VOTING EARLY IS THE WINNING STRATEGY | |
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Our Strategic Goals
★ Support Veterans and their Families
★ Defend our Constitution as Written and Amended
★ Protect the Nation at Home and Abroad
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O beautiful for spacious skies
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!
Katherine Lee Bates wrote "America the Beautiful" as a poem in 1893 after a visit to Pikes Peak Colorado.
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Time For A Precision Strike
This election season in Virginia is historic. Redistricting impacts on the General Assembly are now in full play. Forty-nine seats lack incumbents across both House and Senate Districts. Senior leadership gaps in the House and Senate promise new direction in Richmond – either forward or in reverse. Virginia and American Veterans Vote (AVV) are in a changed political era of new district lines and an open seat environment.
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Bob Wood
CEO, American Veterans Vote
LTG (R), US Army
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Surely one variable is now determined. The June 20 primaries are over and the slate is set. Candidates for all 140 seats (40 Senate, 100 House) in the Virginia General Assembly are determined. But control of Virginia’s future political path is balanced on the slimmest of margins in both houses. Current balance in the House is 50 R Delegate and 46 D Delegates. In the Senate, it’s 18 R Senators and 22 D Senators. A change of 2 or 3 seats in either house determines the path ahead – will Virginia break free from Governor Northham’s old agenda to mimic progressive California or continue on Governor Youngkin’s common sense path to ensure the Commonwealth becomes the best place for all Virginians to live, work, and raise a family? | | |
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AVV leadership met on June 17 in Richmond (not Sacramento) to finalize planning for the path to victory in November. Reverse planning from election day back was in order. WRONG. Absentee voting and early voting totals have effectively moved election outcomes to a date well before November 7th - Election Day. | | |
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Given this reality, AVV has deployed election and member support resources early. Maps are prepared. Site support items have been delivered. AVV’s website is undergoing major upgrades to better service members and supporters. Data is prepared now to allow AVV to target specific competitive races. Integration with new public sector and political partners, all focused on early voting and absentee ballot sign ups proceeds well. AVV media products are being revised and energized. The endorsement process is underway. And that was just Tuesday…. Not really - all good campaigns take time and we’ve been steadily preparing. Thankfully, our Regional Team leaders have been asking the right questions, building the right teams, and keeping higher HQ hopping.
Our Regional Teams (NOVA East, NOVA West, Central Region, SE Virginia) are up, running, and growing. With the candidates selected and competitive districts identified by AVV analysis, the good news is we have the right leaders, members, and supporters correctly positioned in the state. Every Veteran, Every Vote remains our objective. Luckily, our data tells us now which Veterans, which Votes will likely pay off the most, at the margin, to determine the tightest races. We know who needs a call, visit, or reminder.
Our data also shows that when it comes to motivating Veterans who skip state elections, the numbers per district are in the low hundreds, not thousands. And, where the HD and SD races are truly competitive in Virginia, the margin of victory or defeat is often below 1500 votes. Forget the other campaign noise. The work ahead is more a precision strike than a land campaign. Victory is very possible with organization, participation, and dedication. Sounds like Veteran business.
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Enjoy July, your family, and the sunshine (sometime soon!). But please realize the call to action for AVV members and supporters is coming soon. It will likely come from the regional leaders who will ask you to join this winning phase of AVV’s strategy. It will ask for straightforward engagements with Veterans and regional support to endorsed candidates. Targeted, precise, efficient actions. Keep track of breaking election news through our newsletter, website, social media, and weekly member updates. Call, email, find any AVV leader and ask to help win the skirmishes ahead in winning campaigns. Service continues. | |
"The work ahead is more a precision strike than a land campaign. Victory is very possible with organization, participation, and dedication." | |
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Honor past and present Veterans, current service members and steadfast families, and those who support them by VOTING. Easy, early, effective change through the ballot box.
