Monthly Archives: October 2020

The most important thing we can all do is to GOTV to help increase voter turnout. Think about this in 2 parts:

1. Getting new (or lapsed) voters to register
2. Getting registered voters to vote

Imagine if each of us could get just 5 friends to register and vote! In my opinion the best plan is to contact your own friends and people on your phone or email lists. An excellent free app, Vote With Me, identifies each person on your phone contact list, and lets you know if they are registered and their voting history. They have pre-formed texts to help you contact your friends. Start with VoteWithMe and build up from there. Ask each of your friends to contact 5 people in their own circle. People pay attention to people they know, and receiving a message from a known source is the best way to influence someone to register and vote.

If you exhaust your personal contacts and want to do more, look for an organization you believe in, and volunteer to help them GOTV.

Many different organizations are working on getting new voters to register and getting voters whose registration may have lapsed to reregister. Each has different focus and each have excellent ideas. Here are some of the best non-partisan websites:

Rock The Vote

League of Women Voters

The following websites are for consultants to political campaigns, and have good ideas for GOTV:

The Campaign Workshop

Advocay and Communications Solutions

Every state requires voters to register, and each state has slightly different rules and deadlines. A very good website to help people in every state register or find out information on how to register is Vote.org. You can also visit your secretary of state website for your state. Just google voter registration for your state

Dear Friends I am overwhelmed! I asked for only 5 people, but over 200 of you clicked to commit to vote on November 3rd. Thank you! I am reaching out now to request you connect with 5 of your friends, and encourage them to register to vote prior to the deadline. A great way is to use the free App “VoteWithMe”. This app can tell you who in your phone contacts are not yet registered to vote. VoteWithMe also has several preloaded texts you can send to your friends and business contacts to remind them to register to vote. Ofcourse, VoteWithMe is only one way, and you can reach out to your friends by email or phone or whatsapp or other social media. Former President Barack Obama said this election is the most important one in our lifetime, and President Trump also said so. Every vote counts, so please commit to reach out to just 5 of your contacts to get them to register to vote this week. Click this button:I’ll help get the vote out! If you are like me, by now you are probably tired of all the political advertisements, social media posts, and emails you have received from candidates and political organizations, and these quickly find their way to your mental dustbin. However, if you are reading this it’s because you know me, and it’s proof that your friends and associates will pay attention to a personal appeal from you to register to vote. I can guarantee you there will be at least 5 people on your phone contact list who have not yet registered to vote, and this is your chance to send them a gentle reminder. By far the most effective way to influence someone to register to vote is a personal appeal from someone they know. You may also get a windfall bonus, connecting with old friends you haven’t talked with in a long time. I was surprised and pleased to hear from several old friends in response to my earlier email. Another easy way to improve voter turnout in a key swing state: Florida, which has 14 million registered voters, and 8 million people voting in last election, had until recently laws preventing 1.4 million past felons from voting. That’s 10% of all registered voters in Florida, and 18% of votes cast! This becomes really important when one considers the last presidential election in Florida was won by a very slim 1.3% margin, just over 100,000 votes. The Republican Governor, Ron DeSantis, won by an even slimmer 0.4% margin, just 33,000 votes in 2018. An amendment to Florida’s constitution was approved in 2018 by an overwhelming majority of Florida voters allowing felons to vote. (Only for felons convicted of non-violent crimes, like possession of marijuana.) However, the Governor then put in new restrictions that all fines and fees must be paid before being allowed to vote.  The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition is a fantastic grass roots organization that was highly effective in overturning Florida’s felon voting law, and they are now working on helping felons pay off their fines and fees, so they can register to vote in time for this election. FRRC was established by a former homeless person, Desmond Meade, who was recognized by Time magazine in 2019 on their 100 most influential people list. FRRC is non partisan, and helps all felons regain their voting rights. Please join Mike Bloomberg who recently donated $16 million, and myself (I gave a far smaller donation :), to help turn out votes in Florida by donating to FRRC to pay off felon fines and getting them to polls this November 3rd. Deadlines for registering to vote are fast approaching, and in many states such as Florida and Texas this deadline is 4 weeks before election day. That’s in just seven days — on October 5th. Each state has its own peculiar procedures for registering its residents to vote, and one useful website is Vote.org, which can lead you and your friends  through registration process for each state. Please visit my blog, YourImportantVote.com, where you will find several new blogs and guest blogs, and some great resources, listed below. You are invited to publish a blog as a guest, if you have some ideas relevant to voting, and can keep it under 500 words and non-partisan. I’d also love to hear your comments on this or on any other subject. Please email me. Thank you and stay well. Shabbir Nomanbhoy RECENT POSTSWhat if I don’t agree with a candidate on everything? Perfection vs. Optimal ChoiceCan women make a difference in politics? The women’s tsunami around the cornerWhat are barriers to voting? And how to overcome themOK, I’m convinced! What else can I do to help?Don’t Vote –unless….Racism and DiscriminationPAST POSTS  Do I have to…? Is voting a right or duty?Why vote? My vote won’t make a difference anywayHow did I get here? My personal political evolutionAm I getting the best deal? Economic implications of votingIs talking about politics taboo? Importance of political talkResources COMING SOON  Why should I donate my money to politicians? Make the most effective use of your political cloutWon’t my friends mind if I ask them about voting? My experience so far

