Top Progressive Political Organizations Join Forces for Midterm Elections

Swing Left, Indivisible, MoveOn, and Others Unite to Launch “The Last Weekend”, a First-of-its-kind Coalition to Catalyze Unprecedented Nationwide Volunteering Efforts

JULY 17 2018 — Today, a broad coalition of leading progressive political organizations launched ‘The Last Weekend’, an unprecedented cultural and political initiative to catalyze nationwide volunteering leading up to and including the last weekend before the midterm elections (Sat 11/3 – Tues 11/6). The Last Weekend is the first time major progressive groups have united at this scale in a strong, coordinated effort to support Democratic candidates up and down the ticket, across the country. The coalition is organized by Swing Left and includes March On, MoveOn, Indivisible, Organizing for Action (OFA), the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA), The Collective PAC, Flippable, The Arena, Center for Popular Democracy Action, National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), Latino Victory, Progressive Turnout Project, NewFounders, MobilizeAmerica, Sister District, Wall of US, Working Families Party, Resistbot, Stand Up America, Democrats.com, #VOTEPROCHOICE, and United We Dream.

Whereas past get-out-the-vote efforts have focused on getting people to pledge or register to vote, The Last Weekend goes further, turning fired up voters into energized volunteers doing high-impact voter contact work on the most critical weekend of the electoral calendar, when studies show GOTV efforts are the most effective. By combining forces, the coalition will create a network effect that aims to secure sign-ups at thelastweekend.org of more than 1 million volunteer hours, ensuring a formidable, nationwide volunteer force dedicated to transforming the government. In addition to visiting thelastweekend.org, people can also commit to volunteer by texting WEEKEND to 50409.

The Last Weekend program will utilize a variety of tools to boost volunteer action between now and November, including leveraging celebrity volunteers to spread the message of political activism widely. Launching today with a special video [link] written by Rashida Jones and Pat Resnick, directed by Jones, and featuring Jones, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda, the content program will feature other notable individuals from entertainment, politics, and activism to drive volunteer engagement—including an upcoming video starring Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon.  Celebrity volunteers will also be signing up for volunteer shifts and doing critical voter contact work between now and November.

In addition to leveraging well-known names to engage volunteers, The Last Weekend will use a new, user-friendly online tool that allows volunteers to commit how many hours they can give on The Last Weekend and invite others to sign-up, too. On-the-ground teams will use this tool to gather volunteer sign-ups at summer and fall recruitment drives.

Work on The Last Weekend starts NOW. By signing up early, volunteers will be connected immediately with actions they can take between now and November 6th as well as educational and training resources to help them make the most of their time and energy. Signing up early will also allow campaigns to understand clearly the resources available to them and ensure that volunteer work is as strategic and impactful as possible.

For more information, visit thelastweekend.org.

Sean Rankin, DAGA Executive Director, statement on The Last Weekend

“The fight to protect healthcare, reproductive rights, workers’ rights, immigrant rights, and our environment is more important than ever—and electing Democratic Attorneys General is crucial to advancing these rights and stopping Trump in his tracks. Winning these fights also relies on strong coalitions like The Last Weekend (TLW), and as a committed partner in TLW, DAGA is doing its part in executing our collective plan for reaching voters early, keeping the energy up, and reinforcing to the American public that each of us can make a difference with our voice, our volunteer time, and on Election Day, our vote.” – Sean Rankin, executive director of the Democratic Attorneys General Association.