Press Hits
JOHN OLIVER — LAST WEEK TONIGHT
11-03-2024
ZETEO
11-04-2024
Rep. Jayapal expresses support for Swap Your Vote in interview with Medhi Hasan
In this town hall discussion, Mehdi Hasan speaks with progressive, pro-ceasefire Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal as she answers questions from Zeteo’s subscribers about the U.S. presidential election.
WASHINGTON POST
11-05-2024
Swing-state voters unsure of Harris are ‘swapping’ votes with blue-state residents
Swap Your Vote, a movement spun up by progressive organizers in the past month, matches swing-state voters with others in solidly blue states in an effort to protest the two-party system and still defeat Trump.
MSNBC
11-05-2024
Pro-Palestinian organizers create a vote swap for protest votes
Pro-Palestine organizers have created a system for voters in swing states who are hesitant to cast their ballot for Harris.
PORT OF ENTRY
11-05-2024
We shouldn't have to choose between reproductive rights and Genocide—but here we are.
This election has been excruciating as a Muslim mother and American woman.
TECH CRUNCH
11-05-2024
X reinstates SwapYourVote’s account after suspending it as spam
In the final days leading up to the U.S. presidential election, Elon Musk’s X suspended the official account of a progressive-donor-backed ballot initiative called SwapYourVote.
THE INTERCEPT
11-04-2024
Swing-State Voters Disillusioned With Kamala Harris Can Swap for Two Non-Swing-State Votes
Organizers are facilitating protest votes for people in swing states to register their dissent — without handing a victory to Donald Trump..
FAST COMPANY
11-04-2024
This vote-swapping service wants to help Democrats conflicted over the Gaza war cast 'protest votes' while still opposing Trump
For voters who may not support Kamala Harris but don’t want a second Trump presidency, Swap Your Vote could provide an alternative to voting for a third-party candidate.
THE FORWARD
11-05-2024
Left wing voters use ‘vote swapping’ to protest Harris — without throwing election to Trump
The website Swap Your Vote helps voters exchange protest votes in blue states for Harris votes in swing states
DAILY MAIL
11-05-2024
Creative way Democrats are using anti-Harris progressives to win swing states
As voters headed to polling stations on Tuesday, a new website has emerged as a way to influence the outcome in the seven swing states that will decide who wins the White House.
And there’s nothing sneaky about it.
AZPM
11-04-2024
Hesitant progressives are "swapping" their votes with blue states
Arizona and other swing state voters are eligible to “swap” their votes with other people in predominantly Democratic states.
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
11-03-2024
Not sold on Harris over Gaza yet anti-Trump, some Pa. activists are asking blue-state voters to cast protest ballots on their behalf
Vote-swapping is legally protected under freedom of speech, according to a 2007 court ruling — as long as no gifts or money are exchanged.
THE OBSOLETE NEWSLETTER
11-03-2024
Why I Swapped My Vote and Why You Should Too
Probably the most impactful thing you can do about the presidential election right now
THE CONNECTOR
10-29-2024
A “Dating Site to Defeat Fascism”
And other last-minute developments giving me hope about the election.
Media Advisory
November 3, 2024
National Press Contact: Patricia, hello@swapyourvote.org | (202) 351-1757
Election Eve Update from Swap Your Vote: Thousands Join Forces to Defeat Trump and Hold the Democratic Party Accountable – Swing Voters Weigh In
Effort has support from Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian American and delegate with the Uncommitted movement at the Democratic National Convention, and Pennsylvania State Rep. Chris Rabb
With less than 24 hours until Election Day polls open nationwide, the Swap Your Vote campaign has matched over 8,000 voters across the country, empowering them to strategically swap votes to prevent a Trump presidency, while sending a strong message to the current administration on urgent issues like Palestine, corporate accountability, and climate change.
Up until the last moment, Swap Your Vote organizers will be using phone banking, textbanking, canvassing and other direct voter contact methods to make their pitch to tens of thousands more voters across the country.
Zolani Ngwane, a Pennsylvania resident voting for the first time as a new US citizen says, “I am participating in Swap Your Vote because it allows me to protect my principles, while doing my part to prevent the country I have come to love from falling into the hands of fascism."
