Midterms 2018

Phone Banking with the ACLU

Phone banking during election season is a battleground of frustration and enlightenment. But doing so the last stretch of the weekend before the 2018 midterm elections can be a matter of life or death. It’s not easy to get up on a Saturday morning to phone bank for the American Civil Liberties Union at The Standard Hotel’s Narcbar.

The little luxury coffee-shop style bar was filled with people of all ages. Some of which who were first timers and some who have been veterans. College aged students anxiously re-read their scripts again and again in their booths to make sure that they weren’t going to stumble their words. Old men with new laptops recounted their first phone bank about 30 years ago. Middle aged women were blistering with confidence and embracing other volunteers who they have worked with in the past, asking how they have been, and what other canvassing jobs they were doing this past election season. While the bustle is going on, several volunteers ask for a cocktail from the bar or a cup of coffee to relax before asking strangers about their state legislation.

“So, are you sure you are registered to vote?” asked one woman volunteer to the bartender.

“Yeah, but somehow I’m registered for both Massachusetts and New York,” she said while the woman was frantically searching for her voter registration status online. It turns out she was in fact only registered for New York.

These civically engaged citizens are the forefront in the effort of making Virginia voters aware of Amendment 1 on their state ballot, which may restrict a woman’s right to abortion and gives leeway for politicians to pass more laws that are restrictive and puts a woman’s life in danger.

“We just want to give voters the last final push to say no on this amendment,” said ACLU organizer and Standard Hotel employee Caitlin McConnell. Pushing against the terrors of the current administration and even at state levels, the ACLU fights these unjust causes with the help of the average citizen sacrificing a couple hours of their time.

As an hour goes past, volunteers across the whole bar are glued to their laptops reading the provided script and calling Virginia voters through the phoning service Hubdialer. Volunteers flew by some of the calls with the average call being around 30 seconds and being constantly rejected.

Many of the Virginia constituents become frustrated at the first phrase of a phone banker. After a very unsuccessful call, one volunteer expressed at the corner of the bar, “I just got off the phone with a man who said, ‘I don’t want to talk about politics with a stranger. Bye.’”

Despite these negative interactions, there are some eager voters who want to challenge the Amendment. A woman volunteer matched with a voter named Christopher who was too enthusiastic about voting no. He rambled for 5 minutes about how the administration is failing and commended the volunteer for taking the time to call him. Before reading the script and saying her last remarks, she thanked him, “I’m going to think about you when I go to the polls, Christopher.”

New York Phone Banks for Beto

This Sunday evening a phone banking campaign event for Texas Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke was hosted at a Flatiron District apartment.

“Hi! This is Alexa, I’m calling for Jose. Is this a good number to reach Jose?” A volunteer questions into her headset.  At least ten people of visibly varying skill-levels, backgrounds, and demographics fill various sections of the two-bedroom apartment equipped with laptops, cell phones, and headphones with attached microphones.  With each volunteer nearby making calls every minute, they all hold their headphone microphones close to keep their voices as clear as possible to the other end.

The environment seems atypical of what many would envision a political phone bank to be. The host is handing out glasses of water to those working in the living room and offering assistance to those who lack experience.  

In the office, an older gentleman received help with learning to maneuver the server with the numbers to call and the script by which he was to follow.

“How do I improvise? I don’t know where to tell them where to vote and what information to even give.” The host sat with him to walk him through the server which gives all sorts of information on the caller — age, where they are registered to vote, home district, nearest polling place, and other pertinent information to their civic duty experience.  The patience while helping the man learn to navigate the process is pertinent to keeping all demographics engaged in the process. He came to help and was doing so to the best of his ability.

All who are there are volunteers committed to swaying last-minute voters or even just convincing them to vote and walking them through the process.  Tonight, not many on the other end of the line are friendly and are annoyed that despite voting already or having plans to vote, their evenings are being interrupted by phone bankers. Volunteers suspect that it can be attributed to the close proximity to the voting deadline.  Most have already made choices and volunteers must work carefully to not discourage them into not voting at all.

Host Reeya Shah, a 26-year-old New Jersey native says tonight is her most crowded and most diverse turn out yet.  As for why a New Jersey native who now resides in new york is hosting an event specific to Texan voters, Shah says she finds value in working towards taking back the Senate from states that have traditionally voted for Republican officers.  

