Postcards in the mail ...

Sending snail-mail to 500 Michigan voters

I mentioned in an earlier post that we were participating in the Progressive Turnout Project. Specifically, I volunteered to write 500 postcards to voters in Michigan. The Project would supply the postcards if I supplied the stamps - and time.

Progressive Turnout sent the blank postcards with instructions, recommended messages, a list of 500 progressive-leaning voters from both the Upper Peninsula and the Mitten, and about a month to get it done and in the mail.

I figured 15 a day should do it without too much trouble. If I skipped a day, though, that’s 30 the next day, which is tough work. Then my wife Nancy got involved and started writing some. Rebecca, visiting from the West Coast, wrote and signed a page-worth of names, and my sister Lisa in Michigan pitched in as well. We were finished with days to spare.

One big stack of postcards (or two sub-stacks) were dropped through the mail slot on the exact mailing date requested.

Each one was hand-written, hand-addressed and hand-stamped. I found it interesting to imagine what the person I was writing to did for a living in Ludington, or Pinconning.

Overall, I tried to send positive vibes. I hope those vibes make it through the US Postal Service before November 5th.

Substacks of postcards at the Post Office.

At times I wonder if these postcards will have any effect. What would it be like to get a postcard in the mail from a stranger? Somebody who only signs with a first name and no return address is mysterious at best.

After all that ink, all those school bus stamps, all that quiet time at the table, I’d like to think that those 500 postcards will motivate a few to vote.

Those voters might help make the difference in Michigan, and in the election.

But now that the cards are in the mail, our work here is done. We’re hoping for the best…