Florida Democrats Hosted 1st Virtual Weekend of Action Six Months Before Election
May 4, 2020
FLORIDA - Over the weekend, the Florida Democratic Party (FDP) hosted its first virtual Weekend of Action just six months ahead of election day. Across the state, volunteers participated in dozens of live online trainings and called voters to conduct wellness check-ins and enroll them in vote-by-mail. By the numbers:
Over 250 volunteers made calls to Floridians across the state
Over 550 volunteers took part in one of dozens of live virtual trainings provided by FDP University on topics ranging from an introduction to digital organizing to how to set up a virtual phone bank .
Nearly 16,000 voters were contacted over the course of the weekend
“Our successful first all-digital weekend of action shows us that Floridians are energized and ready to turn Donald Trump’s home state blue in November, said Juan Peñalosa, FDP’s Executive Director. “Our work mobilizing voters has never been more important -- the crisis has taught us that Trump’s incompetence is dangerous and we cannot afford another four years of his mismanagement.”
“We have been organizing Floridians remotely for over a month and this weekend of action allowed us to harness enthusiasm from our volunteers and reach out to Floridians in every corner of the state,” said Chris Hill, FDP’s Field Director.
Traditionally, weekends of action are centered around an in-person canvass launch where volunteers meet at a specific location and then head out with their clipboards to knock on doors or canvass high-traffic areas. FDP re-created that experience for volunteers virtually last weekend by using video conferencing to meet with and train volunteers before their phone banking shifts.
The virtual weekend of action allowed Democrats to conduct wellness check-ins with residents across the state to help connect them with local resources -- such as food banks, delivery services, testing centers, and access to technology so their children can do virtual learning.
Last month, FDP shifted our team of 100+ staff and 15,000+ volunteers online. FDP’s team of organizers and volunteers have called, texted and directly messaged more than 1.5 million Floridians since April 1st.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Frances Swanson
415-830-2631