In this last week before the critical Midterm Elections, we’ve been contacting HRC members all over the country from here in D.C. It’s exciting because I know just how much of an impact every conversation makes.
On Monday night I headed over to George Washington University and lead a phonebank withthe student group Allied for Pride and dialed in for marriage equality in New York State. Across town, Deputy Field Director Jeremy Pittman led another group of D.C. volunteers and HRC supporters as they also dialed to elect pro-equality state Senate candidates in New York.
We continued making calls into New York on Tuesday night with a great new group at George Mason University, StandOUT.
I’m so happy to support these key campaigns which will get us that much closer to passing marriage equality. I’m invested and passionate about all of our campaigns across the nation, but this one is particularly close to my heart. I grew up “upstate”- depending on your definition of upstate- in Hudson, NY. I also recently got engaged to my partner, Renee. If I ever wanted to return home to New York to get married, I wouldn’t be able to do so legally. Unfortunately, situations like mine are not isolated. This is a sobering fact, and I want to do as much as I can to change the tide and see that all families in New York are recognized.
On Wednesday night I was joined by eight D.C. area volunteers and we continued to mobilize our members, this time in Minnesota, which is poised to be another marriage-equality state. At the same time, former HRC intern Josh Langdon ran a simultaneous phone bank with University of Ohio law students that reached out to hundreds of voters to support pro-equality candidates there.
In the last three days, we’ve held 5 phonebanks in three different locations and dialed over 2,000 numbers. It sounds like a lot, but we still have so much work to do.
Just two and half hours of your time will help us reach out to more than one hundred members and in races this close and this important, that could make all the difference.
Please email me directly at Christine.Sloane@hrc.org to sign up for our last election phonebank, on Monday, November 1. That night, we’ll be making calls into key districts all over the country to mobilize our members and get out the vote for pro-equality candidates.
We will provide pizza, training and a fun atmosphere on the eve before the elections. We’ll also be starting early, at 5:00 p.m., and calling right up until 9:00 p.m. Stop in after work, on your way to the metro, and give what time you can; just let me know that you’re coming!
It’s simple- we need all hands on deck.