How New Yorkers Can Vote in Ohio

I have been trying to figure out a conundrum. How do I, a New York voter in a theoretically solid blue presidential state, get out the vote in Ohio and other swing states?

A week ago, I started studying voter statistics in Ohio and Florida — two critical swing states — to try and determine why some counties flip from red to blue and back again. I sent those results to County and other Democratic leaders in those states. I received some vague replies.

I continued to think hard about this. How can I assist getting out the vote in these critical swing states? I stayed up late, writing emails to Democratic leaders in the counties of Ohio and Florida asking to assist. I receive a couple of short responses but not much after that. It was frustrating.

I took a break and visited my daughter in Astoria, Queens. We walked and talked about it and came up with no answers. We kept walking. Somewhere, in beautiful Astoria Park, the answer appeared.

Two young women called out to us asking if we would like to “Vote Forward.”

“Vote Forward? What on Earth is that?” I asked.

Vote Forward is the answer to the question of how a person in New York, California, or other solid blue states can help get out the vote in North Carolina, Ohio, Florida, Georgia, and many other swing states.

I masked up and got closer to hear their pitch. What they told me was a deeply personal way to help get out the vote.