How to Swing pt. 1
as we reported last week – Swing States are the key to John Kerry winning the election. in some states the margin is so close – a few hundred votes could tip the scale.

Zogby Poll for WSJ Shows Kerry Solidifying Lead in 11 of 16 Battleground States

Ideas on how to get the word to people who can make a critical impact in their state:
- think of friends or family you know in these states and ask them to tell everyone they know that THEIR VOTES COULD DETERMINE THE ELECTION
- think of friends and coworkers you know here in New York who are from these states, give them the scoop and encourage them to contact their friends or family and let them know we need their votes
- spread the word on your website

For more ideas, here’s some ways we’ve spread the word in the last few days:
- emailed a friend who lives and works as a park ranger in New Mexico, sent her some links on how critical her state is and asked her to forward to everyone she knows, and spread the word
- talked to my girlfriend about ways we could approach her friends and family in Michigan. then remembered I work with a cool woman from Michigan and sent her an email.
- talked to a friend who went to school in Seattle. gave him the scoop, and asked him to bug his old homies out there.
- emailed a reader who’d mentioned she lived in Va.

every person we spoke to was unaware their state was a swing state, and PSYCHED to get the info and be able to pass it along!! So don’t be shy… YOUR HELP CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE in our future!

media consensus of the core group of 17 states: Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin, with these as the top 10: Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

An excellent organization, ReDefeatBush.com, has a drive on their site to get volunteers to call voters in Swing States – ReDefeat Bush: Volunteer. And if you can’t participate in organized callings – there’s a page that tells you how to do it on your own.

More swing state news:
Swing-state shakeout is starting
My Sunday: Volunteering in a Swing State
The Swing State Project