“Living here in New York, I just felt that I can feel pretty confidently that Chuck Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand are gonna vote the way that I want them to but [wondered] ‘what can I do to help take back the Senate?’ I think that beating Ted Cruz and getting him out of there is a good way to do that.” Shah explained.

Within the weeks leading up to the Nov. 6 election date, this Sunday was Shah’s third time hosting a phone bank for Beto’s campaign.

No Sleep ‘Till Midterms

ASTORIA DISPATCH

Astoria, Queens — On the bustling street corner of Ditmars Boulevard and 31st Street, one young woman stands out among the crowd. 26-year-old, Hind Sophia, is spotted wearing a bright blue “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez” t-shirt. Running on just a few hours of sleep, she still manages to flash a bright smile and hold a rambunctious puppy in her arms.

The pre-med, New York University alum, has taken to the streets to head the Ocasio campaign. “She’s only 28!” Hind tells of Ocasio’s success. “She’s barely older than me. And she’s going to be elected to serve in Congress.”

When Hind is not working on the Ocasio campaign, she works in a cancer research lab. “My parents wanted me to be a doctor,” she said. “Doctors help individuals. I went into research because I wanted to help a larger group of people.”

Hind got her start in the political world during Obama’s presidential campaign when she bravely canvassed door-to-door in her home state of Pennsylvania. Hind says her goal “is to work in Public Policy because that helps the largest group of people of all.”

On the gloomy Friday morning leading up to the election, Hind came prepared. Her canvas bag was overflowing with Ocasio posters, fliers, and pins in both English and Spanish.

Hundreds of people pass by, many keeping their heads down and headphones in, some refusing to even acknowledge her presence. But Hind stood on that corner, unwavering, with a smile on her face and a flyer in her hand. “It’s exhausting,” she said. “But the one person who does stop, makes this worth it.”

A mother pushing her son in a stroller stopped to tell Hind about her family traditions. “We love voting days,” she said. “Our whole family goes to vote, and then we celebrate with burgers.”

Some passerbyers, on the other hand, are not so friendly with their approach. “Communist!” A white, middle-aged man yelled to Hind from across the street. Still, the smile on her face remains. She took a deep breath, and prepared for battle. The two of them talked for quite some time before shaking hands and going their separate ways. “We need people to vote. That’s first and foremost. Who they choose to vote for comes second and I’m glad he’s voting.”  She let out a heavy sigh, exhausted from hours of rejection, and then announced, “I need to refuel. Let’s grab some coffee.”

A now fully-caffeinated Hind once again took to the streets to canvass for Ocasio, this time visiting shops and restaurants along 31st Street, asking owners and managers to put up Ocasio posters in windows. Once again, Hind was met with more “no’s” then “yes’,” but nevertheless, the smile did not leave her face. She trudged on, stopping at nothing to find the one store that would agree to put her poster in the window. “Look it’s my poster!” she exclaimed as she passed by an Ocasio poster hanging outside of a Liquor store.

“I am Muslim. I am a woman. And I represent America.” Hind says. “This is why I’m out here. I am the future.”

Election Day November 2018

“Well I vote for every election cycle but today felt especially important with the energy, and social media and the news…. I hope to see the largest voter turnout for a midterm election, especially for the youth.” – Dustin, 27, graphic designer, Lower East Side. 

Midterm Elections 2018

“Voting today was not easy for me because I was originally registered in Florida and the whole process to get registered in New York was incredibly difficult and took a lot of time and effort. It really felt like there were a million things trying to stop me from voting today, which should be a pretty simple thing to accomplish in America. It’s our right. But with everything that’s at stake and the difficulties that our country has been going through, it felt like something that I really needed to do and I’m glad I made it out.” Sophia Duenas, 20, student, Union Square resident, from Miami, Florida.

Flip it blue! This is why I vote.

“I’m a very democratic person. We need to flip the congress and senate to take down the crazy person in power right now who is trying to delete all the amazing things Obama did. It is so insulting to have a president who has no respect for anyone. I’ve never been so enraged. I’m originally from France but I’ve been here for 28 years. I’ve been through Bush, Clinton, and Bush again. I wasn’t happy but I wasn’t disgusted the way I am right now. We need the right laws. Issues like healthcare, immigration, equal pay, education, and just so many other things is what brings me out to vote. I respect parties. I respect other ideas but we cannot continue living this way. Every single voice is important. Every vote is important. This is a beautiful gift that we have in this country and we should exempt our right.” Brigitte Dalmas, 60, Accountant, Gramercy resident.

