The Great Blue Wave Election Alert Sign-Up Contest has begun, with free bottles of special Blue Wave Reisling wine awarded to volunteers who sign up at least 48 voters to receive Election Alerts from Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC).
The contest is sponsored by FCDC’s Voter Registration & Education Committee (VREC), chaired by Janice Yohai (pictured).
The aim is to increase subscribers for Blue Wave Election Alerts, which are emails sent to subscribers shortly before elections with up-to-the-minute voting information , including deadlines, polling places, sample ballots, early voting times and locations, and more.
Election Alerts boost voter turnout, which may be a critical factor for Democratic success in the upcoming “off- off- off year” election on Nov. 5, when voter turnout is traditionally at the lowest point in Virginia’s four-year election cycle.
Election Alerts were first sent out in August 2017 to 350 subscribers. That number has now grown to 3,500, and VREC is looking to greatly expand that number.
The contest is open to all, whether affiliated with FCDC or not. Each contestant — individual or team — that turns in completed sign-up sheets with 48 or more names will win a bottle of Riesling wine. One award will be given per person or team.
Volunteers can sign up voters for Election Alerts while canvassing, attending public events or other venues. Blank sign-up forms can be collected at FCDC headquarters, 8500 Executive Park Ave., Suite 402, Fairfax, VA 22031, or by contacting Janice Yohai (jayohai@cox.net ).
Election Alerts can also be subscribed directly on the FCDC website– click here.
Volunteers who have signed up voters for Election Alerts are positive about the experience, such as:
– Kat Kehoe (Dranesville): “Not asking Democrats to sign-up for Election Alerts would be a disservice… I would say 80%… say yes.”
– Paul Jameson (Mt. Vernon): “I just told [our]… people… to encourage people to sign up… encouraged the first few signups so they saw how it was done.”
– Peter Samson (Providence): “I tried to keep our pitch very short – ‘Would you consider volunteering for the Democratic party?’ – and in the Trump era that seemed to be enough.”
– Roger Tarrant (Sully): “[My pitch was,] ‘Thank you for voting… please let us inform you about opportunities to help the Democratic cause… With your votes… we can turn…the balance in Richmond.’ ”
– Nancy Pierce (Providence): “Well, I just showed the clipboard, and asked if they would like to receive an e-mail notifying them of each election… that they would forward to other voters to help increase turnout for the election.”
The contest, which runs to Nov. 4, lets volunteers toast their success while boosting voter turnout for the critical upcoming election, in which Democrats hope the flip the razor-thin Republican majorities in both the state House and Senate.
Photo: Janice Yohai shows off a completed Blue Wave Election Alerts sign-up sheet, and a contest award: a bottle of Reisling wine
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