Source: SETH HERALD / Getty
Care in Action has been with Stacey Abrams from day one, and ever since her first run for governor, our domestic workers have pledged to stick with her from there on out. She was the first candidate in Georgia that made them feel seen, represented, and understood.
Stacey is one of those revolutionary candidates that makes you believe again. She pushed Georgia to embrace its true electorate. Without her endless work, we wouldn’t be able to prove this was possible. We wouldn’t be where we are today without Stacey. Georgia has faced systemic racism, voter suppression, and decades of segregation that should have never even given her a chance at winning.
MORE: Why The Georgia Senate Runoff Still Matters Even After Democrats Have Secured A Majority
After her first loss, which felt like a punch to the gut, she didn’t pack up and quit. She doubled down to save American democracy and invested in the state of Georgia. She founded Fair Fight Action to address voter suppression in Georgia and across the country. But it’s not just about voting, it’s about investing in our communities. Through Fair Fight, she eliminated medical debt for over 68,000 Georgians, provided rental assistance to push back Brian Kemp’s harmful policies, and provided broadband access to rural parts of Georgia.
Now, we are channeling our heartbreak to launch our campaigns for the upcoming runoff election to re-elect Raphael Warnock to the U.S. Senate. And we’re ready. We’ve been ready.
Organizers like us in Georgia have always needed to strategize around the high likelihood of a runoff because of the Jim Crow voting suppression roots of Georgia’s voting practice that continues to rear their head. Domestic workers have always been a part of the civil rights movement, and we’re ready to continue this fight.
This is how we will win Georgia.
Invest and prioritize grassroots organizations and field
With all eyes on us, we need national entities to follow our lead. One reason we weren’t able to get over the finish line is because of disinvestment, but the grassroots organizations were able to get creative and get us here. We need everyone invested in this runoff to trust the grassroots organizations on the ground who truly know the state and who have been fighting the fights for the past couple of years. Plug in where you can, but leave the program building and infrastructure creating to us.
Supporters can be most helpful by financially supporting and donating to Georgia-based organizations. Supporting grassroots organizations is a multi-issue, multi-racial and multi-generational investment, and the easiest way to do that is by supporting Georgia’s progressive funder table Georgia Alliance for Progress. They are working hard to ensure that all our Georgia’s grassroots organizations conducting massive direct voter contact are well funded as soon as possible. Give to them.
Demand counties to offer as many early vote days as legally possible
The timeline of this runoff election is extremely concerning. The shortened runoff early vote period overlaps with Thanksgiving, a “state holiday” that until recently was declared Robert E. Lee Day, and college final exam periods. Furthermore, due to the Secretary of State refusing to centralize Georgia’s elections, our voting rights coalition is being forced to call every county to figure out when exactly early voting begins in all 159 counties (a county system that is still based upon Georgia’s Confederate plantation system).
We demand the State Election Board and the Secretary of State’s office to do everything in their constitutional power to expand the early vote period.
If you want to plug in directly, you must work with and follow the lead of Georgia’s progressive coalition
Many people want to come down here to help us win. So our demand is this: if you want to show up in Georgia, embed yourself in the America Votes Georgia coalition led by the amazing Leslie Small. Showing up and working outside of the coalition fragments our collective power. The infrastructure has been built and is ready for what’s ahead, but right now, we need to stand together in full force.
Listen to and trust Georgia’s local organizers
Listen to, trust, and stand by Georgia’s local organizers and organizations. This is hard and dangerous work. We’re bracing for a wave of MAGA insurrectionists coming into our state to intimidate and threaten our work. Political violence is real, and it’s important for everyone who believes in democracy to voice their support for democracy.
We know we have the power to make a difference and turn out the votes as we did in 2020’s runoff. Care In Action knocked on 1 million doors, and the Georgia coalition knocked on 10 million in total. If we didn’t invest in grassroots mobilization, this massive turnout would not have happened
If we invest in the infrastructure our coalition has built, talk to voters who have often been forgotten about, and turn out the vote, we will win. Our coalition is strongest in Georgia, and our collective power to reach every voter in the state needs to be respected.
Hillary Holley is the Executive Director of Care in Action, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group dedicated to fighting for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States, most of whom are women of color and immigrant women. Hillary is a proud Georgia native who has dedicated over half of her 30 years working in Georgia’s movement spaces, including helping to launch and working on the historic 2018 Stacey Abrams campaign.
SEE ALSO:
Georgia Senate Runoff: All The Ways To Help Sen. Warnock Beat Herschel Walker
