Our favorite DO SOMETHING, public education endorsements, and more
I’m working on a couple of upcoming newsletters (at least in my head, but not quite on paper), so please watch for these in your inbox soon:
The importance of the State Board of Education races — the Kansas SBOE is teetering on the verge of extremism. We must be vigilant.
Registering young voters and making it as easy as possible for young adults (esp. college students) to vote.
Connecting the dots for voters/friends on issues they care about and the candidates running for office.
In the meantime, I want to shares some endorsements, a quick candidate spotlight (with a volunteer opportunity), some upcoming events, and most importantly encourage you to learn about one of my very favorite things…
Voter to Voter
Looking for that perfect DO SOMETHING to make your impact on the November election? Voter to Voter is it! It’s easy, interesting, fun, effective, and rewarding. And you can do it from your couch.
Of course, I’m still going to encourage you to phone bank, canvass, help with yard signs, and all the rest, but Voter to Voter is quite literally one of my favorite things.
You might be surprised to learn that you likely have some friends who aren’t great voters. And it turns out YOU are the best messenger when it comes to encouraging friends to vote!
The Voter to Voter tool helps you identify the folks in your network who aren’t great voters and provides you with helpful information you can share to make it as easy as possible for them to get to the polls.
Please join me for the training I’m hosting tomorrow night! I think you will find Voter to Voter as rewarding as I do.
Sign up at bit.ly/vtvsep4 and encourage a friend to sign up too.
Game on for Kansas Schools Endorsements
Game On for Kansas Schools does a deep dive on how legislators vote on issues related to public education so you don’t have to. See their ROSTERS below for most of the contested State Senate (S), State House (H), and State Board of Education (BOE) races across the state.
Do just a little (easy) homework to find the state level races that will be on your ballot. Look up your voter registration at myvoteinfo.voteks.org. Scroll down, expand the DISTRICT section, and find the district numbers for the following:
KS Senate
KS Representative (House)
State Board of Education
Then look for the corresponding district numbers on the Game On Roster for your area of Kansas to see where the candidates for those districts land:
VARSITY = incumbents who consistently supported public education
BENCHED = incumbents who have repeatedly failed to support public education
TOP RECRUITS = challengers Game On believes will be the best advocates for public education
You can find more information on Game On For Kansas Schools’ Facebook post with their rosters. Please react, comment, or share their post so more people in Kansas can see which candidates support public education. I also encourage everyone to follow Game On on social media for their very informative posts throughout the year.
JOHNSON & WYANDOTTE COUNTY RACES:
SEDGWICK COUNTY RACES:
EASTERN EDITION:
CENTRAL / WEST EDITION:
Candidate Spotlight / Volunteer with Six Degrees of Activism — Betsey Lasister
Betsey Lasister is running for House District 30 (parts of Lenexa & Olathe). You might notice that she is on Game On’s Roster as a Top Recruit and she has also been recognized as a Gun Sense candidate. I’m highlighting Betsey today because:
House District 30 is one of our best chances to flip a House seat to break the GOP Supermajority. We need to flip two House seats.
I promised the campaign I’d find volunteers to help knock doors with me on Saturday (9/7) at 1:00. PLEASE JOIN ME by signing up here. The campaign will provide us with the specific meet up location (near I-35 & 123rd) later in the week.
Bring a friend or we can pair people up. Training will be provided.
I’ll admit that I’m nervous EVERY TIME I start knocking doors, but once I have a conversation or two I’m reminded of how important it is to help voters learn about candidates like Betsey who they will see on their ballot.
Please also donate or sign up as a volunteer (for a variety of activities) via Betsey’s website. This is truly a flippable seat, but it is going to take money and volunteers to make it happen.
Mainstream Coalition GOTV Brunch
Sign up here to join Mainstream Coalition (and me) for this informative event featuring:
Honoree Rev. Cheryl Jefferson Bell, Pastor of Community Justice at The Church of the Resurrection.
Keynote Speaker Rachel Laser, President & CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
We'll hear about what's happening at the national level and how we can fight to stop Christian Nationalism and to protect religious freedom right here in Kansas.
Other Upcoming Events / Volunteer Activities
Please find our complete list of upcoming events and volunteer activities here. Bookmark that link and check back often. You’ll find links to sign up for activities you can do on your own time, or things happening on specific dates, such as:
Wednesday, September 4 — Phone Banking for Julie Brewer, for Johnson County Commission. Sign up here for this event and future dates. Make a few calls for Julie starting at 6:15 pm and then join the Voter to Voter training at 7:00 pm. :)
Thursday, September 5 — Phone banking for Andrew Mall for Senate District 10. Sign up here for this event and future dates.
Saturday, September 7 — Volunteer meet up for Karen Thurlow for Senate District 11; 9:30 Saturday morning at Tomahawk Park in Leawood. Treats, training, putting yard signs together, canvassing, and more.
Saturday, September 7 — Coffee meet up and/or canvass with Jason Anderson for Senate District 35; 9:30-10:30 at Lamar’s Donuts & Coffee (127th & Quivira)
Saturday, September 7 — Walk in the Old Settler’s parade with Shirley Allenbrand for Johnson County Commission. Learn more and sign up here.
SHAWNEE — Knock doors with Shawnee Democrats on September 14 & 15. RSVP here. Postcards coming soon.
Although we are trying to keep a comprehensive list as we know people are really looking for ways they can DO SOMETHING, the best thing you can do is sign up directly through candidate websites so they can reach out with needs in the most timely manner. And PLEASE DONATE TO CANDIDATES if you can.
