In the final days leading up to the presidential election, about 2,000 volunteers across the country are spending hours on the phone calling voters across 19 states. What are their goals? Get people who care about climate change to the polls, especially those who didn’t show up in the last presidential election.
You might expect this volunteer group, put together by the nonprofit Environmental Voter Project, to talk about specific candidates. Ultimately, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, who cast the deciding vote on the largest climate bill in congressional history, stands in stark contrast to Republican former President Donald Trump, who rolled back dozens of environmental protections and pulled the United States out of the climate crisis. Paris Climate Agreement. Although it is true that most voters choose to prioritize climate change; Democratic ticketThe Environmental Voter Project’s phone bank staff maintains a nonpartisan message. In fact, their script doesn’t even mention climate change.
In an election expected to be won by a very small margin, 8 million Registered voters who care about the environment but didn’t vote in 2020 can make a difference statewide, especially in states that are expected to be competitive. The group found 245,000 registered voters in Pennsylvania who care about climate change but rarely go to the polls.
“Climate voters and first-time climate voters can certainly make a difference this fall,” said Nathaniel Stinnett, founder and executive director of the Environmental Voter Project.
Research shows that climate voters turned out in 2020 and had a meaningful impact on the election. According to one report, climate change was the biggest factor forcing voters under 45 who previously voted third party or not at all to vote for President Joe Biden in 2020. Navigator Research Survey. Another analysis is University of Colorado BoulderWe found that, hypothetically, Biden would have lost. 3% If climate change didn’t affect voter preferences, it was enough to affect the election in the popular vote.
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Stinnett believes climate voting could be important in this year’s presidential election in Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina, three swing states with the highest percentages of voters who care about the climate but are least likely to vote, according to Environmental Voters. Modeling of the project. Since 2017, the group reports that it has helped convert more than 350,000 previously inactive voters in Pennsylvania into highly consistent voters. Biden won this state by just 80,555 votes in 2020. In contrast, it does not reach voters in Michigan. Because there aren’t many non-voting environmentalists in Wisconsin.
Of the 4.8 million “potential first-time climate voters” the volunteers are targeting across 19 states, nearly 350,000 have voted early, which Stinnett sees as a promising sign, Stinnett said. This includes 45,000 first-time climate voters in Georgia and more than 33,000 in North Carolina.
Anyone who cites climate change as their top priority is considered a climate voter. However, some segments of Americans (Democrats, women, young people, black, People with Asian and Pacific Islander heritage. “If you’re more likely to feel firsthand the effects of toxic air, toxic water and extreme weather, you’re probably going to be more concerned about the climate crisis and environmental issues,” Stinnett said.
Of course, climate voters have other concerns as well. That’s why volunteers from the League of Conservation Voters are knocking on 2.5 million doors across the country, asking potential voters what’s important to them and explaining how the issue connects to climate change. “We’re trying to tell them what’s important to them,” said Pete Maysmith, the environmental advocacy group’s senior vice president of campaigns. “That can be important, but it’s usually a lot less effective than asking someone what they care about.” He said. About 75% of voters the group spoke with said they planned to vote for Harris, who was selected by the League of Conservation Voters. approval.
The group is also working to reach voters online, including working with TikTok celebrities to reach younger voters and creating digital ads that run on platforms like Hulu and YouTube. One TikTok video features the “Queen of WaterTok.” We bake macarons decorated with Kamala Harris’ face while talking about the vice president’s efforts to tackle pollution. A new approach with a completely different approach digital advertising This picture, shown to voters in Georgia and North Carolina in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen, conveys the importance of the presidential election by showing how climate-enhanced storms could threaten babies born today. Typically during fires, floods, or hot weather. It has only a small effect on how people vote.Disaster can make a difference in a tight race.
The Environmental Voter Project has other ways to get voters interested in climate to the polls. The group has not endorsed any candidates and its volunteers do not talk to voters about climate change at all. Instead, the group uses tactics based on behavioral science to get people to vote and harness the power of peer pressure. For example, mailing out voting records and reminding them that they are public records. They also asked voters how they would vote early, by mail or on Election Day to avoid the option of not voting.
“What we’re trying to do is change someone’s behavior, not their mind,” Stinnett said.
