In 2024, FLIP NC's voter outreach aimed to (1) turn out left-leaning voters, (2) reduce ballot dropoff in state court races, and (3) spread the word about the importance of our state courts through canvassing, lit drop, text banking, and social media. Our analysis suggests that our direct voter outreach added a total of ~5.7k votes statewide for Justice Riggs.
Learn more about our 2024 voter outreach analysis and impact in this detailed post.
It’s hard to stay on top of all the horrifying news coming out of Washington every day – much less react to it. But it’s precisely because this is their strategy – to overwhelm and disorient us – that it’s so important to fight back. Resistance is essential, and it works. That’s why we’re returning to our Indivisible roots (yes, FLIP NC started out as an Indivisible group back in 2017) to hold the line while continuing to focus on the state-level battles where we can have the most impact. Check out this guide, which offers clear, strategic calls to action to resist authoritarianism and build our movement for a democracy that works for everyone.
Most importantly: Don’t let them overwhelm you into inaction. Instead, protect your peace while maintaining your energy by deciding what your “thing” is and focusing on that. No one can do everything, but we can all do something.
To help, here are three ongoing ways to resist that are worth your time.
Andrea, a Durham resident, is the FLIP NC communications director behind content such as this Meet a FLIPster blog series, our newsletter, and our social media. A former newspaper reporter and magazine editor, she now owns and operates Andrea Cash Creative, helping her small-business and nonprofit clients with content strategy and creation, branding, PR, social media, and video and event production.
Here, a Q&A with Andrea. And be sure to join her in our voter outreach efforts!
It's another Meet a FLIPster – video edition!
Right after our big August canvass in flippable Wake County (80 canvassers! 1,200 doors knocked! 400 conversations!), we chatted with Durhamite Bryan Luukinen, a first-time canvasser. We asked Bryan what's motivating him to volunteer this election season, what's troubling him about the current NC General Assembly, and how his first canvassing experience compared to his expectations.
We're so glad Bryan is returning for more FLIP NC canvasses this fall! Watch this Q&A, and then sign up to join him! We have plenty of voter outreach opportunities!
Neighbors on Call has done a great job of spreading the word about our canvasses, resulting in fantastic FLIPsters like Ben, who works in manufacturing and lives in Chapel Hill.
“I attended a magnet boarding high school with a pretty oppressive administration,” Ben says. “That’s where I learned to question authority and fight for what’s right.”
Once he went to college and throughout his 20s, he didn’t pay much attention to politics, but the age of social media put it all right in the spotlight and made the process and results of the process so much more tangible.
And, “Mike Brown’s death in Ferguson really lit the fire for me,” Ben says.
Here, a Q&A with Ben. And be sure to join him at one of our upcoming canvasses!
Susan moved to Chapel Hill in the spring of 2016 after retiring from a 40-year career in the tech industry, working for companies like Digital Equipment Corporation in Massachusetts and Dell and Compaq in Texas.
“I spent so many years in a solid blue state and then a solid red state, where the need or potential for change was limited, that I was never particularly active,” Susan says. “I admired the Civil Rights workers of the ’50s and ’60s and regretted I didn’t have the opportunity to contribute to such important movement, to make a difference like that.”
Upon moving to North Carolina, Susan volunteered for the Hillary Clinton campaign as a way of meeting like-minded people. “And boy, did I! After the election, our campaign team decided to band together, and Neighbors on Call was founded,” says Susan. “So, finally, an opportunity to make a big difference.”
Here, a Q&A with Susan. And be sure to sign up to join her at an upcoming canvass!
It's another Meet a FLIPster – video edition!
Right after our record-breaking July Wake County canvass (80 canvassers! 1,200 doors knocked!), we chatted with Durhamites Brian and Jenni Murphy, who were first-time FLIP NC volunteers.
"I was really scared going into it, and it was so totally not something to be scared of," Jenni said. "People were really excited and really grateful to talk to us."
We're grateful that they've already made plans to come back and talk to more voters!
Watch our video Q&A with the Murphys, and join them in our voter outreach efforts this fall!
Anjali had never canvassed before her FLIP NC days. She has lived in North Carolina for most of her life. An NC State graduate with a CPA license, she has not always been politically activated.
“It is so much more than just politics these days,” she says. “What's happened since Trump became our leader has made me more aware of things going on in our country and around the world. There are so many ways to get involved and feel like you're making a difference, that it's hard not to contribute in some way. I just want to show my daughter that it's OK (and actually, great!) to care and do something about it.”
Here, a Q&A with Anjali. And be sure to join her at an upcoming canvass!
An Orange County resident, Claudia is an author and retired professor of history at Duke. Back in her grad school days, she did some telephone sales and door-to-door opinion surveys. She hated being intrusive and swore she’d never solicit again. “Over the last four decades, nothing made me reconsider until the 2016 election,” she says. “Knocking on doors is still challenging, but the community spirit in FLIP NC inspired me to venture out of my comfort zone.” To date, she’s canvassed with us about six times.
Here, a Q&A with Claudia. And be sure to sign up to join her at an upcoming canvass!
Today, we’re bringing you Meet a FLIPster – video edition! We chatted with Brigitte Lyons, the founder of a boutique PR and digital marketing agency who lives in Carrboro, right after our July 22 Wake County canvass.
She has canvassed with FLIP NC about four times but has also done GOTV work for campaigns.
“For me, it’s just really about not feeling helpless. … I’m trying to take back my power by going out and sharing this message that there are things we can do. That voting matters. Canvassing matters. … [Volunteering] makes me feel better, to be honest,” she says.
Watch our video Q&A with Brigitte, and join her at an upcoming FLIP NC canvass!
