In the midst of this uncertain time in our nation’s history, Riverdale students have been using their voices in various ways to fight for their beliefs in the 2020 elections. Whether it be through text banking, phone banking, or poll working, students have made an effort to transform their political passions into concrete actions. The COVID-19 pandemic has made in-person communication between voters and volunteers difficult, so forming meaningful connections, whether it be safely in-person or online, has been critical to 2020 campaign strategies.

Senior Diya Mehta has been an active participant in politics through phone banking for Mission for Arizona, a Democratic 2020 coordinating campaign. “Arizona is a critical swing state in the upcoming election, so we are just working to get Democrats elected up and down the ballot in Arizona,” Mehta explained. While phone banking can be an impactful form of political action, it presents an inherent challenge. “No one likes picking up a spam phone call they’re getting from a random number, so there’s definitely some people who hang up right away or who don’t want to talk to you. But the couple of great phone calls you make where you help someone make their plan to vote make it worth it.”

Even while stuck inside throughout the summer due to COVID-19, junior Estelle Anderson knew she wanted to be proactive in politics, so she found a way to get involved with the 2020 presidential election through a different form of online communication with voters: text banking for the Biden campaign. Anderson explained what the process entails: “You are given a certain amount of voters around the country to text about various topics, from encouraging them to register to vote, to asking them what issues are important to them, to seeing which candidate they are planning on voting for. Your ultimate goal is to persuade them that Biden is the best candidate for the future of our country and our democracy.” While text banking is much less personal than in-person communication or even phone banking, Anderson still believes that “there is a real power in these conversations, even over text, between two individuals about politics and candidates.”

While COVID-19 led to a significant increase in citizens voting by mail in the 2020 election, many students still volunteered to work at poll sites. On Election Day, senior Lila King volunteered as a poll worker. “I was an information clerk, which means that people, depending on whether they knew their election district, would come over to my station and I would plug in their building address and then give them their election district,” said King.  

To sign up, King explained, “All I had to do was fill out a form and they sent me information. Initially my training was supposed to be in person, but it changed to online, and it was around a three-hour online training course. After completing the course, they sent me my job information.” King emphasized the value of this work: “I was very proud to be a poll worker. It was a once in a lifetime experience.” 

The brief interactions between volunteers and voters can also be memorable. As King described, “This one senior woman came down the stairs and had to take a five-minute break from walking to collect herself. She came over to my station, and she ended up actually already knowing her election district, but she just wanted to stop by to tell me that she was super proud of what everyone was doing, and that it gave her so much hope as a senior citizen to see all these young people engaged. It was a really special moment because she was clearly struggling to breathe, but she took the time to tell me that she was proud of me. I didn’t even catch her name. It was just a lovely moment where New York City really showed its humanity and people united for the election. It was a community moment.”

If you are interested in politics and want to enact change, there is always something to do in order to make a difference, no matter the action. Because there are so many different avenues to pursue when it comes to getting politically involved, in order to maximize your impact it’s important to “know your own strengths and [then] find the best way for you to help,” according to Mehta. King explained that she “learned that it’s always better to be productive and proactive rather than sitting around hoping that someone will fulfill your role in the election. I think that democracy is a privilege that all Americans have and I think it needs to be honored and upheld to the highest degree and standard.” As these Riverdale students exemplify, anyone can make a difference, so encourage those around you to take that first step. It can go a long way.