and reach out to millions of "high-potential voters" across the 17 most important presidential and senate battleground states. Our analytics team has identified 7 million people who likely voted for the Democrats in 2012 but didn't vote in 2016, who became citizens or reached voting age after the 2016 elections, and other voters who tend to be progressive but are often ignored by the Establishment, and we are using highly targeted messaging, videos, and ads to inspire them to register and vote. If just 100,000 of these voters decide to cast a ballot, it could tip the election to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
• Creating explanatory videos to help swing-state voters successfully complete their mail-in ballots. Frustratingly, each state has different rules to fill out and return mail-in ballots, and tiny mistakes can cause ballots to be disqualified. To help give voters the information they need, our Creative Lab is creating videos for each battleground state that clearly explain what you need to know to fill out your ballot and make sure it's counted. And then our Analytics Team is targeting those videos as ads to high-potential voters, so the people who need to see them do actually see them.
• Recruiting poll workers in targeted states. Although many of us will be voting by mail in this election, voting in person is an essential option and needs to run smoothly with new changes to account for the pandemic. But since most poll workers are traditionally older Americans at higher risk from the coronavirus, ensuring that there are enough poll workers to keep polls up and running is critical. Our team is reaching out to younger MoveOn members who can help run polling places on Election Day and ensure that every single vote is counted.
• Personally following up with voters who receive mail-in ballots to make sure they return them. A study after the 2008 election found that nearly 25% of mail-in ballots were not returned, so MoveOn is doing everything to ensure that everyone who receives a ballot not only returns it, but returns it early.¹ MoveOn volunteers are gearing up to reach out to voters—starting in my home state of North Carolina!—to make sure that everyone returns their ballots as quickly as possible.

It will cost $500,000 per week to run these programs between now and Election Day. And that money really does come directly from members like you, John. Believe me, I'm the one who watches it happen! 

Can you chip in $3 a week and help us meet that goal and ensure that battleground-state voters turnout in huge numbers to send Trump and the GOP packing? (MoveOn will bill your weekly donation to your credit card once a month starting today and will contact you shortly after the election to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.)

Count me in.

No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.

Looking down at my 2020 ballot, I was reminded how I felt casting my ballot four years ago.

I had an almost giddy sense back then that Trump would lose in a landslide and our country would move forward from the joke of his candidacy—making it no more than a footnote in history.

I could not have been more wrong.

This time around, I feel the full, life-or-death weight of casting my vote.

Will we save our democracy or give a wannabe dictator four more years to destroy it?

Will we allow a party that only cares about its wealthy donors and special interests to keep controlling the laws we pass and the judges we appoint, or will we finally break that malicious logjam?

Will we put someone in office who will listen to the experts on the pandemic, or someone who spends his time tweeting and golfing while nearly 200,000 people die?

The choice is up to us.

I know that MoveOn can help make sure that we all make the right one, but only with your help. Please, will you chip in $3 week? (MoveOn will bill your weekly donation to your credit card once a month starting today and will contact you shortly after the election to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.)

Count me in.

No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.

Thanks for all you do.

–Kelly Sawyers

Source:

Want to support our work? As Senator Kamala Harris says “I believe that MoveOn is needed more than ever. MoveOn and its members are always there fighting on the front lines. And, in these especially tough times, when what we do really counts, I am heartened to know that.” To defeat Trump, elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and flip the Senate, we all need to do our part.

Will you chip in $3 a week to help MoveOn combat right-wing lies, make sure every vote is counted, and win this election? (MoveOn will bill your weekly donation to your credit card once a month starting today and will contact you shortly after the election to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.)

Count me in.

No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.

PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

This email was sent to John xxxxxx on September 8, 2020. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. MoveOn's privacy policy was recently updated. To read our new privacy policy, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.