How many of you wish you could jump in a time machine, return to late summer/early fall of 2016, and do a little more work to change the outcome of the election? You’d gladly knock some doors, make some calls, and interact with strangers to see Hillary Clinton in the White House today, wouldn’t you? Let’s not feel any regret on election night 2018!
Imagine how great it’s going to feel as Nov. 6th draws to a close if we manage to break the supermajority in the NCGA, take control of the House for the first time since 2010, defeat the constitutional amendments, and put Anita Earls on the Supreme Court! Help us get out the vote! Some of you may have dozens of hours to give, and others may struggle to find four spare hours over the next few months, but please do what you can to pitch in. We don’t need to change minds. We DO need to get Democrats and left-leaning independents to the polls in record numbers.
Here are some ways you can make a difference by helping to bring a blue wave to NC in 2018.
Today’s featured FLIPster keeps super busy on the weekends playing around the Triangle in his rock cover band, Andrea Cash & Kings of the Highway, along with our communications director, the aforementioned Andrea Cash. Dan is a hugely talented guitarist and singer. But even after a gig that goes until 1 a.m. on a Sunday morning, he still makes time to canvass with FLIP on many Sunday afternoons.
Dan has lived in North Raleigh since 1993. He works as an industrial designer, specifically on medical devices. His political past is peppered with variety. “I would say I've always been politically aware. I was actually a registered Republican until several years ago. I voted for both Reagan and [George H.W.] Bush twice,” he says. “What turned my thinking around was observing how President Clinton was treated when he was in office. It made me realize the Republican Party cared more about their power than what was good for the country. That situation has only gotten worse, and by orders of magnitude.”
Here, a Q&A with Dan.
It’s a two-fer this week!
Here’s a fun date idea: Go canvassing together! Andrew and Marnie Ross, a married couple from Chapel Hill, have done this seven times with FLIP NC. It turns out life partners make pretty great canvassing partners, too. Known for their gourmet cooking, they also host FLIP NC’s data entry team meetings monthly at their home – and they feed our number crunchers quite well!
Marnie grew up a military kid. She has now lived in North Carolina for a combined total of 17 years, the longest she’s spent in one state. She works at UNC.
Andrew grew up with parents who traveled the world and lived in impoverished countries when they were young. He was taught from an early age to get involved in order to see the change he desired for society – and to fight for those unable to fight for themselves. He has lived in Chapel Hill since 2007 and works for a retired business owner and philanthropist. Here, a Q&A with the couple.
Isabel, a Chapel Hill resident, is the daughter of two public servants. Her mother was a public school teacher in New York City, and her father was a union organizer. Her professional career has had many dimensions to it – both in the private sector (trade book publishing in New York City) and the public sector (as a social worker at the Chapel Hill Police Department and the founder of a nonprofit focused on adolescent mental health). Currently, she works at Book Harvest in Durham, an organization that is devoted to addressing inter-generational poverty by ensuring that access to literacy resources and supports are available to every child. While Isabel considers herself a bit of an agitator and activist, she generally defines herself as a wife and mother above all things. Especially germane to her involvement with FLIP NC, her son Will Guzzardi is a state representative in Illinois from the 39th District in Chicago. “My son is fighting the good fight in a state that, while traditionally Democratic, still bears the trappings of entrenched power struggles and budget challenges,” Isabel says. “Will is teaching me so much about how to advocate for legislation that protects workers and wages, education, and the economy. It’s a tough world our legislators live in.” Here, a Q&A with Isabel.
Mark is retired from NCDOT, where his job before moving into management was meeting with property owners to acquire the right of way for new road projects – everything from paving dirt country roads to building I-540. His first extensive canvassing was in Chicago, often for candidates not supported by “the Daley machine,” such as George McGovern in 1972. “I admired some things about the machine, such as the starter jobs they provided to some low-income youth, but it wasn't reliably progressive, to say the least,” Mark says. Here, a Q&A with Mark.
The primary is behind us. We know which candidates will be on the ballot. And there are many reasons to be hopeful that we can finally break the Republican supermajority in the NC General Assembly – and possibly even take back the NC House altogether. But canvassing will play a crucial role in this election. Here’s why.
Live in the Triangle? Want to see a more balanced NCGA? Want to restore the governor’s veto power? Here’s where you should be working and who you should be working for as the November election approaches! We need volunteers to get out, educate fellow North Carolinians, and urge them to VOTE!
Our best opportunity to break the supermajority and restore the governor's veto power is to focus on the NC House, where Democrats need a net gain of 4 seats to break the supermajority and 15 seats to pull even. Just think of it – we can gain 4 seats within the 919 area code alone!
Some members of our FLIP NC team have day jobs that require them to spend their days typing on a computer. Ann spends hers hula hooping. Yes, for 10 years, the Carrboro resident has been a professional hula hooper, traveling to teach adults how to dance with a hula hoop. Before that, she worked at the Center for Death Penalty Litigation as a mitigation investigator. She’s also a trained editor, and she writes poetry and sings for fun. Ann has a long history of political involvement. She canvassed during the 2000, 2004, and 2008 elections and participated in the Occupy and Moral Monday movements. Here, a Q&A with Ann.
Kumi is an infectious disease epidemiologist on the faculty of UNC's school of public health. Her focus on HIV prevention forces her to contend with issues like health care access and chemical dependency. Even though she sees nothing “political” in these issues, the current climate has turned her into an accidental activist. The Chapel Hill resident had never canvassed before FLIP NC. Now she has three canvasses and some text banking under her belt! We appreciate her making the time, especially considering her travel schedule for work. Here, a Q&A with Kumi.
