➤ ANXIOUS? DO THIS, from p.10
the social outreach coordinator
and legislative advocacy specialist
at LGBT Detroit, is faced with
the task of turning out voters in a
state that Trump won by less than
one-quarter of a percentage point.
While some swing states are seeing
closer races than others, Biden
has maintained a more consistent
lead in Michigan, where he was
beating Trump by 10 points in
a Morning Consult poll between
August 21 and August 30. A poll
from Public Policy Polling in late
August had Trump trailing Biden
by four points, with Libertarian
Party nominee Jo Jorgensen stealing
three percent of the spotlight
and Green Party nominee Howie
Hawkins mustering one percentage
point.
Totten told Gay City News that
his organization is focused on
phone banking and text banking
since in-person options are limited
due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He said his team, which is nonpartisan
because it is a 501(3)(c)
non-profi t, is not just contacting
voters to remind them to vote, but
also “aggressively” calling voters
who turn out consistently and asking
them to help reach those who
do not typically vote.
LGBT Detroit is prioritizing in
particular Michigan’s 13th Congressional
District, which is represented
by Congressmember
Rashida Tlaib,because, according
to Totten, the area has a large population
of LGBTQ people of color.
And, in light of the Trump administration’s
attempts to disrupt the
postal service, Totten also emphasized
that his team is discouraging
voters in Detroit from dropping off
their ballots at post offi ces.
“Here in Michigan we have certifi
ed drop-off locations,” Totten said.
“Right now we feel that is the safest
way to turn in your ballot.”
Those who want to get involved
with LGBT Detroit can contact the
organization at lgbtdetroit.org/contact
or sign up to volunteer online.
Democrats are also scrambling
to avoid a repeat of 2016 in Pennsylvania,
where voter surveys have
been scattered four years after
Trump won by a total of just over
44,000 votes. A Quinnipiac University
poll taken on August 31
and September 1 showed Biden
with an eight-point advantage over
Gregory O. Yorgey-Girdy, co-chair of Liberty City LGBTQ Democratic Club, is working to turn out voters in Philadelphia to prevent another Trump victory in
Pennsylvania.
Wes Davis, Equality Florida’s fi eld director, said his team is focusing on Miami-Dade County and central
Florida.
Trump, though a Monmouth University
poll taken the same week
showed Biden clinging to a fourpoint
lead among registered voters
and a razor-thin one-to-three point
lead among likely voters.
“We have to focus on Philadelphia,”
said Gregory O. Yorgey-
Girdy, who serves as co-chair of
Liberty City LGBTQ Democratic
Club, which organizes queer Democrats
in Philadelphia. “If we get
EQFL.ORG
people out in Philadelphia to vote,
we can overcome a lot of central areas
of Pennsylvania.”
Yorger-Girdy said his club is also
zeroing in on certain parts of Philadelphia
with signifi cant amounts
of Black voters as well as LGBTQ
people of color, including southwestern,
western, and northern
parts of the city.
“As a Black man, it is important
to me to get young Black voters
FACEBOOK/ GREGORY O. YORGEY-GIRDY
out,” he said. “What we’ve been doing
is going out to areas we typically
haven’t been going out to. Within
those pockets there are gay Black
people, but they’re just not as out
or maybe some people are struggling
with their identity, so I want
to be visible for those folks so they
can feel comfortable.”
Yorger-Girdy encourages out-ofstaters
who would like to assist the
club to donate because the coronavirus
pandemic interrupted its
in-person fundraisers. The club is
putting the resources they do have
into social media ads, television
ads, print ads, and get-out-the-vote
efforts, but they’re navigating a
tighter budget.
Another way to help out, Yorger-
Girdy said, is to phone bank, and
those who would like to get involved
in the club can email Yorger-Girdy
at info@libertycity.com or visit the
club’s website at libertycity.org.
“We’ve seen four years of this
man who is continually trying to
separate and divide,” Yorger-Girdy
said. “The negativity, the misinformation,
the lies, it’s disgusting. It’s
time to stop. We have no excuses
whatsoever.”
A similar focus on metro areas
is underway In Wisconsin, where
➤ ANXIOUS? DO THIS, continued on p.35
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/EQFL.ORG
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/GayCityNews.com
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