While the news out of Washington continues to be ominous, there’s so much you can do right now to make a difference in Arlington, in Virginia, and across the country. Help us elect candidates who will fight for better jobs, wages and training, protect the environment and promote clean energy, and support students and teachers. With the Trump Administration failing to lead in these critical areas, we must ensure that the U.S. Congress, as well as state and local governments, step up.

Blue Wave 2018 Volunteer Activities

Step 1: Sign-up for updates about Arlington Dems volunteer activities!

Stay connected with Arlington Democrats to find out about local volunteer opportunities, which are added frequently. We’ll also put you in touch with your precinct captain, who can help connect you to opportunities within Arlington Democrats that match your specific skills and interests.

Sign up for volunteer updates!

Step 2: Check out our current TOP PRIORITY volunteer activities!

We’re pulling out all of the stops for the Blue Wave 2018! We’ve got a lot going on, and we could really use your help RIGHT NOW for these top priority volunteer activities.

• Canvass and Phone Bank in Arlington
• Staff the Polls / Poll Greeting
• Metro Flyering
• Become a Building Ambassador
• Staff Booth at Street Fairs and Festivals
• Staff Tent at Farmers Markets
• Go “Beyond Arlington” and Flip Virginia’s U.S. House Seats Red to Blue
• Polling Place Decoration Project
• Outreach to Local Businesses and Unions

Canvass and Phone Bank In Arlington

PRIORITY #1! Canvassing and phone banking are critical to achieving a Blue Wave in November!  With these activities, we can engage in meaningful conversations with voters about key issues, introduce voters to our candidates, and provide valuable voting information.  We will be canvassing and phone banking every weekend until the election, and there will be lots of weekday volunteer opportunities as well. To view the full schedule of canvasses and phone banks and to sign-up, click here.  Questions can be directed to Arlington’s field organizer, Erin Wall.

In addition, we are looking for a few volunteer leaders to staff the Arlington canvass staging locations during the GOTV period (and dry runs).  These roles are fun and vital to the efficient deployment of canvassers. Find out more about available positions. If you are interested in this activity, please sign-up and a field organizer then will be in touch.

Staff the Polls / Poll Greeting

Poll greeters are essential to a Democratic win across the ballot! Why? By law, local candidates are not identified by Party affiliation on the ballot. We must ensure that all Democrats who show up to vote for our amazing Congressional candidates also know about our terrific County Board and School Board candidates. Poll greeters perform this critical function by providing important candidate information to voters. There are two options for poll greeting:

• • Absentee In-Person Voting (AIP) Period: Arlington is one of the Absentee Ballot Capitals of Virginia, so AIP Poll Greeting with sample ballots is critical to Democratic wins! This year, eligible voters can cast ballots early by voting Absentee In-Person from September 21 to November 3 at 2100 Clarendon Blvd. Weekday and weekend shifts are available (times vary by day). We have lots of shifts to fill to make sure we reach these critically important voters, so please sign up early and be generous with your time! To view the absentee poll greeting schedule and to sign up, click here.  Questions can be directed to Marsha Johnston.
  • Election Day: We need poll greeters at all 54 Arlington voting precincts for all 13 hours of Election Day voting -- that’s a tall order!  Please make your plan now to poll greet on Election Day. Without exaggeration, this is the most important thing that you can do to prove that Democrats care about every election, including our local races.  To learn more and to sign up, click here.  Questions can be directed to Howard Solodky.

Metro Flyering for the Win

Metro corridor voters are critical to securing a Democratic victory across the ballot this November! Please sign-up to provide info to these voters about the midterm election through the Arlington Democrats metro flyering effort! Volunteers will stand at Metro entrances with a sign about voting and candidate literature for interested commuters.  We have LOTS of shifts to cover across EIGHT Metros in Arlington, so PLEASE be generous with your time! If you are able to help, please sign up to volunteer.

Become a Building Ambassador

Many of our new, younger or sporadic voters live in Arlington’s high-rise apartments and condos. The majority of these buildings are locked to non-residents.  We need volunteers to serve as Building Ambassadors, working within building rules, to help us reach residents through voter registration events (in the lobby), displaying non-partisan signs about voting dates and locations, hosting watch parties, etc. Building Ambassadors decide which activities make sense for them and their buildings.  If you’re interested in becoming a Building Ambassador, please contact Richard Skinner.

Staff Arlington Democrats Booth at Street Fairs & Festivals

The Arlington Democrats have a presence at the County’s many local street fairs and festivals.  We use a festive booth as our base of operations for registering voters and providing critical information about our candidates and voting.  This is a fun activity with lots of great voter engagement! Sign up here or contact Laura Saul Edwards for more information.

Staff Arlington Democrats Tent at Farmers Markets

The Arlington Democrats have a presence at Arlington’s local farmers markets throughout the year.  From registering voters to providing critical candidate/voting information, these are great opportunities to connect with voters.   To view farmers markets volunteer opportunities and to sign-up, click here.  Questions can be directed to Jean Christensen and Jack Kinkaid.

Go “Beyond Arlington” and Flip Virginia’s U.S. House Seats Red to Blue

Join our Beyond Arlington Program, help turn Virginia blue, and return a Democratic majority to the U.S. House!  We are phone banking in all 7 Republican-held Congressional districts every Tuesday and Thursday at Arlington Democrats Headquarters from 6:00-8:30 pm. You can RSVP here.  We are also canvassing every weekend for our adopted candidates in the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 7th and 10th Congressional Districts.  Our Adopt-a-District form is here.  Questions can be directed to Steve Baker.

Polling Place Decoration Project

On each Election Day eve, Arlington Democrats decorate Arlington’s polling locations with our candidates’ signs. There are 54 polling locations in Arlington, and we need your help to cover them all!  Candidate signs for each polling location will be organized and ready for pickup at a central location in Arlington on the evening of Monday, November 5. Volunteers then place the signs at their assigned polling locations.  Easy! Parents, adopting a polling location or two is a great way to volunteer with your kids! If you are able to help, please sign up to volunteer.

Outreach to local businesses and to unions

Make a difference by engaging our local businesses, community development groups, or our unions and working families on the issues that matter to them most. We need volunteers to help Arlington Dems stay connected with these key stakeholders by building sustainable relationships with one or several of these groups to keep us informed on their views and needs. Interested? Please contact Meredith Sumpter.

Thanks for being part of #BlueWave2018!
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