Volunteer
*BADM is dedicated to encouraging voters to participate in the democratic process and
increasing voter turnout. We support voter participation and education through various
outreach projects such as writing postcards, block walking, phone banking, opening and staffing
a local democratic headquarters, recruiting precinct chairs, screening candidates for
endorsements etc.
Block Walking
Face to face conversations are proven to be the most effective for mobilizing people to vote. These conversations empower people to vote all the way down the ballot. You should do this with your friend group, but you can increase your impact exponentially by block walking a neighborhood. It is fun, great exercise, and a great way to meet your neighbors, or explore other neighborhoods! We DO NOT knock on every door. Our lists are targeted to reach folks who will likely be receptive to our information. In fact, many voters thank us for information on the local elections that fly under the radar. We do not send you out alone, unless you prefer that. If you have never done it before, no problem! We will send you with a seasoned pro. We organize blockwalks around the area of TX HD129, TX SD11, and CD36. The lists contain 25-40 doors and take about 1-2hrs, but can be completed on your own schedule if you like. If you would like to join the BADM block walking team, please fill out the volunteer form and click the box for block walking or email bayareademocraticmovement@gmail.com
Phone, Text, or Mail
If you are unable to knock on doors, we create careful lists of voters to call, text or mail to. Some voters are hard to reach because they live in gated communities, so we create phone lists and mail lists to reach them. Some projects involve a personal touch, some are just folding paper, stuffing envelopes and sticking stickers. This work is easy, accessible, and necessary. If you’d like to do this kind of work with us, please fill out our volunteer form or email bayareademocraticmovement@gmail.com
Voter Registration
Texas has some of the most complex voter registration laws in the country. It is a form of vote suppression. In order to register voters you must first become VDVR certified in every county where you want to register voters. In Harris County you must sign up here to take a short class and get your certification and voter registration materials. State law requires that you renew this certification on every ODD year. Therefore, f you got VDVR certified in 2024 you need to get re-certified in 2025. Once you are registered we can hook you up with opportunities to register voters in our area. Reach out if you need any guidance. Please fill out our volunteer form or email bayareademocraticmovement@gmail.com with any questions.
Precinct Chair
Relational organizing is even more effective than block walking. A voting message means more when it comes from a friend or neighbor, because you have shared experiences. You also know more about your neighbors than any app or service. You know if someone moved or moved in. You know if a person flies a rainbow flag every June. Precinct chairs/captains help to grow a network in a specific community. The designated boundaries of a precinct are cut by the state/county (you can find yours here). Areas that have an active precinct chair have much higher voter turnout. We need folks to work in their community, reach out to us if you are interested in learning more about precinct chair or captain, bayareademocraticmovement@gmail.com or you can sign up with Harris County Democratic Party and learn more about the position here.
Activism
At every BADM meeting we have a call to action - a topic to contact your representatives about, or a protest. We meet on the 2nd Tuesday of every month except January and July. Dinner and drinks are served, and it’s a great way to meet other folks who are organizing in our area. On our facebook page and in our newsletters we regularly post ways to get involved. Additionally, if you have a cause or subject close to your heart, or you can post it directly on our forum.
Endorsement Process
For every major election (midterm, presidential, city) we do endorsements. You can see our procedure for endorsements here. If you join the endorsement committee you will be assigned a race and screen all the candidates in that race - meaning you will get to meet with them or a representative. You can ask questions about policies directly, or listen in as others ask questions. This is an amazing opportunity to learn more about these elected office positions and how they work for us. If you’d like to be involved in this process, you must first JOIN the Bay Area Democratic Movement. Then reach out to us at bayareademocraticmovement@gmail.com if you’d like to be involved. Our endorsement quality is better with diverse viewpoints.
Headquarters
Every presidential or midterm election Bay Area Democratic Movement opens a Headquarters to help organize our volunteers and inform voters. At HQ we usually will have indoor projects to do, and block walking turfs to do on your own time. It is also a place to pick up yard signs, t-shirts, stickers, information about the candidates and more. We have a staff of volunteers who help to greet and inform voters as well as manage indoor volunteer projects. This staff of volunteers also helps with running the register to sell any merchandise for sale. This is a great way to get involved! If you’d like to do this kind of work with us, please fill out our volunteer form or email bayareademocraticmovement@gmail.com
Democratic Organizations
The cavalry is not coming, we are the cavalry, so to speak. Harris County Democratic Party and Texas Democratic Party could really use our help and your dollars go far with these groups. If you can spare a few extra dollars, please donate to them. We are outspent 10x over by Republicans in Texas. The DNC, DCCC, DSCC (big democratic groups) do not send any money our way. Meanwhile running one of the biggest states and counties in the counties. Beyond that, see our list of local clubs and organizations to get involved with in our area.
Volunteer Basics
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Texas House District 129
House District 129 is the area where BADM predominately focuses our “Get Out The Vote” efforts.