New York University Students Vote by Absentee Ballot Despite Facing Challenges

Photo by Alejandra Arevalo.

Three weeks from the midterm elections and NYU senior Toyosi Oyelola was still carrying her voter absentee form in her backpack. Her Application for Ballot by Mail (ABBM) to vote in Texas elections was just missing a stamp.

“I don’t know how much stamps cost but why do I have to pay to vote?” the Austin-native asked while holding a white envelope addressed to the Texas Early Voting Clerk. “It’s my legal right.”

Oyelola, who voted for the first time in the 2016 Presidential Elections, is among the young Americans that will be voting by mail in the incoming weeks from different states, and even from different countries –many of whom don’t know where to find stamps for their ballots because they have never used one before. As a part of Gen Z, a politically-aware generation born after 1996, Oyelola believes it is critical to vote no matter where she is living. “It was very important to me to make sure that we can have a better future for Texas because Ted Cruz is not it,” said Oyelola, who follows the close race between Cruz and O’Rourke and worries about the US-Mexico border policies.

Last year, NYU sophomore Sarah Patt had to go to her hometown Village Hall in Glenview, Illinois because her online voter registration form failed. As with Oyelola, Patt is frustrated with the process of printing an ABBM form, mailing it in and then getting back a ballot that also needs to be mailed to her county’s clerk office. “I get why they want to protect the voters identities’ through this process but it’s a lot of work for something that it’s a fundamental part of the American experience,” said the first-time voter who is against a possible re-election to a third term for Illinois’ Gov. Bruce Rauner.

For some NYU students, studying halfway around the world may impede but not deter them from voting. First-year student Kai Elwood-Dieu will mail his ballot from the NYU campus in Shanghai. Native from Bethesda, MD, Elwood-Dieu says that studying in China will not stop him from showing his support to the Democratic party. Elwood-Dieu even wanted the NYU Shanghai student government to set up a voter registration booth. However, he was told that some NYU officials were concerned that doing so would show an American bias at a college where half of the student body is Chinese and the other half comes from 69 countries.

In response, Elwood-Dieu and his classmate Anna Gabriel set up their own registration area: a table, two chairs and two computers outside of the cafeteria in the basement. In the two days of the temporary booth, 50 students registered. “I, in no way, want to force people to vote, but for those willing, I wanted to provide a resource with which to do so,” wrote Elwood-Dieu in an email interview.

Absentee ballot voting started as a way to allow Civil War soldiers to vote for their representatives from the frontline and has now become a practice accepted in all the country. Advocates for voting by mail argue that it increases voter turnout and reduces the administrative costs of having polling sites. However, the requirements and deadlines to do so vary between states making it hard for Americans to understand how the process works.

Patt mailed her ABBM form but five days from the midterm elections, she hasn’t received her Illinois’ ballot yet. The only document she got recently was California’s official voter information guide, which she considers was a mistake because she has no ties with that state. “I took all the right steps to get my ballot, so I hope that our voting and mailing system work properly and allow me to vote.”

It’s part of being an American. Why I vote

“I’ve voted in every election since 81’, even midterms. Right now, I think we need more balance in power. There is a wave of nationalism that is dividing our county and we have to not be afraid to do our part. Go to court, go do jury duty and stand up and vote for what you believe in. It’s all part of being an American.” Bill Sage, 56, Actor (American Psycho, Hap and Leonard), West Village resident. // Roberto Bosoms

Election Day Instagram Post

“I voted in the primaries and voted today but not in the last mid-terms.”

 

Voters at PS 57 James Weldon Johnson School, East Harlem

View this post on Instagram

“My first time voting was in the primaries this year, this is my second time. Millenials aren’t voting and I get it. I was born in the Dominican Republic and became a citizen at 18. I was more focused on my life and never followed politics. I got into it two years ago because, after the election of Trump, I started to notice more the corruption of politics. The government is only about the rich, they don’t care about us although we’re the ones that pay the taxes. I vote for the progressives so that I’m actually voting for us. I didn’t get to register to vote for the Trump vs. Hillary race because I just didn’t make any time. But this time I got my information right and voted. My hope is that our taxes are put to a better use, especially into helping housing which is being neglected by leaders not doing their part.” Andy, 32, Concierge from East Harlem // Alejandra Arevalo

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