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NEWSLETTER — Are You Rolling the Dice for Midterms?

Leslie Bock
by
235sc
on September 24, 2022
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Vote-by-Mail
Ballots Begin to
Go Out to Voters:
SATURDAY 9/24!

How Many Days Until
Early Voting Begins:
36 DAYS

How Many Days Until
Election Day (Nov 8):
46 DAYS

 

 

Please join us on Saturday for an important canvassing launch!
Register here.

 

We're just all so hyped about canvassing this week!

This memory popped up for us from four years ago — from our very first round of canvassing for Mikie Sherrill, a million years ago in 2018. Back then, she wasn't "Congresswoman Sherrill" yet. She was just a Montclair mom with more moxie than most and a resume that made incumbent Rodney Frelinghuysen quake in his tassel loafers. But put those qualities together with a powerful team of canvassers, and you know what we got: a complete overhaul of CD11 congressional politics!

Flashback to 2018! Our original caption for this photo: "You know what's nice about wrapping up a round of canvassing? Coming back to campaign HQ and seeing it THIS crowded with the next shift of canvassers!"

 

We're feeling the same positive energy from the hardworking canvassers who are showing up now — but we'll be honest: we need more of you to come out and knock doors. Mikie's campaign needs more of you, and so do other candidates we love, including Tom Malinowski, who has canvasses right around the corner from us in neighboring CD7. 

Scroll down to our Events & Volunteer Opportunties section (at the end of this newsletter) for lots of ways you can help. Take a moment, too, to bookmark our Weekly Volunteer Opportunities webpage, so you can check it whenever you find yourself with a free afternoon.

We totally understand folks not wanting to hike all over creation in August and early September; it was HOT out there! But now the fall weather has kicked in, and it's snappy and perfect for an afternoon stroll!

The 2022 midterm elections are every bit as important as the 2018 elections were. We can't afford to just roll the dice and HOPE we don't lose the House and the Senate. If we do, we can kiss all of our hopes for the Biden administration goodbye ... and that's just for starters. So please, make a commitment to spend an afternoon canvassing for your favorite congressional candidates. You won't regret it!  

The past week has seen so many high-spirited canvassing opportunities. Our members participated in a MARATHON of Team Mikie canvasses in Livingston — 9am, noon, and 3pm, all in a single day! 

 

And then there was our Lemonade Social canvass in Boonton, with lots of snacks and treats ...

 

Not to mention Team Wayne, who showed up in force to support Mikie ...

 

We were especially glad to see some NJ 11th for Change members making the rounds in New Providence, to support Tom Malinowski, who has a tough race ahead of him in his re-drawn congressional district. 

 

Seeing everyone's shining faces at these canvasses has been so heartening. We'd love to see yours too! Canvassing is the most important, effective election work we can do, so please come out to one of our upcoming launches, or one of the other canvassing events listed below!

 

For example ...

The weekend ahead offers lots of other chances to get your steps in! This Saturday (September 24), we're hosting a French-pasty-laden "Coffee, Croissants & Canvassing" launch in Morris Plains. It promises to be très magnifique! Register here to get the specific launch address.  

We're also prepping for three more NJ 11th for Change–hosted canvass launches — details to come, but mark your calendars now! You may have noticed a theme to NJ11-hosted launches: good snacks and treats. We feel strongly that canvassers need to be fortified before we hit the streets! We're not sure what will be on the menu for these dates, but it's sure to be good.

  • Sunday, October 2 @ 12 pm — Randolph
  • Saturday, October 15 @ 12 pm — Parsippany
  • Saturday, November 5 @ 12 pm — Montclair


(And of course, there are lots of other canvassing opportunities listed in our "Events" section below!)

 

More reasons to mark your calendar!

We're proud to be partnering with BlueWaveNJ to sponsor a canvassing bus trip to Pennsylvania on Saturday, October 1! 

