June 1, 2020: PWN Pennsylvania has been active in their community for years. Since 2018, they have been registering new voters, educating their community about elections and voter rights, and mobilizing the voters they’ve registered and engaged with to get to the polls. Organizing around the 2020 elections with Vote Positive Pennsylvania, PWN PA members have been going the extra mile and a half to make sure that voters in their community know what has changed in response to the covid19 pandemic–relying on digital organizing tools and tactics since traditional in-person tactics are off the table for the time being.
And there have been some big updates when it comes to elections in Pennsylvania! For one thing, the primary election, originally scheduled for April 28, has been moved to June 2. And importantly, all voters can now vote by mail in Pennsylvania–a big change from earlier elections, where voters had to have an excuse to vote by absentee ballot. So Vote Positive PA members, led by Teresa Sullivan, Michelle Troxell, Andrea Johnson, Jeanette Murdock-Ullah, and Kenya Moussa have been using Facebook Live events, peer-to-peer text messaging, and email to make sure Pennsylvanians get registered to vote by mail and know how to stay safe if they do vote in person.
“We felt it was important to inform our community that voting by mail-in ballot is a safer option to cast your vote and stay safe in light of covid19,” explained Teresa. “We knew fewer polling places would be open, so the polls would be consolidated, voters would be standing in longer lines, and there would not be real social distancing practice in place for our most vulnerable populations.”
One of the tactics they have used to get the word out about the changes–and to remind the community that, despite everything else happening right now, there is still an election coming up and their voices are more important now than ever–is Facebook Live. It’s an easy way to engage authentically and in real time with people, to share useful information and links, and to have fun. “Our first Facebook Live event was on Real Lyfe Radio’s page, called Ready to Vote,” said Teresa. “We discussed tenants’ rights during covid19, how to register to vote or to vote by mail, and registration deadlines. On May 9, we had another Facebook Live event, Vota en el 2020 Mi Gente, in partnership with organizers in Texas, about building long-term power for our communities, starting with this election.”
Vote Positive PA has been working hard as a team, with each core member contributing to the effort in the ways they can–texting voters, participating in and promoting the Facebook Live videos, and working the polls on Election Day, even in the midst of a pandemic. “We will continue fight for our community, even when they don’t know our names–it’s a bigger cause, and we are making a difference, not only in our lives, but in our families and communities,” said Teresa.
Follow Vote Positive PA’s Facebook page here to stay up-to-date!
