The only way we're going to win
Is this your brand on Milled? Claim it.
Einstein’s definition of insanity is doing the same thing the same way and expecting a different result.
If we’re serious about winning political power in Texas, it’s crazy to keep pursuing the same tired tactics and hope that somehow this time we’ll pull through.
Is paying people to make phone calls or knock on doors going to make the difference in 2026 if it didn’t every year before now?
Are expensive TV ads (where the consultants who pitch them take a big percentage of what’s spent) going to convince young Texans to get off the couch, go down to the courthouse, get registered and vote?
That’s why Powered by People is organized around doing things differently, taking risks, and iterating until we find what works.
In 2024 we departed from our “registration only” model, where our volunteers would help Texans register and then leave it to them to navigate the toughest voter suppression regime in the country on their own, and took a chance on registering students on college campuses and then personally staying in touch with them throughout the election cycle to make sure that they voted.
This had never been done, and we weren’t sure it was going to work. It took a lot of labor, a lot of volunteers, and a lot of resources to pull off. But at the end of the day, the nearly 30,000 young voters that we met in person and personally stayed in touch with turned out at a rate of over 79%. That’s twice the rate for this same demographic statewide.
This year we’re expanding this successful program to reach more than 100,000 voters. But we’re not stopping there. We’re also running innovative, and yes, unproven, programs that continue to push the standard for excellence in organizing.
One new program seeks to register people who’ve just moved to Texas and update registrations for those moving from one part of Texas to another, all while personally staying in touch with these hundreds of thousands of Democratic movers.
Another program has our volunteers at concerts and shows across the state, meeting voters and future voters where they are to help them get registered and to stay in touch with them until we can confirm they’ve voted.
And yet another teams up with the state party to connect with low-propensity Democrats who are eligible to vote by mail, helping them to navigate the process, secure their ballot, and ensure their vote is counted.
Your help makes this work, and our success, possible.
Beto