"I'm a Black, transgender, first-generation American,” says AZ Espinoza, Pennsylvania voter, “and getting the chance to swap my vote has helped me not feel like I have to sacrifice my integrity in order to fight for my life. In other words, it has brought me peace when I needed it the most.”
Vote swapping has become a viral part of the election conversation, discussed everywhere from influencer posts to trusted movement leaders to a major shout-out on Jon Oliver’s Last Week Tonight. On Nov. 3, Jon Oliver devoted a passionate final show before the election to those conflicted voters, showcasing outspoken Georgia State Rep Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian–American, and her choice to Swap Her Vote. “As for Ruwa Romman,” said Oliver on Last Week Tonight, “she voted for Harris in Georgia, another critical swing state, while doing a vote swap with someone in a blue state, who cast a protest vote on her behalf.”
“Swap Your Vote has struck a chord because we aren’t trying to persuade anyone, we’re telling the truth about the US role in the bombardment of Gaza and the climate emergency and being strategic about how we leverage our votes to build people power,” said Rae Abileah, co-creator of SwapYourVote.org. “Together we are ensuring a democracy for the future while keeping the pressure on the Democratic party.”
###
About Swap Your Vote
Swap Your Vote is a largely volunteer-driven national initiative empowering voters to forge strategic alliances across states, allowing them to cast their ballots in ways that protect democracy and promote progressive change. Funded by Movement Voter PAC, and hosted by Landslide PAC, the initiative offers another pathway for voters in swing states who are currently undecided or leaning toward third-party options, helping them collaborate with safe-state allies to amplify their impact in the upcoming elections.
Media Advisory
November 1, 2024
1000+ swing-state voters swap votes with safe-state Democrats, already surpassing total needed for Al Gore to beat George Bush in Florida in 2000
The volunteer-run effort Swap Your Vote reached 1000+ swing state voter matches across seven swing states; for context, Al Gore lost Florida, and with it the entire 2000 election, by less than 600 votes. We believe that amplifying Swap Your Vote might help prevent a second Trump presidency in an election that is expected to be decided by <1% in a few swing states.
This strategy unveils an alternative approach for voters who report feeling trapped in a seemingly binary electoral dilemma.
The exponential growth of vote swaps over the past few days indicate that this strategy is meeting a significant need for voters who are discontented with the Democratic party and also fear the rise of fascism that a Trump win could entail.
Key background:
Vote-swapping is an electoral strategy in which a voter in a swing state promises to vote for a leading Democratic party candidate (Harris) in exchange for two people from “safe” blue states voting for the voter's preferred third-party or protest vote.
This mutually beneficial partnership doubles the swing state voter’s protest voting power and helps the blue state voter make their vote count for more than it would otherwise, offsetting the unfairness of the Electoral College.
Boosting protest vote totals sends a clear message to the Democratic party while still netting swing-state Harris votes to beat Trump.
In swap after swap, participants name frustration with the US funding of the Israeli bombardment of Palestine and Lebanon as their motivation for wanting to put the Democratic party on notice, as well as dismay with corporate influence in politics, and insufficient action on the climate emergency.
We’re proud to have support from Movement Voter PAC, which has helped Democratic and progressive donors channel over $76 million in political dollars to local voter organizing groups this cycle. MVP’s founder and ED, Billy Wimsatt, has endorsed us and shared this quote:
“I think this is a brilliant strategy. There are thousands of swing state voters who don’t want Trump and would be willing to vote for Kamala if they knew they could swap their votes.”
In past elections, most notably 2000 and 2016, there was a surge of media interest in vote-swapping. For example, 2016 had over 20 articles covering it in mainstream media, including the New York Times (again), New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, and Vox. This year, we’ve had none.
We’ve been floored by the interest in vote-swapping and by how many undecideds in swing states have flocked to it. There is clearly an appetite for this effort, and we think it could take off by another order of magnitude with sufficient media coverage.
Notably, Georgia State Representative Ruwa Romman, who was not allowed to speak on behalf of the Uncommitted movement at the DNC, announced that she had swapped her vote in conjunction with the publication of her rationale for voting for Harris in Rolling Stone earlier this week. And today, Lily Greenberg Call, who resigned from the Biden administration over opposition to US support for the bombardment of Gaza, announced her support for this vote swapping effort in a TikTok. Endorsements like those of Romman and Call are building momentum for a united left-wing coalition that is building power to both stop Trump and build opposition to the current Biden administration’s human rights violations.
