The Answer to Voter Apathy

Ken Raymond, 1st Vice Chair

"We've got to make sure that we're continuing across all 2,600 precincts to find those volunteers and give them the tools, the resources, the support, and the training that they need. We must expand our number of volunteers and make sure that we continue to work across all 2,600 precincts and make sure that when it comes time, we have teams that are reaching out and getting the people to the polls," Simmons said during the meeting.

 Precinct Organization is the answer!

Imagine, for a moment, that you’re an apathetic voter. It’s 2025 and you’re not tuned into the elections at all.

One day you’re at the grocery store and you run into a neighbor, in produce section, and you know that he’s part of the Republican Precinct Organization as a Block Captain in your voting precinct. You say “hello” , engage in a little small talk, and he asks you if you voted yet.

Because you’re so apathetic, you didn’t even know there was election going on.  So, your neighbor talks with you about the elections, who’s running, and urges you to get out and vote because early voting has started.

A few days later, you’re pulling your garbage bin to the curb for trash collection the next morning. And you see that same annoying neighborhood block captain doing the same thing. You wave at each other and suddenly he shouts, “Have you voted yet?” You respond by saying, “no, not yet”. And then you leave the garbage bin at the curb and go back inside.

The very next weekend, early Saturday morning, there’s a knock at your door. You answer and it’s your pesky neighborhood Republican Block Captain. You’ve seen him multiple times since trash day and each time he’s reminded you to go vote.  And he’s there to ask you again and will continue harassing you until you do.

Do you see my point?

We have about 2600 voting precincts in North Carolina. And each precinct needs a Republican precinct chair that will build their organization to have as many relentless, determined, block captains as possible that will persevere and compel as many voters as possible to go to the polls--especially the apathetic voters.  And when it’s over, the voters may think the Republican block captains are the most bothersome people in the neighborhood, but it will be certainly worth it.

In fact, Republican block captains should be the most annoying neighbors anyone can have, especially during an election year.

We need precinct organizations with block captains who refuse to allow their neighbors to be indifferent about any elections.

What happens in each election?

After 30 years of being involved with the NCGOP, in Forsyth County and statewide, it’s not hard to figure out what happened in 2025.

Volunteers were needed to be precinct judges, poll observers, and greeters. So, every volunteer, including precinct chairs, were used to fill these positions. And there was no left to work as a block captain to compel voters to get out and vote. There’s no left to be that annoying neighbor that makes sure everyone in his precinct has voted.

It happens every time.

And the answer to this is for County Chairs, or their Precinct Organization Chairs, to take at least two hours, every weekend or whenever possible, to recruit people to work as block captains and urge their Precinct Chairs to do the same thing—every weekend. These new volunteers can be found by using GOP Data Center.

That's what I did, every weekend, throughout 2024. And every Saturday, via email, I urged our Precinct Chairs to do the same thing. And some of the best Precinct Chairs in Forsyth County were found that way and are still Precinct Chairs today.

Yes, it may mean sacrificing a football game. But think about it, all it takes is at least two hours of your time each week. That’s nothing.

There’s No Substitute for Hard Work

After the General Assembly passed a bill that changed some local elections from nonpartisan to partisan, many people, including myself, believed that the change would certainly help secure GOP election victories in suburban areas, but it didn’t work. It didn’t work in Kernersville, and it certainly didn’t work in Lewisville.

And that tells us that there is absolutely no substitute for hard work. And that means that, immediately after the holidays, our County Chairs, Precinct Organization Chairs, and Precinct Chairs must put in the work and build their precinct organizations and add as many block captains as possible.

It’s the only way to defeat voter apathy.

FCGOP Secretary Anita Moody wins
Recount for Walkertown Town Council by 1 vote!

The next time someone tells you that their vote won't make a difference, tell them the story about Anita Moody's race for Walkertown Town Council in 2025.

Anita Moody, current FCGOP secretary, former President of the Forsyth County Republican Women and faithful party volunteer since 2020, decided to throw her hat into the ring for public office in Walkertown.

At first, she was approached and encouraged by others within the FCGOP and she was extremely reluctant. In fact, they practically had to twist her arm to get her to do it. Her arm probably still hurts.

So she agreed. And she decided not to end up like most first-time candidates that run for public office. So she attended the District 10 Candidate Training Workshop, in July, and sat in the front row!

She did the work, developed a strong message, and connected with Walkertown voters.

"As I knocked on doors, voters shared ideas of things they would like to see the town pursue," Moody said via text.

When the polls closed and the ballots were counted, Anita Moody was ahead of incumbent councilman Vernon Brown by 1 vote!

"I'm so appreciative of the endorsements of former Sen. Joyce Krawiec and Sen. Dana Caudill Jones," Moody said. "And the FCGOP was very supportive of my campaign."

Some of Anita's supporters were concerned because of the provisional ballots which had not been counted yet. In the past, provisional ballots have changed things and Anita was holding on by her fingernails. But Anita was confident of the outcome.

"As a former poll worker, I learned that to appreciate the procedures they have in place to count every vote and wasn't surprised that the results didn't change. I look forward to working with the Walkertown Town Council members."

The Forsyth County Board of Elections canvassed the provisional ballots and on Thursday, November 20th, the Board of Elections performed a recount.

The candidates, and their supporters were there. And when the recount was over, Anita Moody was still ahead by 1 vote!

So if any of your friends tell you that they don't believe their vote counts, tell them this story.

EVERY VOTE COUNTS!

The Catawba County GOP will have their annual Christmas Party at their headquarters on Saturday, December 13th beginning at 9 a.m. in Conover.

The Catawba County League of Republican Women will have its Christmas Party on Tuesday, December 16th at the Hickory Country Club at 11:30 a.m.

The Republican Women of Catawba County will have its Christmas Party on Tuesday, December 16th at Neighbors Restaurant in Sherrills Ford, North Carolina. For more information, click here.

The Catawba County Tea Party will host training for 2026 candidates presented by Carlos Cardenas of the The Leadership Institute of North Carolina. For more information, click here.

The Iredell County GOP will have it's Lincoln Reagan Day Dinner on Friday, February 27th. 

District 10 NCGOP  · 1506 Hillsborough St, Raleigh , NC 27605, United States This email was sent to [email protected] · Unsubscribe Created with NationBuilder. Build the Future.

Ken Raymond

6:44 PM (17 minutes ago)

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