SWIM AND PARTNERS UPDATES
See SWIM's website here for more news and events!
WHAT'S UP WITH SENATOR STABENOW?
Meet with Senator Stabenow: We have only TWO more sessions with Terry Campbell, Senator Stabenow's unparalleled Regional Manager, as the Senator is retiring at the end of the year. Don't miss these always-enlightening discussions. The next-to-last meeting is September 5 at 11am. Register here!
Please send your questions to info@statewideindivisiblemi.com a week in advance so we can share them with the senator's staff ahead of time.
EXCLUSIVE TOWN HALL WITH SENATE CANDIDATE ELISSA SLOTKIN
Join SWIM for a one on one with U.S. Senate Candidate Elissa Slotkin, September 9 at 7:30 pm. Register here!
SWIM welcomes Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Elissa Slotkin for a virtual town hall on Monday, September 9, 2024 at 7:30 pm EDT. With the retirement of Senator Stabenow, Rep. Slotkin is the Democratic candidate and we need to do everything we can to help her defeat Mike Rogers. It is imperative for Democrats to hold all current seats and hopefully pick up some others. Join us as we discuss a range of topics including, but not limited to, reproductive freedom, the economy, judicial reform, gun violence, immigration, health insurance, and artificial intelligence. You will also learn how you and your groups can help with the Slotkin campaign.
There will be time for a moderated Q & A. Please send any questions to info@statewideindivisiblemi.com to have them included.
SWIM/WAVE TEXT PROGRAM SEPTEMBER 16, 2024
SAVE THE DATE FOR A SWIM and WAVE text campaign targeting women in our Protect The House and Flip the House Districts. Women ages 18 and up with cell phones who ARE REGISTERED to vote but not signed up for absentee ballots. WAVE's text platform will provide them with a link to take them to the Michigan Secretary of State site to help them sign up to get their absentee ballot prior to the ballot drop the week of September 26. It's easy and fun. More details to follow.
BI-MONTHLY MEMBER MEETING SEPTEMBER 24, 2024
The next SWIM meeting will be September 24 at 7:00. This close to the election there will be lots to share. We are putting together an agenda that will help address those needs. Stay tuned for more information. You can register here.
IF YOU GET YOUR EVENTS FROM MOBILIZE, FOLLOW SWIM'S MOBILIZE PAGE HERE
CALLS TO ACTION
RUST BELT RISING VOTER REGISTRATION CHASE
We have partnered with Rust Belt Rising's innovative voter registration programs helping thousands of Great Lakes state residents register in 2020 and 2022 and will do so again this year. They will again be providing a program targeting Michigan.
Here's how it works: RBR partners at Civitech find targets of people who would likely vote our way but are unregistered at their current address as they compare commercial mail lists and voter files (read more here). They will mail these targets a pre-filled voter registration form with a motivational flyer and postage to their clerk. That's where we come in. In addition to our texting them, we need volunteers to call these targets to encourage them to complete the easy process of registering. You can register here to join this important initiative.
JOIN MICHIGAN WOMEN FOR BIDEN HARRIS 2024 FACEBOOK PAGE
Join Michigan Women for Biden Harris 2024 Facebook page to get the latest news and resources on the Biden Harris events happening in Michigan and other important events. You'll need to answer some questions to join this private page. Tell them SWIM sent you.
VOLUNTEER BLUE OFFERS COACHING TO YOUR MEMBERS
Sign up for a 1-1 session with an Action Coach to start your volunteering journey! Action coaches help you find the right activities for your schedule and interests. When you sign up you’ll get a link to a zoom session with a coach (yes, a live person!) who will explain available activities and actions that you can do that can make a difference. They’ll work with you to pick activities that best fit your skills, interests and schedule and that are in the most important races in the country. Click here to sign up.
INDIVISIBLE NATIONAL NEWS
Neighbor2Neighbor Canvassing Tool
Neighbor2Neighbor might just be the most impactful and easiest way to make a difference this election – by talking to your own neighbors.
As a Neighbor2Neighbor volunteer, instead of being given a long list of strangers, you’ll get a short list of your own neighbors, along with a simple script, some best practices, and a printable handout. There’s no app to download and you can have these conversations on your own time. When you’re done, just sign up to receive the next 10 closest doors! Read more about the program here. An informative video can be accessed here.Join thousands of Indivisibles across the country. It’s going to take neighbors talking to neighbors to fight back against MAGA extremism and secure our rights.
Great Scott to the rescue: Contact our Indivisible's Regional Organizer with your concerns or ideas!
Scott Ickes with Indivisible National is the definition of a great Regional Organizer who works hard on our behalf. The next Statewide leader meeting with Scott will be August 27 at 7:00 (register here). You can access the full list of available resources here.
Reach out at scott@indivisible.org, with any questions you may have.
