Why GOTV Matters, Even in States Where Major Races

[MineralMan]

are sure to result in Democratic victories. I'm in such a state, Minnesota. It's very unlikely that our Democratic Governor or Al Franken will be defeated by the weak GOP candidates running against them. In early polling, both have 9-point leads. But, those are not the only races in my state.

We have a couple of congressional races that could be flipped from GOP to Democratic wins if turnout is high enough. They won't flip, though, unless Democrats turn out to vote in large numbers. Similarly, Pennsylvania looks like a lock for Democrats for the gubernatorial race, but that state, too, has congressional seats at stake that will benefit from a large Democratic turnout.

Getting Democrats to the polls in large numbers is always important, regardless of the top of the ticket races. State legislative offices, local races and more depend on the turnout. That means that each of us, as Democratic activists, needs to do whatever we can to help build enthusiasm and turn out Democrats for the November election. Every vote matters.

Whatever state you're in, we just have a short couple of months for GOTV efforts. I encourage everyone to get involved with those efforts, either as individuals or in organized GOTV outreach efforts. It could make an enormous difference in 2014, and may well affect the 2016 election as well. Please:

GOTV 2014 and Beyond!

[randys1]

1. Yes Yes for god's sake, vote NO matter where you live.

https://twitter.com/DidTheyLetUVote

and per this twitter account, if you see voter obstruction tweet a pic or story of it and the DOJ will be informed

[MineralMan]

2. Thanks! It's really important that Democrats

turn out in mid-term elections. We need to demonstrate our commitment to change.

[MohRokTah]

3. The most important elections to anybody's daily lives are the most local election.

Weirdly, turnout always seems to reflect the opposite of what politicians have the most direct impact on people's lives.

In my ward, more than 5000 people turned out to vote in the General Election of 2012. Big election for the president etc., big turnout. Yet the president of the United States is the single political position that will have the LEAST direct impact on your life.

In 2013 for the general municipal elections in my ward, only 273 people turned out. Yet the city council and mayor are the political positions that will have the MOST direct impact on people's daily lives.

Watching these trends for decades has convinced me, most people are complete idiots with no comprehension of the power they have over those who directly affect their daily lives.

[MineralMan]

4. That's one of the arguments I use when talking to voters

in my own precinct. Usually, they get it and decide to turn out. One of the issues I hear frequently is that they don't know who they should vote for in those local elections. In Minnesota, the DFL party endorses candidates at every level, so I hand them the local endorsement list for the current election. Our local and district conventions endorse candidates down to the school board and commission levels for every election.

Sadly, turnout at those endorsing conventions is really, really low. On the other hand, getting involved in the local DFL party organization lets those who participate make a real difference in choosing candidates to endorse. Similar Democratic Party organizations exist in every state, and participating at the local level is one way to multiply your influence dramatically. It's not much work, but you get to make a difference.

[0rganism]

5. imho, it's the coverage

for major races, we have national networks that cover every stupid detail ad nauseum. they'll even spend hours speculating on the prospects of candidates for races 2+ years away. huge HYPE machine.

for local races, like school boards and state reps, if you live in a metro area you might just have a local network affiliate or three which cover the race in the last 4 weeks or so, or more if a particularly juicy scandal shows up. Coverage tends to land somewhere between the charming human interest stories and high-school athletics, of course.

OTOH, if you live in a small-to-middling town or the rural boonies, good luck getting any local election coverage at all. Maybe there's a newspaper that covers it, on the facing page from the obituaries, or it could get some play on public access cable. Of course turnout is depressed there, no one knows about the elections, plus municipal bond measures are boring and complicated. That's one reason the republicans thrive in rural America.

successful rural GOTV campaigns are the GOP's worst nightmare.