Election Countdown Tip Week 5: Sign Up to Send Letters to Neighbors

With only five weeks to go before the election, this week’s tip looks at a simple, effective way to reach voters in your own neighborhood.

LETTERS TO NEIGHBORS is a powerful, proven, neighborly new way to get voters to the polls. Developed by the Progressive Turnout Project, which runs Postcards to Swing States, this new program harnesses the power of neighbor-to-neighbor connections in selected states.

How It Works

It’s SIMPLE: Print out 100 pre-written letters (which you can customize) asking neighbors to vote on November 8. Distribute them on your own time between October 21 and November 2 to the homes of identified progressive voters in your neighborhood. No rigid time commitment, no door knocking, no talking about candidates or issues, just slip the letters between door and screen or under the mat.

It’s EFFECTIVE: Letters to Neighbors was tested in Virginia in 2021. During the pilot 174 volunteers contacted over 34,000 voters. In households that received letters, turnout increased by 1%.

Why It Matters

North Carolina is one of seven states with key Senate races targeted for this November’s elections. (The others are Arizona, Georgia, New Hampshire, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.) The Program aims for 500,000 letters, and with the number of people in the targeted homes, anticipates adding between 5,000 – 10,000 votes this fall.

What could those extra votes mean in North Carolina? With a population of 10.7 million, we’re the second largest of those seven states; only Pennsylvania is more populous. So without going deep into the demographic weeds, just under a quarter of those letters, and votes, should be ours. About 1200. (Okay, 1181.5371, for those of you who are really into math.)

To put that into historical perspective, Cheri Beasley lost her last election — for reelection to State Supreme Court — by only 401 votes.

We could nail this thing!

Get Ready!

Sign up now at www.turnoutpac.org/letters and they’ll send you a list of addresses and a letter to personalize and print out.  Get your letters ready whenever it’s convenient, then mark your calendar to deliver them any time between October 21 and November 2.

Previous Countdown Tips

Week 6 Countdown Tip: Make Your Plan to Vote.

Week 7 Countdown Tip: Sign up to be a poll worker!