FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

Media Contact Information:

Sarah Meredith & Greg Bucking
communications.scdc@gmail.com
www.schohariedemocrats.org

Boosting Voter Engagement

Weekdays and weekends, Democrats in Schoharie County are out knocking on doors around the Schoharie, Middleburgh and Cobleskill areas. There have been teams writing postcards to voters who have not voted in the most recent midterms, and to some who are not affiliated with major political parties. Neighbors have approached neighbors in towns like Esperance, Wright, Jefferson, and Gilboa as well.  The Schoharie County Democratic Committee posts on social media for the last month have highlighted legislation that the current representative of District 21 has voted against in Congress, even though people here have benefitted from those bills. Early voting begins this Saturday, October 29, just in time for Halloween. 

In spite of the highly partisan hype of national media coverage, volunteers have found many receptive voters willing to consider Matt Castelli as the Moderate Party candidate. His positions have straddled the divide between the more extreme parts of the two major parties, espousing a strong allegiance to security, both in terms of social security and border control and to protecting women’s reproductive rights and the rights of legal gun owners.  This middle ground seems to resonate with many of those who take the time to talk with the candidate. The door-to-door campaign, unlike single issue rallies that harden defensive positions, offers the opportunity for people to talk about their interests in a nuanced approach to complex issues and to clarify their ideas.

When queried for a list of independent or unaffiliated voters who voted in the 2020 election, the Schoharie County Board of Elections identified over 3,100 individuals in the County. The trend to register without affiliation seems to counter the highly partisan narrative in the national media. This large number of unaffiliated voters poses a special challenge to candidates who stay strictly in their partisan lane. Perhaps Castelli is on to something. Only the votes, already coming in by absentee ballot, will reveal the current state of politics. A representative at the local Board of Elections said there had been nearly double the number of requests for absentee ballots for the current cycle in comparison with the last midterm in 2018.