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Special Election in Virginia Senate District 33

You probably know that thanks to the hard work of Democrats in Hunter Mill, Fairfax County, and in the rest of Northern Virginia, we are sending Jennifer Wexton to represent us in Washington. In order to do that, Jennifer Wexton has had to vacate her seat in Virginia’s 33rd Senate District. We will vote on Tuesday, January 8, 2019 for a new state Senator. Jennifer Boysko, a current representative in Virginia’s House of Delegates, has been nominated as the Democrat running for the seat.

Voting in the Special Election on January 8, 2019:

The election will be open to all registered voters who live in the Hunter Mill Precincts of Frying Pan and McNair. Voters in those precincts will vote in their usual polling locations on January 8, 2019. Polls will be open from 6am to 7pm.

In-Person Absentee (Early) Voting for the SD33 Jan 8th Special Election is available now at the Fairfax County Government Center, 12000 Government Center Pkwy, Fairfax, VA 22035. Early voting will be available from Monday, 11/26/18 through Saturday 01/05/19 from 9am-5pm.

Volunteering for Jennifer Boysko’s Campaign for State Senate

Canvassing and Phone Banking will  launch from 6 Pidgeon Hill Dr, Sterling, VA. Sign up here to help with weekend shifts:

And Sign up here for weekday shifts:

Remote Phone Banking is also available. If you are interested in volunteering in any capacity, please feel free to reach out to Chad Wiggins, Field Director cwiggins@vademocrats.org / 571-839-7040.

Handwritten postcards are a great way to communicate with potential voters with a human touch. Volunteers will also be organizing postcard-writing campaigns at the following dates, times, and locations:

Boysko’s campaign is also in need of housing for one more organizer through January 10, 2019. If you can assist, please reach out as soon as you can.

For More Information

Jennifer Boysko’s campaign website has further information on her as a candidate, and you can access it at https://www.jenniferboysko.com/. For more information on how to get involved and help make sure a Democrat stays in Virginia’s 33rd Senate District, contact Hunter Mill’s Vice Chair for Precinct Operations, Joanne Collins collinsjoanne@yahoo.com / 585-703-1121.

 

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Money in politics emerging as top issue in Virginia 2019 elections

By Abby Fox:

The heated topic of money in politics in Virginia drew a star-studded list of speakers and a large, boisterous audience to a forum on Nov. 28th at the Mason District Government Center.

State legislators, candidates and activists took turns detailing the corrosive effects of corporate money on politics throughout the Commonwealth, calling out Dominion Energy, the NRA, the Koch industrial family, tobacco giant Altria, and private prison company GEO Group, among others.

The speakers agreed that the topic is sure to play an important role in elections in Nov. 2019 in which all 40 state senators and 100 state delegates will be chosen.

Event sponsors included: People Demanding Action, the End Corporate Rule Issue Organizing Team of People Demanding Action, Progressive Democrats of America-Virginia, Our Revolution Northern Virginia, Our Revolution Arlington, American Promise – Virginia, Our Revolution Alexandria, Activate Virginia, and Loudoun Progressives.

(Photo: Yasmine Taeb says she will take a leave of absence for six months to wage an electoral battle for Virginia state senate)

Much more from The Blue View

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Urgent Need for Calls to Florida Voters

Please help make calls to Florida voters to ensure that their votes are counted.  These calls are SO important as each one of these voters that you help to cure their ballot is a vote for Democrats in an extremely close election. We can’t do it without your help!

Who we’re talking to: FL Democratic voters who voted by mail, but their ballot likely did not count, likely because the signature on their ballot envelope didn’t match their voter registration signature.

What we need them to do:

1. Confirm that they voted by mail in this past election

2. Go to this website for an affidavit: http://nelsonforsenate.com/voterform (OR, you send them an email with this link)

3. Fill out the affidavit (either print it, or fill it out online)

4. Locate a valid Florida ID (list of acceptable ID’s is in the script)

5. GO TO their county supervisor of elections OR email their county supervisor of elections their signed affidavit + a copy of their valid ID

THE DEADLINE TO DO THE ABOVE AND MAKE THEIR BALLOT COUNT IS SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17th AT 5PM

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Hunter Mill Democrats Volunteer Appreciation Party Saturday!

Well, we did it. We worked together and we built a Blue Wave last week. Democrats had a great night across the country, and the first signs of a good night came right here in Northern Virginia. Jennifer Wexton comfortably defeated Barbara Comstock in one of the first big flips of the night. We also propelled Tim Kaine and Gerry Connolly to decisive statement victories in their races. And none of it would have happened without our incredible volunteers. It’s time to raise a glass to you, and take an evening to revel in victory!

The annual Hunter Mill Democrats Volunteer Appreciation Party will take place this Saturday, from 5pm-7pm at Reston Community Center Lake Anne, located 1609-A Washington Plaza N., Reston, 20190.

Join fellow volunteers and elected officials, including Janet Howell, Chap Petersen, Mark Keam, Ken Plum, and and more to celebrate everyone’s hard work and our electoral success this year! Please click here to RSVP.

Light food and beverages will be provided, though if you would like to contribute a side dish, it would be welcome. Please note this in your RSVP.

There is no cost to attend, but an RSVP is appreciated so we can make sure we have enough food. Please click here to RSVP.

Questions? Email huntermilldems@gmail.com

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Get on the bus for ERA ratification

By Susan Laume:

Supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment are sponsoring a 10-day bus tour across Virginia to urge legislators to make Virginia the 38th and final state necessary to achieve ratification. The bus stopped in several locations in Fairfax County on Veterans’ Day, Nov. 11, after visiting Richmond, and continued on to Fredericksburg.