You may be following the heated John Fetterman vs. Dr. Oz senate race in Pennsylvania. It's a doozy, and Fetterman has a real chance to flip a red seat blue! And as you know, our margin in the Senate is 50/50, which is to say nonexistent without Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaking vote, and that's doesn't even come into play when DINO senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema decide to throw their weight around. A Fetterman victory in PA would be a big win! For more information and to pre-register, click here.

 

And coming soon ... RALLY TIME!

Rallies are an important way of building awareness and motivation, even among our friends and neighbors who aren't already up to their necks in politics. We hope you'll attend this powerful rally in Montclair on Saturday, October 8 — and invite your friends! We all know people in our non-political social circles who care deeply about the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Bring them along, and encourage them to raise their voices! To sign up and get more information, click here!

 

THE MIDTERMS ARE RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!

So much work to do ...
So little time!




 

EVENTS &
VOLUNTEER
OPPORTUNITIES

NOTE: Our new Volunteer Opportunities webpage will always be updated with the current week’s roster of actions you can take to support our endorsed candidates: Mikie Sherrill (CD11), Tom Malinowski (CD7) and Andy Kim (CD3). Please bookmark it, and check it regularly! 

 

FEATURED EVENTS

  • Saturday, September 24 at 12:00 noon
    Morris Plains Canvass for Mikie Sherrill — NJ 11th for Change is hosting a launch! Come for the coffee and French pastries (from Montclair's famous Le French Dad Boulangerie!), stay for the excellent opportunity to help re-elect Mikie! Register here.


    Psst! Word is, there will be macarons!

 

  • Saturday, October 1 at 9:30 am
    Pennsylvania Canvassing Trip — Sponsored by NJ 11th for Change and BlueWaveNJ. Meet up in West Orange for a high-spirited bus trip with fellow volunteers, on our way for an afternoon of canvassing to support John Fetterman for Senate and Josh Shapiro for Governor. Dr. Oz won't know what hit him! 
    Pre-Registration Required! For more information and to pre-register, click here.

 

"TEAM MIKIE" OPPORTUNITIES

(Click the links for details, and to register)

Team Mikie has volunteering opportunities to fit every schedule. Will you join us this weekend to knock doors, call voters, send texts, or write postcards? NJ-11 voters need to know what's at stake on November 8, and that Mikie has our back!

 

THIS WEEKEND!

 

THIS WEEK!

 

EVERY WEEK!

 

Want a Mikie Sherrill lawn sign? Request one here!
We can't guarantee Mikie herself will come and plant it in your yard ... but you never know!

 

 

TOM MALINOWSKI OPPORTUNITIES

(Click the links for details, and to register)

THIS WEEKEND:  


NEXT WEEK:

 

EVERY WEEK!


Click this link to find more opportunities to volunteer for Tom Malinowski!

 

ANDY KIM OPPORTUNITIES

(Click the links for details, and to register)

EVERY WEEK!

 

Click this link to find more opportunities to volunteer for Andy Kim!

 

 

NJ 11th FOR CHANGE OPPORTUNITIES

  • COMING SOON: Postcarding!! Interested in joining our crack team of postcarders? Email NJ 11 Field Director Stacey Abenstein and put “NJ11 POSTCARDS” in the subject line. We'll be in touch VERY SOON! (Can't write but want to donate stamps or stamp-money? Email Stacey!) 




  • Operation Diggin’ Up the Dirt: Mikie’s opponent, Paul DeGroot, is a hard-right Trumper. He is also keeping very quiet in the public sphere about his positions; suspiciously quiet, one might say. We’re building a team to gather intel about his positions — and anything else that voters need to know.

    To get involved, contact NJ 11th for Change Research Director Patricia Doherty, and put “DEGROOT RESEARCH” in the subject line.

