The sad truth is this presidential election will be decided in a small group of swing states, those states where the race is highly contested. The same holds true for control of Congress. Due to money’s fluid nature, vast amounts of it from across the country flows into these states, with the goal of influencing less politically engaged voters.
Here’s a table of this election’s swing states.
People in these states may not realize how important their state is deciding the national race. After all, how many people actually pay attention to or understand electoral-college math? How many keep up on the makeup of the Senate or know the implications of control of the Senate?
But if you’re following the election closely, you have a great opportunity: You can reach out to swing-state friends and let them know how important their votes are (and you might mention how much you wish you had the ability to decide the race).
If it seems a little strange to reach out to friends about politics, consider this: If there were a news event you heard about in, say, North Carolina, you might check up friends there to see how they were. Well, this election is a news event.
So check up on your swing-state friends and find out what it’s like for them where they are. Are they bombarded with campaign ads? Are they paying much attention to the election? Has anyone tried to get them to vote? (If you need help in figuring out what to say, check out Circle Voting’s “Talking to Your Friends About Voting”.
Facebook has a feature where you can use any search window to type “My friends who live in [insert name of swing state].” The results list three names with the option to “See all.” Imagine how you can engage those people.
Check out your FB address book. Search it by state.
When you meet new people either IRL or virtually, a common icebreaker is to talk about where you’re from. This could easily lead into talking about voting where you’re both from.
How would you bring up the election with swing-state friends or search for people you know who live there? Send your thoughts and suggestions to: info@circlevoting.com
And to learn more ways to connect with people or to stay up-to-date on changes in swing states, join our mailing list.
