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Primary races are the best opportunity to challenge incumbents and change parties

What do Donald Trump and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have in common? They both beat party favorites in primary elections.

Voters often complain about the lack of choices in the general election and wish for more options--in fact, factions of parties battle for a chance to have their candidate selected in the primary. Politicians are often more afraid of primary challengers than anything else. If you don’t like your candidates, show up for the primary!

Joe Crowley was seen as a possible successor to Nancy Pelosi in the Democratic party, but that didn't stop Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from challenging and defeating him in the primary. A similar surprise happened to Republicans a few years earlier, when House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was defeated by Tea Party-backed challenger David Brat.

What should I do next?

I'm not registered to vote.

You can register through Vote.org in two minutes. And you can find your polling place here.

I don’t know who to vote for.

That's okay! The key is to not stress about it, because not showing up guarantees you won't be represented. You don't need to know everything. Here are some simple ways to get started:

Find a friend whose values you respect and talk to them about how they're using their vote.
Go to Vote Smart, a non-partisan site, to find out about the stances, past votes, and issue ratings of politicians in your area.
Take this non-partisan five minute quiz to learn about how your values line up with the major political parties. If you know a party is a good fit for your values, you’re better off voting for a candidate for that party than not voting at all.
Search for a candidate's name online and see who endorses them. Endorsements send important signals about which groups trust the people running. Most states (with a few exceptions) let you bring your phone into the voting booth, in case you forget to do this earlier.
Remember, there is nothing wrong with filling out only part of the ballot. Your poll workers may ask you about it, but they just want to make sure you didn’t make a mistake. It's not a problem if you only vote in some of the races.

I'm still not convinced voting is worth it, but I'd like to make use of my vote somehow.

Even if you don't want to vote in your district, you may be able to donate your vote through the Emancipation Initiative to someone who's incarcerated, so they can have a political voice as well.

I want to get more involved.

Persuaded that more people should be voting? Be part of the change!

Remember that there will always be disinformation and efforts to interfere in the election. Talk to your friends about why voting is valuable. Feel free to share this guide.
Volunteer for a political campaign. There's a lot of work to be done, even during social distancing. It's easier than ever to help campaigns by calling, texting, or writing letters to voters.
When election day gets closer, look for apps that will help you connect to your friends and convince them to vote. Campaign apps will let you text people to remind them to vote.
Look for other local political causes to support with your time or money. Voting is important, but it's just the beginning of making change happen.

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Created by
Ben Struhl and Alexander Gard-Murray
in 2020

A Powderhouse Project