Who are we?

At over 1100 members, SLNS/CA is the local volunteer-organized chapter of the national Swing Left https://swingleft.org/ movement that has been operating since 2017 - first working to flip the US House blue in 2018 and since then working in 12 Superstates to take back all the houses - and with the wins in the special elections in GA we succeeded! Now we need to work to preserve our wins - protect voting rights and organize for 2022.

Our membership and events range from Nahant to Salem, Beverly, Gloucester and Boxford and all points along the way.

What do we do?

Elect Democrats!!! Our goal has been and will in 2021 and beyond to develop strategic partnerships and find opportunities to do work that will not get done if we don't do it by leveraging the activism available in MA that exceeds our in state need.

In 2020 we had deep partnerships with Democratic and Progressive organizations in Maine and Pennsylvania, the nearest Super States, and worked with our partners on everything from voter registration, voter ID, and Get out the Vote.

Since January, 2020 we have written over 150,000 letters and postcards, working from our homes since the novel covid-19 pandemic hit in March. Some of our efforts include:

• Writing and sending out Reclaim Our Vote postcards to voters, mostly African American or Latino, in North Carolina, and Georgia to urge them to check that their voter registration has not be removed from the rolls, and to re-register. Later in the campaign season we continued to work with Reclaim our Vote in several states with Early Voting information.
• Urging Florida and Pennsylvania voters to sign up to vote by mail, which has been shown to dramatically increase their turnout.
• Registering voters in Maine and calling Democratic leaning voters in Maine who have not voted consistently to identify those who are going to help us defeat Sen. Susan Collins.
• Calling Democrats to vote in a special judicial election in Wisconsin, which we won despite Republican efforts to suppress the vote amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Raised thousands of dollars for the eventual Democratic presidential nominee and ready to put people on the ground, primarily in Maine and Pennsylvania, when the quarantine advisories are lifted.

What don’t we do?

Swing Left doesn’t endorse or work for candidates in primaries, uniting behind whoever the Democratic nominee is. And since Massachusetts is reliably blue, we focus not on Massachusetts but on key swing states outside of our “blue bubble.”   Swing Left also is not an independent expenditure group which means it can coordinate directly with campaigns and as volunteers we can be sure we are going where we are needed.

How can I help?

• Join us! Send us your email so you will learn about our actions and get our newsletter.
• Like us on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/573930416486217
• Introduce us to your circle of friends/colleagues who would like to get involved.

What's next????

Stay tuned! Over the next few weeks, Swing Left and others will be analyzing the 2020 election results, looking at the Congressional and Senate maps as well as the odd year VA ad NJ statewide elections to figure out where are best opportunities are to continue electing Democrats in critical races. We look forward to sharing that with you and putting together a plan that will allow us to have the most impact.

To learn more or to get updates from us: https://swingleft.org/group/swing-left-north-shore-boston

To ask a real person a question: Email alix.smullin@gmail.com.

Thanks for your interest!