VETERANS FORWARD
Sincerely,
Bob Wood
LTG (R), US Army
CEO, American Veterans Vote
AmericanVeteransVote.com
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Inspiration Corner
By
COL (R) Michael B. "Yama" Hoyes
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Founding Father and second President of our United States wrote this to his wife, on the first of July, 1776:
The second day of July 1776 will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more.
Our Declaration, written mostly by Thomas Jefferson (our third President), was approved on July 2 and adopted on July 4.
So here we are - a succeeding generation. Do we, as benefactors of what those Founders did, "solemnize with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations?" Do we partake in solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty? Solemnize, not just party.
Those who have served know about solemn oaths. May we spend this July being thankful for what God has provided us. May we earnestly strive to uphold the values put forth in that Declaration and our Constitution. May we teach those values to those who follow us, to enable solemnization "from this time forward forever more."
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A Veteran's Perspective
By
Michael Schoelwer
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One of the most fundamental obligations that the U.S. has when someone joins the military is that their immediate families will be taken care of while they are in service to the United States. However, in Virginia, with limited affordable workforce housing available and high cost of living near most bases, the U.S. efforts need dramatic strengthening if the U.S. is to live up to its obligations. | |
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AVV took a significant step toward addressing this issue on June 6 by bringing together the private sector and various levels of government in Virginia Beach, when AVV, in conjunction with the Hampton Roads Black Caucus, co-hosted a military family housing policy forum at the Central Library.
Lots of good information came from that forum. First, each level of government – federal, state, and local – has different parts of the issue and facets of the solutions. However, no single level has all of the answers or authorities, nor is there any formal body to coordinate any whole-of-government effort. Second, Virginia and the local governments have numerous programs for homeless. However, in many cases, these programs are targeted at those with underlying infirmities, such as addiction issues or mental illness. None of those apply to military families, who simply need access to adequate housing, decent schools, and childcare.
Solving this issue is critical for three reasons. First, inadequate housing undercuts readiness by making service members reluctant to deploy if they believe that their families will be at risk. Second, it impacts retention. Service members will not stay on active duty if it means their families face long-term sub-standard living conditions. Third, it undercuts the future of the force. Almost 75% of current service members are legacies - they joined because a family member served. Yet, who will want to serve a decade from now if all they remember about growing up is a life of inadequate support?
Much work remains, but progress can be made. AVV remains committed to being a catalyst to bring together those who can solve this problem. We have already obtained commitments from several non-profit Veterans and military groups, a defense industry association, two Congressional offices, several Virginia General Assembly members, and Virginia Beach city officials to organize an action forum. This is a worthy fight and AVV is proud to be involved in a leading role.
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Newsletter Key Takeaways
- Republics are dependent upon the active and informed involvement of the people
- Our republic is in a precarious situation and is not guaranteed
- Local voting empowers our Constitutional Republic to limit federal overreach
- Inaction is not an option - Veteran voters have the numbers to force change through the ballot box
- Fight political apathy; Veterans must be front and center in voter turnout, absentee ballot sign-ups, and early voting
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The Decisive Edge - Early and Absentee Voting
Use the following QR codes to:
- Register to vote
- Request an absentee ballot
- Track your ballot
It's a fact ...early mail-in voters decide the elections.
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American Veterans Vote, Inc. (AVV) is a volunteer team of Veterans and Veteran supporters who led the Veteran Coalition for Glenn Youngkin. We are a 527 Political Action Committee with a nationally-focused mission to promote the political voice of Veterans and mission partners in support of our three strategic goals:
- Support of Veterans and their Families
- Defense of the Constitution, and
- Promote Our Nation’s Security
AVV’s goal is to help Veterans maximize their political voice by supporting Veterans’ ability to Vote, Volunteer and Run for Public Office.
"Every Veteran, Every Vote."
We don't speak FOR Veterans... we speak AS Veterans.
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PAID FOR BY AMERICAN VETERANS VOTE | | | | |
