We did it! We won by a landslide, 64 to 36 percent vote against measure 3. Thanks in part to the organizing efforts and determination of college students in the North Dakota and Minnesota areas, North Dakota’s primary had astonishing turnout of 175,286 voters in 426 precincts so far.
According to the Elections Department at the North Dakota Secretary of State’s office, this is the largest turnout since the state started keeping track in1980. The average turnout is usually between 22 and 24 percent of the state, but this election’s results are showing to be a little more than 36 percent. And no doubt, students helped make the difference.
College students defined and drove the ground campaign in North Dakota – by conducting visibility events in high density areas, leafleting and tabling on and off campus, hammering the phones to reach and persuade likely voters, canvassing campus communities and likely voters, social media outreach, and even a starting a Ryan Gosling meme.
Working side by side with other student leaders to defeat this measure was really important to me. The victory demonstrated to me how important it is for my voice, along with those of women across the country, to be heard and respected. But despite this huge victory, our work has just really begun.
It looks like we will have so-called Religious Liberty Amendments on the ballot in Florida and Missouri this fall. We need to roll up our sleeves and get cracking to defeat these anti-woman, anti-reactionary measures and make sure young people are not left out of the debate.
It’s time to GET OUT HER VOTE and get it out big – so if you haven’t already, join the campaign and get that voter registration, education, and mobilization fever going.