This is an exciting/crazy/frightening election year, so of course one of my mitzvot had to be related to the Democratic cause.  Thanks to my cousin Sharon, I was connected with  Durham Democratic Women,  an activist organization that focuses on issues that are critical to the well-being of Durham women and their families, within
our county, our state, and our nation.  Their website explains,  “25,000 Democratic women voters in Durham vote inconsistently, or not at all. Since 2008, Durham Women Vote has reached out to infrequent and new women voters through personal, handwritten letters and encouraged them to vote Democratic as the Democrats consistently support issues that are important to women. Studies show that the single biggest reason that women do not vote is that they think that their vote doesn’t matter. Other studies show that women listen to women. With a strong turnout of women voters, Durham can make the difference in the outcome of the election for all Statewide candidates.  Voters who received our letters in the past, turned out at significantly higher percentages than those who did not receive a letter.”

Out came the pen!  It’s actually hard to handwrite letters when you are just used to using a computer, where you can edit as you go along.  I really could have used some white out!  I utilized three different models from the website, combining and deleting to compose a meaningful letter.  I hope it makes a difference!  Otherwise, I may move to Canada .  .  .