  •  

  • Tabling at Events: Is your town planning any civic events, festivals, street fairs, or farmers markets? Let us know, so we can help your community get ready to vote! There's nothing more satisfying than setting up shop at a local community event and encouraging constituents to vote or learn about their candidates. If you're interested, please email Mara! We're looking for volunteers to:

    • tell us about events in their towns and counties, and 
    • come on out and staff the tables! 




  • Vote-By-Mail Letter Campaign: WHOA! We're up to 42,000 packets out and distributed, thanks to NJ 11th for Change Field Director Stacey Abenstein and a squad of nose-to-the-grindstone volunteers — who could use your help right about now! 

    Not all NJ voters know they have to actively request a mail-in ballot this year. But YOU can give them the information and the tools they need to make it happen. We’ll provide the official VBM request forms and a list of names and addresses; you provide postage, post-its, and envelopes. Write a quick personal note on the post-it encouraging the recipient to vote by mail, stick it to the request form, stuff it in the envelope, and send it off! We have a tight list of in-district voters who need this little push to significantly increase their turnout rates. Let’s make it easy for them to do the right thing!

    Here's a quick peek at a recent delivery: 



    Stacey writes: 

    "I’m making a special push for VBM writers who live in Nutley, Maplewood, or South Orange. We need help finishing all the target voters in these towns. Contact me and I will send you to the VBM leader in your town.

    All other volunteers, I still have lists for Belleville (only 670 voters) and Bloomfield (8231 voters).

    Thanks to the work of our friends at Wind of the Spirit, we added a Spanish how-to paragraph to our Bloomfield letter!

    We still have time to get these out so please do not hesitate to volunteer!!!"

    Interested in helping? Email Stacey Abenstein and put “VBM CAMPAIGN” in the subject line. (Can't write but want to donate stamps or stamp-money? Also email Stacey!)
  • Working America Letter-Writing Campaign: You know that NJ 11th for Change usually focuses close to home — no national campaigns that make us roam far afield. HOWEVER! We do make one exception! Our volunteers have been participating in Working America's national letter campaign for several years, with terrific success! Working America (the activism branch of AFL-CIO) is a data-driven organization with its finger on the pulse of their electorate, and they have a meticulously field-tested, proven strategy for swinging votes in tight races. They know exactly which voters to touch, and exactly what issues and messages will do the job.

    How does it work? You will be sent a document with the text of a carefully crafted letter, focused on one of three core issues that (research shows!) turns red voters blue. You'll also get a list of addresses. Type a few additional personal sentences into the document, print it out, sign it by hand, stuff it in an envelope and mail it off with a handwritten address. Print, sign, and stuff till you’ve completed your list! (You’ll need to provide stationery and stamps.) Our experienced volunteers say that it’s quicker and easier than writing postcards … and the vote-swing rate is the envy of grassroots groups from coast to coast!

    Interested in helping? Get on the list by emailing NJ 11’s Working America expert, Jim Price, and putting “WORKING AMERICA” in the subject line. (Can't write but want to donate stamps or stamp-money? Email Jim!)


 

 

 

 

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Your contributions make our work possible! Donations allowed us to make almost 160,000 voter contacts in New Jersey's 11th congressional district in 2020, and over 130,000 in 2021; our efforts were a big part of making 11 towns flip from Trump in 2016 to Biden in 2020 (including some historically deep-red municipalities!) and securing a tight victory for Governor Phil Murphy in 2021. 

Your generous donation goes towards our data analysis and voter-file access, text banking expenses, support for our events, printing, and much more. It allows us to continue our work building a government that is transparent, responsive and accountable. Please visit our "DONATE" link and pledge any amount. Every contribution helps as we charge ahead into 2021 and beyond!

 

 

NJ 11th for Change is a 501(c)(4) unaffiliated organization dedicated to advocating for all people of New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. We foster an engaged and informed community with the power to shape our political representation so that it is transparent, responsive and accountable—and so that it reflects the values of fairness, compassion, inclusivity and a decent quality of life.

 

 

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