Have you ever *not* completed your ballot when you’ve voted? Maybe it was that I came of age during the era of voting machines with the creaky handle to close the curtain and the metal “ker-CHONK” buttons, but for years I thought one couldn’t reopen the curtain unless each lever for every line was clicked. With the advent of our modern scan-tron ballots since that heady time, it never occurs to me not to fill in every bubble; I mean, that’s why I’m there, right?
I have several acquaintances who only vote in presidential elections, and on those ballots, they cast a vote for commander in chief and that’s it. During the annual school district elections, a local friend only votes on one specific part of the budget and skips everything else. I know a more than a few people who pass over ballot lines they either don’t care about or don’t feel they have enough knowledge on which to render a yes or no. This is not a judgment on these folks, truly! Ours is a free country (at least this week) and we are all able to exercise our right to vote if and how we wish. While I want to think I’m in the majority, I know my feeling on this differs from others’, but what makes this difference of attitude vitally important is how easy it is to find examples in recent history of why down-ballot races matter greatly, and how one seemingly small local office can hold enormous power in a pivotal national race. Does anyone else remember Katherine Harris?!
The battlegrounds of Michigan and Pennsylvania are high-stakes states this fall, and not just nationally. Both are holding elections for the US Senate—in Pennsylvania, Bob Casey is running for his fourth term; in Michigan, US Representative Elissa Slotkin is running to fill the seat vacated by the retiring Debbie Stabenow—and of course, every US House seat is up for reelection as well as large swaths of the state legislatures. But within each there are crucial offices up for election that, if filled by Republicans, could tip the balance of the presidential race.
Pennsylvania will vote to fill the office of state attorney general, which was vacated by Josh Shapiro when he won the governorship in 2022. Among many other powers, states attorneys general have key roles and responsibilities in several aspects of election administration, election law enforcement, and voting procedure. Like, whether it’s legal for states to indiscriminately purge voter rolls or to forbid the placement of ballot collecting boxes. In Michigan, two of the state’s Supreme Court seat are up for election, which could affect the bench’s delicate 4-3 Democratic majority. State supreme courts, remember, are where each of Trump’s 62 legal cases challenging the 2020 election results ended up. Thankfully, none were successful, but the past four years have given the right ample time and opportunity to study up and prepare for 2024. So we need to be ready to work as hard as possible to drive up voter turnout so that the results are too clear to dispute.
I would love intel that anyone might have on orgs and groups in each state that might need assistance with voter registration and GOTV efforts; not enough time to dig in deeply on my end! In the meantime, check in with Mobilize, as well as with Michigan Dems and PA Dems, to see what you might be able to do. You could also take a page from my book and hit up the social media accounts of AirBnB and VRBO to ask them to work with local advocacy groups to curate properties in counties where GOTV efforts are going to be crucial in each state. The blue state ladies want to travel! (At least this lady does.)