“Humanity is on the ballot, y’all. Please don’t be complacent, because otherwise we’re cooked,” Billy Porter said to an estimated 3,000 people who attended an hour-long Zoom call organized by a group called Broadway for Harris, listening to more than a dozen New York theater artists and activists, who spoke about specific issues to explain why they support Kamala Harris for president; what they’ve been doing or plan to do to help her get elected, and what those attending can do. And because it’s Broadway for Harris, there was even some entertainment: Shoshana Bean sang a Beatles song.
“We have many different reasons why we come together to support the Democratic ticket,” Shoshana Nyfack said. “For me, I see the possibility of a nation where it’s safe to be trans…”
Ashley Park talked about “our freedom and healthcare. Most Americans agree that we all deserve the right to decide whether and when to start a family. We seek a future where we can make decisions about our health and our families without fear… So I’m committing to phone banking for Kamala Harris’s campaign, reaching out to voters to spread the message and make sure our voices are heard, especially in my home state of Michigan.”
John Leguizama said “I’m gonna be there, yes, for women’s rights to their body, for immigrant rights, for dreamers, for our climate, for you name it. Everything’s at stake this year,…What am I going to do? I’m going to do as many in person rallies. I’m going to do Zooms. I’m going to call friends, I’m going to knock on doors. I’m going to call on all the people I know who are in power, I’m going to call all the people who are in my neighborhood, who are just regular Juans and Marias who need to be reached out to, who need to be tapped on their shoulder and said, your vote counts; it does matter.”
Composer Benj Pasek spoke from a van he was driving on a road trip . “In the past couple of election cycles, I have gone down to my home state of Pennsylvania on a bus and participated in democracy outreach, where you go around with your friends, you hop on a bus and you knock on door for Democratic candidates. So we’ve done it for Obama. We did it for Joe Biden. We did it for Hillary Clinton, and this year, we are so excited to get on busses and get out the vote in Pennsylvania for Kamala Harris. So join us. There’s going to be a bunch of busses that are going to go down to Pennsylvania over the course of September and October, and hopefully some really fun people that will be making the trip with you.”
There was a link and a QR code to a Volunteer Sign-up Form
Which asked whether you have a personal connection to any of the nine states they identified as swing states:
Arizona
Georgia
Michigan
Montana
Nevada
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Wisconsin
(Montana and Ohio, because of how crucial the “down-ballot” races for Senator in each state.)
Then it asks how you would like to participate
Phone banking
Canvassing on a bus to a swing district
Sharing social/digital content to help get out the vote
Attending an event or concert
Sign me up for anything, I’m in!
Other
And then it mentions specific opportunities coming up for which one can sign up:
PHONE BANKING via Zoom: Monday 9/9 at 8pm ET – w/ Shaina Taub, Nikki M. James, and other cast members from the Broadway musical SUFFS
PHONE BANKING via Zoom: Monday, 9/16 at 7:30pm ET – w/ Casey Likes, Kyle Selig, and other Jimmy Award Alum
PHONE BANKING via Zoom: Monday, 9/23 at 7:30pm ET – w/ To Be Announced
CANVASSING IN PA: Saturday 9/14 from 8:30am ET to 6:30pm ET w/ To Be Announced (NYC Pick Up/Drop Off)
CANVASSING IN PA: Saturday 9/21 from 8:30am ET to 6:30pm ET w/ To Be Announced (NYC Pick Up/Drop Off)
Alex Kramer, an actor who is the founder of Knock for Democracy, argued for how much the people attending this call could make a difference. “This election is going to come down to about 40,000 voters in battleground states showing up and voting for Kamala Harris and down-ballot Democrats, and we need to find the ways to reach them. Phone banking and door to door canvassing are some of the best tools we have… if each of the 3,000 signed up to be on this call tonight shows up for phone banking and canvassing over the next ten weeks, each could have conversations with at least 20 different voters who maybe need essential information about how to vote by mail, or need a gentle reminder that it’s Democratic positions on reproductive freedom that align with their values, or who just need that last minute nudge to put on their shoes and get out the door to vote on Election day. Three thousand of us having twenty conversations—that’s 60,000 votes right there. That is doing something.”
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