The bus tour is run by VAratifyERA, a non-partisan, single issue campaign focused on this issue.  In Fairfax County, the third day of the tour, the bus stopped at George Mason University, Clifton, Falls Church and Fairfax.

At the Clifton stop, state Sen. George Barker (D-39) and his wife Jane were on the bus. Sen. Barker first introduced the ERA in the state legislature in 2012 and has been a strong supporter ever since. Mrs. Barker is co-chair of the Democratic Women of Clifton and Northern Virginia, and a leader in the bi-partisan effort to build a memorial to suffragists near the former Lorton Reformatory location where many suffragists were imprisoned.

Also on the bus were state Delegates Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-2), Hala Ayala (D-51) and Kaye Kory (D-38).

From The Blue View

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Hunter Mill Democrats Monthly Meeting on Wednesday, November 14 at Reston Community Center

The October meeting of the Hunter Mill Democrats will take place on Wednesday, November 14 at 7:30pm at the Reston Community Center at Hunters Woods Village Center, 2310 Colts Neck Rd., Reston, VA 20191 (map below). This will be the first Hunter Mill meeting since election day, so come and let’s congratulate one another on a job well done! It will also be time to start talking about the upcoming special and general elections for 2019. All are welcome to arrive at 7pm to meet one another and members of the executive board before the meeting begins at 7:30pm.

We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday, November 14!

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Hunter Mill Volunteers Needed for Wexton in VA-10

One of our best opportunities to take back Congress is in Virginia’s 10th District where we are working to elect Jennifer Wexton as our next U.S. Representative and to defeat the Republican incumbent. With less than 2 weeks to go, you can sign up today to help take back the 10th District. There’s so much excitement around this campaign that many of our volunteer shifts are full in the eastern parts of the district. However, if you are able to go west, there are five locations that still need volunteers for both this weekend and in the final days before Election Day. These are important areas of the district that may hold the key to victory!

What: Volunteer for Jennifer Wexton for Congress

When: Weekend of October 28-29 and November 3 thru 6

Where: Choose a location below:

The campaign has asked Hunter Mill volunteers to assist at the Ashburn location, first on the list below. Help is welcome anywhere, but please make your best effort to help in Ashburn if you can.

Ashburn
(Hunter Mill Volunteers are asked to assist here, if possible)
20937 Ashburn Road, Ashburn, VA 20147 (map)
Click here to sign up

Aldie/South Riding
25700 Success Drive, Aldie, VA 20105 (map)
Click here to sign up

Manassas Park
170 Market Street, Unit 124, Manassas Park City, VA 20111 (map)
Click here to sign up

Leesburg
315 Ayrlee Avenue NW, Leesburg, VA 20176 (map)
Click here to sign up

Springfield
6442 Lake Meadow Drive, Burke, VA 22015 (map)
Click here to sign up

You can view a custom google map that plots each of these locations, here.

If you’re looking for other ways to help, here are a few resources:

Thanks and feel free to contact Fairfax Democrats (703-573-6811) if you are looking for any other information or resources.

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Fairfax Dems Mount Massive Latino Outreach

By Todd Thurwachter:

Ahead of the Nov. 6 election, Democrats have made a sustained effort to register and educate Latino voters in Fairfax County – who now constitute 16% of the population, and are heading higher.

The campaign has contacted tens of thousands in Fairfax and neighboring counties, led by the Voter Registration & Education Committee of Fairfax County Democratic Committee (FCDC).

The project began last May with printing and distributing 5,000 voter information cards in Spanish, “Todo Sobre el Voto” (click here to view).

The cards, and other information in Spanish on voting, were also posted on the FCDC website. Also available in Spanish, for the first time, is the free Election Alerts service, which sends emails to subscribers before every election with key information including a sample ballot.

Committee Chair Janice Yohai also created and launched a special Latino outreach pilot program for Back-to-School-Nights in September. The committee targeted 16 Fairfax schools with over 50% Latino populations, mostly elementary schools, and recruited 13 Spanish speaking volunteers, who engaged close to 1,000 Latino parents of schoolchildren.

More from The Blue View

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Old technology is newest tool to energize voters

Reported by Janelle Hartman and Stephanie Witt Sedgwick:

Postcards may be old technology, but they are being revived as an effective tool in the arsenal of Fairfax County Democrats to get a robust turnout at elections on November 6th.

Numerous postcard parties have been held in Fairfax County throughout the campaign season to target registered voters with personal appeals from writers urging recipients to come to the polls and vote for Democrats. The total number of postcards from area volunteers flooding the US Postal Service is unknown, but estimated at tens of thousands.

The cards are all hand written and addressed. There’s no set script, but each reminds voters of the date of election and the Democratic candidates in their district and urges the voter to have their voice heard on election day.

As volunteer Eileen Shropshire wrote, “It took me longer to write this card than it will take you to vote. Your vote matters!”

Two recent postcard parties with big turnouts:

On Sunday, Oct. 21, more than 30 volunteers from Lee District Democratic Committee  turned the back room of Fiona’s Irish Pub in Alexandria into a postcard writing factory — filling more than 1,000 postcards with personal appeals to voters who cast ballots in 2016 but skipped last year’s state election. Even Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay and School Board Member Ilryong Moon squeezed into crowded tables to help.

A few days later, on Thursday morning, Oct. 25, more than two dozen volunteers filled the Whole Food Vienna café area (see image at top) to complete a three-month program organized by Vienna Neighbors United that has resulted in almost 10,000 postcards urging Virginia voters to go to the polls on November 6 and vote for the Democratic candidates in their districts.

More from The Blue View