No More Excuses! Why Democrats Need to Vote in 3/20/2018 Primary

NO MORE EXCUSES!

Why Democrats need to vote in the March 20 2018 Primary

By Chris Johnson

         It’s widely believed that Republicans turn out in higher numbers for primaries than Democrats, especially in midterm years like 2018.  And here in DuPage County, many Democrats have felt that voting in primaries was an exercise in futility, because so few races offered any choices for us – in many cases, no Democratic candidates at all.  Well, whether or not those things have been true in the past, we’ve reached a new day and a new year, and the Illinois primary election on March 20, 2018 is crucially important for Democrats.

1.   We have a wealth of candidates!  In 2014, the last midterm election year, a total of 30 Democrats appeared on primary ballots in DuPage County for state, county and U.S. Congressional offices that are also being contested in 2018.  This year (drum roll, please) we have 81 Democratic candidates or slates running for those same offices!  In 11 races where there was not a single Democratic name on the ballot, we now have 19 Democrats, plus 4 Democrats running for two circuit court judicial vacancies.  And the increases aren’t just in the highly-publicized U.S. Congressional District races, but across the board:  17 candidates for state executive offices, compared to 6 in 2014; 15 candidates for state representative, compared to 8 last time; and a whopping 17 candidates for County Board, compared to just 4 in 2014.           

2.   While voter turnout in the primary is not a good predictor of turnout in the general election, do you know what is?  Competitiveness!  Elections with the most competitive races draw the most voters.  The number of Democrats on the primary ballot this year gives us a real opportunity to choose strong candidates who will be truly competitive in November and will draw even more Democrats to the polls.  Do your research (the DGTDO website, www.dgdemocrats.org, has links to websites for most candidates, with more to come) and be a part of picking the strongest candidates for the Blue Wave of 2018.    

3.   Research suggests that a motivated, enthusiastic party base wins general elections.  A 2014 study of electoral behavior suggested that party enthusiasm can make a difference of several percentage points in voter turnout, and more than that in highly competitive races.  Enthusiasm within the party is very possibly even more important than persuasion of swing voters.  Remember 2010?  So, who is that party base?  I think we all know the answer – it is us!  And the first hard, incontrovertible evidence of that motivation and enthusiasm will be a big turnout in the primary.

The bottom line, of course, is that we can’t win unless we vote Democratic, and motivate those around us to do the same.  March 20 will be our first major electoral opportunity since November 2016 to act on our beliefs.  Let’s do everything we can to get out the primary vote, build enthusiasm, and choose the strongest candidates, who will run the best, most competitive races in the Blue Wave that is coming in November!

Getting Involved by Julia Sant

Getting Involved

by Julia Sant

Getting involved in a campaign was not something I would have seen myself doing as a high school senior. But, on November 8th, 2016, Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. That, I can say, was something I NEVER saw coming. In the year that followed, I felt myself getting angrier and angrier at the current political climate. When my AP Government teacher assigned a project to the class called “Politics in Action,” I was so excited. For nearly one year, I was angry without a medium to channel that anger. Now was my chance to do something with those feelings instead of just sitting on them. To satisfy the volunteer hours required for the project, I participated in a phonebank at the Downers Grove Township Democratic Organization, where an organizer mentioned that there was an internship program with JB Pritzker’s campaign for governor. I submitted a resumè, interviewed, and got the internship.

            That was in October, since then, I have made countless calls, knocked on more doors than a kid on Halloween, and have learned so much about being an informed voter. As an intern for JB Pritzker, my main job is making phone calls. I have spoken to people who love JB and I have spoken to people who are not too fond of him, but making these calls has taught me the importance of building a foundation for a campaign. The people who invest so much time and energy into an election are the people who are motivated to get things done and fight for what they see as right and important. It has been so much fun getting to know the people of Illinois and learning the process of getting someone elected. 

Everyone in the office comes from different backgrounds with different levels of experience in politics. It is really cool to see a group of such different people can come together and do very similar things for one goal: to get the candidate elected. Coming into this, my only political experience came from watching Veep. Everyone swears, everyone jokes, but everyone also cares very much about the outcome of the primary election on March 20th.

Being able to have a direct impact on a political campaign is something that I can do regardless of the fact that I am barely an adult. This past year has been really hard for me to comprehend. As a student, I felt like there wasn’t anything I could do. This internship has allowed me to channel that anger and frustration into something productive that will benefit the citizens of Illinois. I have used volunteering as an opportunity to learn what others have to say and refine my political beliefs. By this I mean that I have gained insight as to which issues mean the most to me, how to gauge a candidate's appreciation for that issue, and what I can do to promote my those beliefs.

I never considered a career in politics something that I would want to do, but being a part of this campaign has shown me that there are many ways to get involved in politics. Because of my internship, I know that I want to be a part of something that I am passionate about, politically or otherwise.

I do see myself working on campaigns like this in the future. This has been such a good experience for me as a citizen and as a voter. Getting to knock on doors and communicate directly with people in my community about issues that are important to me and that will directly affect them has taught me so much about the importance of informed voting. I will continue to do this work because it means that I can do my part in “walking the walk” for what I believe in.

Voter Registration Action Team Update

Voter Registration Action Team Update

2018… OH MY!! Our goals for 2018 are simple, get Democrats registered and to the polls!! To that end we are reaching out to different community groups, identifying target populations, scheduling voter registration events and looking for feedback.  But most importantly, we want to identify how we can support PCs!

For the big BLUE push, PCs are the vital link! Face to face interaction is irreplaceable & that is where our voter registrars and PCs come into play! PCs are our face, our best conduit to educate our population on the up-coming elections and the importance of EVERY SINGLE VOTE!!

We are happy to report that the DGTD website (www.dgdemocrats.org) now houses information on registering voters as well as important links to candidates and valuable issues.

As always, we continue to work to identify where we can be the most effective, what works & what doesn’t. We are exploring how voter registration overlaps with voter education, why people are reticent to register to vote. We are always looking for your ideas because……ITS 2018….OH MY!!!!

My Volunteer Experience by Joy Chen

My Volunteer Experience

By Joy Chen

As a junior at Hinsdale Central High School, my Spanish teacher approached me and my peers asking us if we would be interested in being student election judges. I immediately jumped at the chance, and on April 4, 2017 I spent the day inside Westmont Junior High School’s gymnasium instead of the classroom. I can now say it was an invaluable experience. Shortly after, I signed up to volunteer for Ameya Pawar’s gubernatorial campaign. In August, I started senior year with AP U.S. Government and Politics early on in my day.

One of the class requirements was to volunteer for a political campaign or organization. I decided to complete my hours at DGTDO after my teacher, Mr. Wilbur, posted about the opportunity on our class dashboard. Over the course of a couple months, I attended monthly meetings, canvassed around DuPage County, and spent time in the office with other students and members. My time volunteering made me realize that, despite my age, I have the power to affect the political process. It seems like these days that’s becoming an increasingly rare attitude, but it’s an attitude I hope my peers will all come to adopt as well, especially because in our current political climate there is nothing more dangerous than apathy.

Most students I talk to don’t know how easy it is to get involved in politics. Hopefully, that will change soon; current sophomores will be the first class required to take a civics class to graduate. I’m sure some people will see volunteering as yet another checkbox to tick off, but I’m also sure many more will be inspired by how dedicated and passionate political volunteers are here in DuPage County.