Thank You, from a Grateful Georgia
by Kate Fahs
The midterm excitement did not quit in Georgia, as Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker faced off in a runoff election on December 6, and Crimson Goes Blue was there. This was the first time a runoff had been held so close to a general election -- in 2020/2021 there were 9 weeks between the general election and the runoff, but in 2022 there were only 4 weeks. This created some key challenges in the race: insufficient time to request and receive absentee ballots and confusion about whether early voting could begin on the weekend following a state holiday. It took a decision from the Georgia Supreme Court to allow counties to offer early voting the weekend after Thanksgiving - which was the only weekend early voting was available.
We were fortunate to have the support of CGB members both inside and outside Georgia. The race was close, and we needed every bit of effort to get Senator Raphael Warnock re-elected for a full 6-year term (first Black senator from Georgia elected to a full term!) The following are just a few examples of the work of Crimson Goes Blue in the final weeks:
Crimson Goes Blue member Licia Hurst led a phone bank team that connected with voters to help them understand the situation. Importantly, they phoned voters who were unlikely to be covered by door-to-door canvassing. Thank you thank you thank you to all who devoted several Wednesdays and Saturdays to this effort!
Laura Dumbach worked with counties to help them organize for paper ballot monitoring, ballot duplication and vote review. She handled a chaotic situation with positivity and grace.
And there were CGB’ers on the ground in Georgia, who traveled there to canvass and poll observe for both the general election and the runoff. Shout-outs to Wendy Blum (came twice!!), Laura Sparks, Janet Singer, Alice Neuhauser, Tera Jasprem, Dinah PoKempner, Maggie Bangser, Suzy Underwood, and Ed Lowy.
Our Georgia-based Crimson Goes Blue members were out there as well – canvassing, phone banking, staffing the hotline, and poll observing. Many thanks to Barry Mann, Mary Lillian Walker, Candace Smith, Elizabeth Johnson, Monty Bruell, and Wendy Jamerson.
There are undoubtedly others whose efforts I was not aware of, but a grateful and hearty thanks to all who jumped in to help – we truly could not have done it without each and every one of you!
Although this was the final effort of Crimson Goes Blue to help preserve our democracy and elect Democrats for this election cycle, the work continues. Crimson Goes Blue has already begun planning for the 2024 election.
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