More than 4.4 million ballots were cast in Georgia's runoff election, and NEAT was honored to help reach that historic mark. Through our Virtual Phone Bank program, volunteers placed nearly 200,000 calls and connected with just under 100,000 voters in slightly over a month. We worked alongside Pro Georgia, a coalition of local progressive groups, to focus these calls and coordinate hundreds of their volunteers. We also formed a national coalition of 30+ organizations—including URGE, SAVE, PFLAG, LULAC and others—to recruit more volunteers and host remote phone bank parties.
Hersheda Patel, Director of Data at ProGeorgia, said, “NEAT has been an amazing partner [to ProGeorgia] during the Georgia Federal Runoff Election! They lent their amazing community outreach infrastructure and shared their network of active volunteers with Georgia. We hope to make this a lasting partnership as we continue to build progressive power coalitions for our shared communities in 2021 and beyond.”
Volunteers gave an incredible 1500+ hours to this campaign. NEAT hosted daily phone banks for over a month, with volunteers using OnDemand video training and making calls whenever it suited them best. Partners also arranged virtual house parties so volunteers could dial together and support one another. The campaign began by registering new voters, especially those who turned 18 after the November election. It then shifted to “get out the vote (GOTV)” calls, where we shared information on requesting absentee ballots, voting early in person, and navigating Georgia’s strict voter ID laws so every vote would count on election day.
“It was so inspiring to see people across the country come together to make calls for Georgia day after day; during lunch breaks, after classes and any free time in between,” explained Christine Thornton, NEAT’s Field Organizer. "I couldn’t be more proud of everyone who helped make this happen.”
As the COVID-19 pandemic continued nationwide, NEAT volunteers helped make voting safer by boosting absentee and early in-person turnout among the 4.4+ million people who cast ballots on January 5—a record that surpasses the 2.1 million ballots cast in the 2008 Georgia Senate runoff. This was NEAT’s final field campaign of 2020 and its 44th campaign since the organization began. Onward to more Justice in 2021!
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