MICHIGAN NEEDS MORE DEMOCRACY MVPS!
Become an Election Inspector:
Share this resource with your networks to make sure this election has enough poll workers to shut down claims of fraud! Working an election is the best way to understand how secure our process really is. Even Rs can learn things by doing this!
NEED HELP LEARNING ABOUT CANDIDATES?
It is often difficult to know who to vote for, especially in the down ballot races. Here are some of the voter guides available. Be aware that as of this writing, Michigan's Secretary of State webpage has not updated to the general election information yet, so some of these sources may as of yet be incomplete on their candidate listings! Keep checking back!Blue Voter GuidePlanned Parenthood Voter GuideLeague of Woman Voters Voter GuideBridge Magazine Voter Guide
POSTCARD WRITERS UNITE!
POSTCARDS TO SWING STATES WITH MICHIGAN WOMEN FOR BIDEN-HARRIS 2024
Michigan Women for Biden Harris is organizing postcard writing to re-elect Biden-Harris 2024 through Postcards to Swing States. Don't miss out! Sign up NOW so we can let you know about your area's events, volunteer opportunities and more - including postcarding underway now! Signup here.
AND MORE POSTCARD ORGANIZATION OPPORTUNITIES
When talking with member groups, it was evident that postcarding is something all groups enjoy. Here is a list of other organizations providing postcard opportunities. There are some great postcards and materials available for order on line - other lists to check out are here and here.
VOTE FORWARD >>>> We all know how important it is to get "souls to the polls"! Vote Forward's data shows that letters can boost voter turnout by as much as 3.4% This is BIG! Want to become a writer? Sign up with Vote Forward's well-established campaign here.
OTHER WAYS TO TAKE ACTION
INDIVISIBLE'S NEW MEMBER PIPELINE
If you missed this in previous newsletters and emails, be sure to sign your group up for National's New Member Pipeline - easiest sign-up ever. National will forward contact info for folks in your zip code who sign up with them. Do it today!
RESOURCES TO AMPLIFY YOUR MESSAGING
PARTNER TOOL KITS
PROJECT 2025 IS THE REPUBLICAN MANIFESTO TO DESTROY DEMOCRACY! SPREAD THE WORD!
Check out these exceptional resources, from deep dives to the 3 minute YouTube video to TikTok creators. You'll find all the info you need to teach your voters how important it is to defeat the orange one in November and maintain global security! The game is on (and has been 45+ years in the making), learn the rules! This is a living document and will continue to be updated.
IS YOUR GROUP LOOKING TO FORMALLY RECOMMEND CANDIDATES?
Indivisible Huron Valley has given a nod to "Blue Ribbon Candidates" for years. Avoiding a formal endorsement, this is a path for progressive groups to promote the best local candidates for their community. Check out their format here - they share because they care, so feel free to use and/or adapt!
ADD YOUR GROUP TO THE GRASSROOTS COLLABORATION PROJECT DIRECTORY
We've all been at that exhaustion point in the last 6 years; don't let it get to you this year - there's a lot to do! But let's work smarter, not harder. Collaboration is the key to getting many efforts off the ground and building effectiveness in what we do. Networking helps us achieve that. Sign on to the Grassroots Directory here and find other activists willing to help your project!
NOT SURE HOW TO PHRASE MESSAGING OUR VALUES?
Check out this Guide to Messaging Our Freedoms from We Make The Future and ASO Communications (Anat Shenkar-Osorio). They provide sample messages for a wide range of issues from our freedom to vote to our freedom to be our true selves.
And here is a link to Anat's latest toolkit: From the Indictments to the Courts: Freedom Over Fascism Toolkit!
USING THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO AMPLIFY GOOD NEWS
Use these terrific resources to pick up memes to spiff up your messages, use great .gifs in your newsletters and social media posts, and gather talking points for your discussions:
Into Action Labs allows you to download and add your own message(s).
MI Right to Read offers a toolkit of graphics.
Demcast Michigan has a wealth of rich, sharable content.
Field Team 6 takes the fear out of posting on social media with this fun video explaining simple step-by-step simple instructions to social storming - at whatever level you want to dive into! FT6 also has a Field Team 6 Current Storm page with prepared posts that can be one-click shared across many platforms.
Indivisible's Trainings-to-Go include materials such as slides, handouts, or discussion questions, as well as facilitation notes/directions for the person leading the space. Start with a pilot batch of 3 Trainings-to-Go: Recruitment 101, Indivisible 101, and Tools for Building Inclusive Groups - and more are coming! These are located in the Support Hub along with a lot more! Questions or suggestions can be sent to training@indivisible.org.
GET INVOLVED WITH OUR STATEWIDE NETWORK!
GOT IDEAS, GOOD NEWS OR QUESTIONS?
Send us your thoughts here!
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