It’s 6:49 am, and I just finished crying. 

Before that I tossed and turned in bed for an hour visualizing various awful scenarios: military tanks in the streets, deportations, women dying from septic shock around the country, gay marriage being overturned, chaos, so much crying, so much cruelty, and more chaos.

I don’t cry as much now as I did in the four years between 2016 and 2020. In a way the trauma of those four years hardened me emotionally. Perhaps they did the same to you as well. Like you, I’ve learned to live with the constant fear and terror about what horrific law will be passed somewhere restricting yet one more thing that someone (usually a woman or a person of color, or wait… this list could get pretty long) can’t do. This morning I just kept saying to myself: “I don’t know how I’m going to do it again. I just don’t know how to prepare myself to live in a dictatorship.”

I let the fear get the best of me this morning, spilling out through my eyes. I talked it over with my fiance, Dale (I know, I know… how can I be so lucky!) who reminded me that someone somewhere is actively – perhaps just to make a buck or two – trying to make me feel this way. He reminded me that the answer to my question is simply: “We won’t let that happen.”

Then I saw Robert Hubbell’s latest newsletter which reminded me – as it did him –that action is the antidote to anxiety and the trauma we all feel. And I remembered from Sharon Lord Greenspan – your favorite Czar of most things, and mine – that joy is an act of fierce resistance to that trauma. 

The thing about trauma is this: People who are traumatized are incredibly functional. Trauma teaches us to avoid more trauma – so let us use this trauma to do the work we know we must do, each in our own way. We each have the power to repel that active push to dismantle us emotionally. Our job right now is to look persecution, hate, doubt, and distraction straight in the face and slap it senseless with conviction, action, optimism, and love. 

I have a Partnerships meeting in just a couple of hours. I’ll be meeting with other volunteers who are doing the work. That’s what keeps me going.

Don’t know where to start? You can volunteeer or donate immediately. Both help Field Team 6 save the world by registering more Democrats. There’s also a Welcome to Field Team (for volunteers) event coming up you can sign up for HERE. And if you are part of an organization that wants to do partisan voter registration, sign up HERE.

– Kala Maxym - Partnerships Lead, Field Team 6

ps – This was posted yesterday in Slack by our Textbanking Co-Czar, Meredith. “We just finished WI-- 1 MILLION TEXTS YO!!”

DEMOCRACY'S FIRST RESPONDERS BRIEFING UPDATE: IT WAS AMAZING!

You're probably exhausted by having to cheer up your family, friends and fellow activists after that brutal debate, which has now divided the party on Biden's fate. Throw in a bunch of hellacious SCOTUS decisions. And that's after pulling yourself out of the dumps. We get it – we're right there with ya. That's why we served up a heaping, healthy dose of info, inspiration, and insight at "Democracy's First Responders Briefing: A Conversation about SCOTUS, that Debate, and our Path to Victory!.”

If you couldn’t attend then watch the video HERE. You'll see our special guest, leading constitutional law scholar Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of UC Berkeley Law School, plus other featured guests: Helen Zeldes, one of the lawyers who brought down Trump University, Maya May, Host of the Lincoln Project's "We're Talking" podcast, our FT6 "Czar of Most Things" & Leader of the "Jumpstart for the Weary Activist" workshop, Sharon Lord Greenspan, and Social Impact Strategist Katie Grossbard!

POP GOES THE RECORD! BYOP BREAKS 100,000 TEXTS IN JUST ONE WEEK!

We love free texting! We call it BYOP or Bring Your Own Phone, although it actually uses your own computer with an anonymized Google Voice number. And it's a great way to register new Democrats! In fact, we sent a whoppin' 100,000 BYOPin' texts last week! Using our metrics from the 2022 cycle, after outreach, 1 in 3 get registered as blue or purple voters. Yep, that’s a sexy 33,333 battleground state progressive registrations from just one week of BYOP! Boom!

Our new and improved BYOP texting is easier, faster, and more effective than we ever could have imagined! And our expert trainer Deb and her team continue to build the trained volunteer BYOP army corps with weekly BYOP Bootcamps. Join us on Saturday, July 13 at 10a PT/1p ET. Sign up HERE.

SATURDAY, JULY 13: MASSIVE ARIZONA AND NORTH CAROLINA TEXTBANKING!

