If you want to write postcards for local or state candidates and are having trouble finding postcard campaigns for them online, this diary is for you.
I recently wrote postcards for the Vote Forward campaign for my rural Maine (CD2) district. I wanted to write more, but the campaign finished by the time I completed my first hundred. I decided to Google to find other postcard campaigns in my state or local area, but there were none.
I contacted Swing Left to see if I could get addresses for local candidates, but they are not able to coordinate with local campaigns (I should have known this!).
I contacted the local campaign office for Maine CD2, Jared Golden, to see if I could write postcards for them. At this point, they are only interested in phonebanking and canvassing. I am doing some of both, but I have a lot of time in the evenings to write postcards.
I finally smartened up and contacted the campaign of our local candidate for a state house seat. She was thrilled to get the help, and immediately sent me addresses from her walk list. I enlisted a few friends to help, and we are writing cards for almost every household in the district over the next week.
Here are a couple links to postcards at Amazon (not sure if this is allowed, but I have no stake in these outfits, they can just get the cards to you fast, probably by Tuesday).
Here is a sample text to write:
Dear [First Name]
Our neighbor, [full name candidate] from [town] is a wonderful candidate for [office]. She will be a strong advocate for affordable healthcare, rural broadband, safe schools, and common sense gun laws. That’s why I’m supporting her, and I hope you will too.
[sign with your first name]
You still have time to do this. You can get postcards delivered by mid-week, write them over the next 5-7 days, and ensure they are delivered a couple days before the election (which is the best time for delivery anyway).
Canvassing and phone banking are great! But I have to believe handwritten cards from friends and neighbors matter too. As a voter in a toss-up district, I am getting plenty of calls. I am making calls too, and people are understandably touchy about phone interruptions from strangers. It’s still essential work, if only to cull the lists for canvassing. But a good part of my district isn’t that walkable either, because the houses are far apart and isolated. So if you’re in a rural area and want to do postcards, contact your candidates for local and state elections. I bet they would love the support. And I personally as a voter much prefer a handwritten note from a neighbor to yet another phone call. Good luck and happy writing!