NEXTGEN North Carolina 2018
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To: NextGen North Carolina Allies and Supporters From: Josette Ferguson, NextGen North Carolina State Youth Director Date: November 1, 2018 Re: NextGen North Carolina’s Efforts in the 2018 Midterm Elections “NextGen’s efforts have contributed to the rise in registrations among younger voters. Since Jan. 1, 41 percent of new Guilford County voters are between ages 18 and 25, according to the Guilford County Board of Elections.” — National group turns to N.C. in hopes of signing up — and turning out — young voters, Greensboro News & Record, October 10, 2018 NEXTGEN North Carolina 2018: BY THE NUMBERS TOTAL SPEND: $1 million TOTAL STAFF ON THE GROUND: 38 TOTAL VOLUNTEERS: 268 TOTAL CAMPUSES WITH PROGRAM: 14 TOTAL YOUNG VOTERS REGISTERED: 6,183 TOTAL PLEDGE TO VOTE CARDS COLLECTED: 6,495 TOTAL YOUNG VOTERS REACHED WITH DIGITAL ADS: 91,323 TOTAL DOORS KNOCKED: 24,529 TOTAL TEXTS SENT: 216,442 TOTAL PIECES OF DIRECT MAIL SENT: 84,666 TARGETED RACES: NC-09, NC-13, NC State Supreme Court, NO on Voter ID Amendment On Tuesday, November 6, North Carolinians will head to the polls to vote in the most important midterm election in recent history — and NextGen North Carolina played a central role in organizing and turning out young voters on campus, in their communities, and online. Young people are the largest eligible voting bloc in the country, and they are overwhelmingly progressive. NextGen America has organized young people since 2013, and we know that when they turn out, Democrats win. North Carolina has long been a purple state — Democrat Roy Cooper won the Governor’s seat in 2016 by less than one point, while Donald Trump won North Carolina with around 170,000 votes. As North Carolina becomes more diverse, Republicans in the state have employed voter suppression techniques to keep the state from turning blue. They have unconstitutionally gerrymandered their state’s Congressional map to give an advantage to their own party and this year, they put a voter ID constitutional amendment on the ballot to permanently shut out the voices of North Carolina’s young and minority voters. With voting rights on the ballot, the stakes in North Carolina are remarkably high. Moreover, North Carolina’s ninth and thirteenth Congressional Districts are crucial for Democrats to flip the House of Representatives. Both Mark Harris, who is running to represent NC-9, and Rep. Ted Budd (NC-13) support Donald Trump’s hateful agenda and deny climate change. Young North Carolinians have the numbers and the power to stop Harris and Budd from going to Congress to rubberstamp Donald Trump’s agenda, and NextGen North Carolina is making sure they have the information and tools to make their voices heard on November 6th. NEXTGEN RISING 1 In 2018, NextGen America is running the largest youth organizing program in American history, investing $33 million across 11 states to elect progressive candidates up and down the ballot. The youth organizing program — NextGen Rising — launched in August 2017 to register and turnout young voters (between the ages of 18 and 35) for progressive candidates in Virginia’s state elections. NextGen helped turnout young voters in record numbers in Virginia, propelling a Democratic wave and setting the stage for an even larger effort in 2018. With a $1 million investment, NextGen North Carolina is working to register, engage, and organize young voters across the state to flip NC-09 and NC-13. With 38 staff and fellows on the ground, NextGen is working to organize young voters on 14 campuses and in their communities and has registered over 6,000 young North Carolinians. The NextGen team registered over 30% of the student body at Bennett College for Women, located in the competitive 13th Congressional District. DIGITAL & MAIL To reach young voters on and off campus, NextGen sent 84,666 pieces of direct mail and spent $169,704 on cutting-edge digital ads to target 91,323 young North Carolinians. Running on social media platforms including YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, these ads, like “Chopping Block” and “Show Up,” stressed the stakes of this election and how the Youth Vote can overthrow the hateful agenda of the Republicans. As voters began to tune into the races in August and September, NextGen North Carolina released a series of voter guide digital ads designed to educate young voters on key races for representatives of the 9th and 13th Congressional districts in North Carolina and compare the platforms of Ted Budd and Kathy Manning and Mark Harris and Dan McCready on issues like health care, college tuition and gun laws. In the final five days, NextGen North Carolina’s get out the vote efforts includes knocking on 20,000 doors, sending 15,000 texts messages, and encouraging young North Carolinians to vote early. BLACK LIVES RISING Black Lives Rising is a grassroots organizing program that aims to engage, register, and turn out young Black voters in the midterms, with a focus on Greensboro, Charlotte, and Salisbury. The program bridges NextGen’s organizing work between HBCUs and communities to build Black youth political power and flip Congressional seats and state houses.In North Carolina, BLR partnered with Blavity, a millennial focused digital media company, to host various events such as “The Future is Female… & Black” with Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza and the “Cafe Takeover” at Bennett College. On Election Day, Black Lives Rising and Blavity will host a “March For Our Ancestors” at North Carolina A&T State University to lead students to the polls. GIVEGREEN GiveGreen, a fundraising partnership between NextGen America, the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Victory Fund, and NRDC Action Fund PAC, raised over $20 million for progressive candidates across the country. In North Carolina, GiveGreen raised $362,760 for Dan McCready, Kathy Manning and Anita Earls, among others. “NextGen America is already running the largest youth vote program in American history, registering, engaging, and mobilizing young people across eleven states — Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, 2 North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Wisconsin. The North Carolina campaign pulls young adults to familiar places, such as parties and pop-up events.” — Progressive youth movement in NC’s competitive congressional races, The Charlotte Post, June 28, 2018 3 .