When it comes to crucial battleground states, Arizona and North Carolina are super-crucial and mega-battlegroundy! They will be won by the narrowest of margins – and could well decide the White House, Senate, and House. So we need to register every possible Democrat, and we need YOU to make it happen. Join us Saturday, July 13 at 11a PT/2 p ET – and help us text 1 million unregistered likely Democrats in Arizona and North Carolina. Sign up HERE – help us keep the Tar Heel State from going to the Dark Side and the Grand Canyon State looking grand!

WEDNESDAY, JULY 17: ZOOM DONOR SESSION!

Join this 30-minute Zoom to hear from FT6 Founder Jason Berlin how we have delivered 2.3 million voters, winning elections in swing states and districts since 2019...how we plan to take back the House, protect the Senate, and keep the White House in November...why our digital voter registration is the single most effective (and cost-effective!) way to win elections...and how your support can fuel victory in November! Bring your real or digital checkbook and get all your questions answered! Join us Wednesday, July 17, at 12p PT/3p ET. RSVP HERE.

THURSDAY, JULY 18: FUN & FAST TEXT ARCADE FOR FLORIDA!

Trump won Florida in 2016 and 2020, but with abortion on the ballot, it could be up for grabs in November. So shine a light on the Sunshine State at our Text Arcade – you get to blast out 1,400 texts and help us register likely Democrats in Florida – all for just 25 bucks (other donors subsidize the costs, but your ticket helps us reach more folks!). Join us on Thursday, July 18 at 3p PT/6p ET. Get your ticket HERE.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1: JUMPSTART FOR THE WEARY ACTIVIST (AIN'T WE ALL)!

Join Field Team 6 multi-hyphenate Czar (Postcarding, Mobilize, Zoom, Newsletter) Sharon Lord Greenspan and Field Team 6 super activist Cathy O'Krent, as they discuss strategies for remaining positive and active through the political adversity and general chaos we face daily. This meeting of like-minded folks will leave you feeling refreshed, regenerated, and equipped with the tools you need to get back to full strength. Get rejuvenated on Thursday, August 1 at 5p PT/8p ET. Sign up HERE.

CLICK THE VOLUNTEER OPS BUTTON BELOW TO...

Register Democrats by phone, text, and postcard in our 2024 target states:

AZ, CA, FL, GA, MI, MT, NC, NV, NY, OH, PA, and WI!

FIND IN-PERSON VOTER DRIVES

Register Democrats on the ground in

Columbus, Morrow, and Tyrone, GA!

VOTER DRIVE TRAININGS

Learn on Zoom to lead your own voter drive!

AND SOCIAL STORMING TRAINING

Help us generate another 4 billion impressions this cycle -

all from the comfort of your social media accounts! 

No social media experience required!

Let's do this!

SEND SOME EMAILS, SAVE PENNSYLVANIA, MIC DROP!

Pennsylvania is a must-win state in 2024! It has the largest number of electoral votes (19) of all the swing states. In 2024, PA voters can help keep the presidency, re-elect Bob Casey Jr. to keep the US Senate Democratic, and help take back the House. And all it takes is registering new PA Democrats to vote!

Volunteer Lee Maxwell asked us to set up a specific page to raise the $ needed to get more email addresses and send emails to register PA Democrats! He blasted out an email to his friends and has raised over $1,000 already! Donate HERE. Emails work!

NEW NATIVE ARTISTS’ POSTCARDS CAN REGISTER MORE NATIVE AMERICANS!

Want to write postcards to help Native Americans get registered? We have a new series of postcards created by a talented group of Native American artists for just this project. Find them HERE.

We’ve also raised $1,575 of our $5,000 goal to buy more data for unregistered, likely Democratic Native Americans. Native Americans face far too many hurdles to register and vote, but with the data we buy, we can help. Please join us and be a part of the effort: just chip in any amount HERE – and thank you!

THE "F" IN "FT6" REALLY STANDS FOR "FASHION!"

We think you should look snazzy as you save the world, so we've got the solution: our new "Register" t-shirt and sweatshirt collection!

The tops come in a slew of different colors and patterns, and they all have an easy-to-scan QR code on the back that takes people right to Voterizer.org where they can register to vote! It's a multi-purpose shirt – the Swiss Army knife of clothing!



Bonus points: our shirts and sweatshirts are union-printed on soft cotton, so they're extra comfy, plus they make gorgeous gifts for all your left-leaning friends and family. Check out the full collection (and postcards, flyers, stickers and more) at our store HERE!