Adopt a swing state, like you did in the lead-up to the 2020 election–except do it for the long term.

As we readied for the November 3, 2020 election, Vote Save America and others encouraged us to adopt a swing state–a state that hovered between turning blue or red, and could affect the outcome of the presidential race.

In 2020, most regarded the following as swing states:

Pennsylvania

North Carolina

Florida

Arizona

Michigan

Wisconsin

Now that we know the results of the 2020 election, we at OTYCD think it’s fair to include:

Texas, because of what we know about its demographics, and because of the good work Beto O’Rourke and his group, Powered x People, have done there; and

Georgia, which went blue thanks to the efforts of local organizers such as Stacey Abrams and Fair Fight Action, and Nse Ufot and the New Georgia Project.

We at OTYCD think it makes sense to adopt a swing state for the long term. Elections are the end result of a crap-ton of organizing, planning, and investment.

Flipping a swing state blue requires steady attention, not just a few months’ worth every two or four years.

To this end, we at OTYCD intend to produce resource pages for all the swing states (and eventually, all 50 states, plus American territories). They’ll be along the lines of the page we created for the twin Georgia runoffs.

But! Don’t feel like you have to wait until we produce a page for every swing state we list above before making a choice.

If you live in one of the states named above, great! Go ahead and adopt it.

If you don’t, well, there are no rules for how to choose one. It can be a state where you have relatives or ancestors. It can be a state where you lived once. It can be a state you’d love to visit someday. It can be a state you choose just because you like the way its outline looks on a map. It’s entirely up to you.

Once you’ve made your choice, start reading about your swing state. Learn who represents it in Congress. Read about its history. Learn how its 2020 races shook out.

Research. Find out which grass-roots organizations helped under-represented populations register to vote. Learn more about those organizations. Follow them, volunteer for them, donate to them

Think about what your swing state might need and how you can help, both right away and in the long term.

Help your swing state build its infrastructure now, so it’s ready for the next election.

Subscribe to One Thing You Can Do by clicking the button on the upper right of the page. And tell your friends about the blog!