My name is Elizabeth Chur, and after the 2016 election, my life went in a completely new direction. I realized it’s up to each of us to protect our democracy. I started learning Spanish, began phone banking, and canvassed swing districts in California’s Central Valley. By talking with over 1,000 voters, I’ve discovered approaches that help me forge meaningful connections, especially with “high-potential voters” – the 34% of registered voters who did not vote in the 2020 election.

During the 2022 midterms I spent a month canvassing in the Bakersfield area, one of the nation’s most contested Congressional districts. I honed my craft, developing even more strategies for engaging with some of the hardest-to-reach voters, including young people, Latinx communities, and high-potential voters. Their honesty and generosity taught me so much, including the importance of empathetic listening even when I disagreed, taking advantage of chance encounters, and always saying yes to gifts of food and water.

Connecting one-on-one with voters is the most powerful tool we have to engage communities and nurture our democracy. I’m writing a book about what I’ve learned, and invite your support to help me finish it before the 2024 elections so I can share these ideas with you, my fellow citizen-activists. Thank you for your consideration!

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Elizabeth Chur is a volunteer with Swing Left San Francisco. Since 2020, she and her collaborators have trained more than 2,500 volunteers nationally through three workshops – Phone Bank Training for Introverts (& Friends), Spanish for Activists, and You and the 34%: How to Have Meaningful Conversations with High-Potential Voters.