Copyright © 2020 Your Important Vote, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because we may have interacted socially or for business. I may write you one more time before the election with updates, but if you’d prefer not to receive another email from me on this subject, please click here to unsubscribe. Our mailing address is: Your Important Vote401 E Ontario StreetApartment 1008Chicago, IL 60611 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Dear Friends, During a conversation four years ago, I asked a young friend who he planned to vote for in the presidential election. He told me he was not bothering, as his vote wouldn’t have any effect. I tried half-heartedly to convince him to vote, but he didn’t. I regret not making a stronger appeal to him back then.  I am writing to make a personal appeal for you to vote this November! I don’t wish to influence which candidate you vote for, only to encourage you to cast your vote conscientiously for the presidential candidate that you believe can best lead our country. You’re probably hearing from any number of politicians, celebrities, organizations and pollsters about who to vote for. I simply want to share my personal thoughts on why your vote is important.  Your vote this November will decide the policies and laws that affect your daily life for the next four years, and maybe for decades to come. Whether you are concerned about the disruption in your personal life caused by the pandemic, or the larger question of the pandemic leadership vacuum that has brought the United States to its knees, make sure you vote. Whether you are worried about your own job, business or children’s schooling, or whether you have larger concerns about our country’s economy, racism and police brutality, healthcare, education or foreign policy, please express yourself with your vote this November. Even if you don’t fully agree with a particular candidate’s policies or positions, abstaining from voting means you are essentially supporting the positions or policies least aligned with your own views. In our two-party system, we can never be in perfect agreement with any candidate, but it’s about choosing the one you think is better. Each missing vote gives the other side a greater chance to win. Don’t take that chance! Go vote this November for the leaders or issues you believe in most. My goal is modest: I want to get just 5 people I know personally to cast their vote this November. Can you help me achieve this goal?  It will mean a lot to me if you commit now by clicking the button below. Thank you.

I’m Voting

If you want to go further, please join me in this campaign by getting 5 people in your own network to vote. You will be surprised at your own effectiveness when you appeal to people you know on a personal level. Call or write emails or texts to as many of your contacts as you can. YourImportantVote.com, a blog I started, has a sample email and texts you can use, or write to your contacts in your own words. You may also freely forward this email if you wish. Want to do more? Check my blog for ideas!

Visit Blog

My two favorite resources are www.vote.org, a site to help you register to vote in any state, and VoteWithMe, a free app which gives you voting history of each contact on your phone, and helps you send them reminder texts.  Thank you for listening. If I can help you in any way to vote, please email me. I don’t want to influence your vote, but the process of registering or voting can be intimidating, especially for first time voters, so please reach out to me, or someone else you trust.  Best Regards, and remember — Your Vote is Important! Shabbir Nomanbhoy

You are receiving this email because we may have interacted socially or for business. I may write you a couple more times before the November election, but if you’d prefer not to receive another email from me on this subject, please click to unsubscribe from this list.

P.S. Check out my blog: www.YourImportantVote.com I’m writing a series of blog posts to address the most common reasons for skipping the ballot box, and related topics, in more detail than is possible in a short email. Also included on my blog are resources that may help you with your own vote, or to get more involved in the political process. Please click the headings below to read more. I’d love to get your comments and feedback. RECENT POSTSWhy vote? My vote won’t make a difference anywayDo I have to…? Is voting a right or duty?How did I get here? My personal political evolutionAm I getting the best deal? Economic implications of votingIs talking about politics taboo? Importance of political talkResources COMING SOONWhat if I don’t agree with a candidate on everything? Perfection vs. Optimal ChoiceCan women make a difference in politics? The women’s tsunami around the cornerWhat are barriers to voting? And how to overcome themOk, I’m convinced! What else can I do to help?Why should I donate my money to politicians? Make the most effective use of your political cloutWon’t my friends mind if I ask them about voting? My experience so far

Copyright © 2020 Your Important Vote, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because we may have interacted socially or for business. I may write you one more time before the election with updates, but if you’d prefer not to receive another email from me on this subject, please click here to unsubscribe. Our mailing address is: Your Important Vote401 E Ontario StreetApartment 1008Chicago, IL 60611 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.