There have also been incredible connections made between vote swap matches, total strangers who find points of solidarity, such as this written exchange between a Palestinian-American in Pennsylvania and a Jewish-American in New York.
Moving vote swap stories are featured on the SwapYourVote.org website, such as a note from Erica S, a North Carolina voter who wrote, “Honestly, finding the vote swap website felt like a relief to a previously impossible problem to solve. You can count on me to vote for Kamala in North Carolina as my voter-partner casts my 3rd party vote in their safe state. It’s a strategic choice.”
October 29, 2024
Contact: hello@swapyourvote.org
New Vote-Matching Tool Allows Americans to Strategically Swap Votes to Defeat Donald Trump While Also Holding Democratic Party Accountable and Protesting Broken Two-Party System
Reporters can view SwapYourVote.org for personal testimonies from voters making “swaps”
Media Advisory
A new online matching platform, SwapYourVote.org, is making it easier for third-party, uncommitted, disaffected, or morally conflicted Democrats in swing states to team up with voters in “safe” blue states to follow their conscience and vote to stop a Trump victory in the 2024 election.
Polling data and recent reports show that Third Party and disaffected Democratic voters face an intense, anxiety-inducing dilemma in a tightly locked race, and that disappointment over Democrats’ handling of Gaza is causing a major splinter in the party. To offset the unfairness of the Electoral College, and to make it more equitable for conflicted swing state voters to participate, swing state voters also have the option of selecting a 2:1 swap, aligned with similar efforts in the past, matching them with two voters in safe states to double their protest voting power.
Recognizing the extremely negative consequences that a Trump presidency would have on climate justice, reproductive rights, immigration, healthcare, economy, democracy, and more, organizers of the initiative have adopted a coalition-building strategy to vote against Trump in swing states, while casting protest votes in safe states. This “swap” strategy empowers participants to continue to pressure Democrats on their ongoing support for the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, as well as to advance progressive future-forward policies like the Green New Deal.
“The broken two-party system with an undemocratic Electoral College means voters in seven states decide the election and the rest of us don’t matter,” said Kipchoge Spencer, founder of Landslide PAC, which is hosting the Swap Your Vote effort. “We are offering a simple, legal, proven, private way to outsmart the system. I voted for Nader in 2000 and that didn’t go well for anything I care about. We want to give people an opportunity to vote their conscience without being a spoiler and electing Trump,” he added.
Ultimately, the goal for progressive activists involved is to elect Harris and defeat Donald Trump but still provide an outlet to pressure Harris on key issues including the US-backed Israeli bombardment of Gaza, the climate emergency, and a two-party system captured by corporate power.
“As a Jewish-American I was raised with a vigilance against rising fascism, and I can’t just stand by as I witness the ongoing starvation and death of children in Gaza,” said Rae Abileah, co-creator of SwapYourVote.org. “I know we must defeat Trump (and Netanyahu) but it’s also so hard to bring ourselves to vote for a Democratic party that continues to send weapons to Israel. I wanted to find a middle path that would be both strategic and connective.”
“Our communities are embroiled in a bitter fight over this election, and we want to help unite progressives toward a winning strategy. Voting is not a love letter, it’s choosing our opponent, and Harris would be far more receptive to pressure from the Left than Trump would be.”
“This effort creates a smart, efficient, low-cost way to net swing state votes for Kamala Harris, while casting protest votes from the left to push Harris on policy,” said Billy Wimsatt, Founder & Director of Movement Voter Project.
Already the SwapYourVote.org website is attracting voters in swing and blue states who see it as a solution to their voting dilemma. “SwapYourVote.org is a smart way to be both moral and strategic,” said Mark Read, who is voting Green in Maine (safe state) on behalf of his Palestine solidarity activist friend in Pennsylvania (swing state), who now feels willing to vote for Harris as part of this larger effort. The innovative tool at SwapYourVote.org matches total strangers across swing and safe states, who must then build trust around their swap, helping to renew faith in one another amidst an increasingly polarized and distrustful society. Many who are inspired by the effort are also making swap agreements on their own between friends in their networks.
Vote swapping is only directed at our one national election for President, because the Electoral College skews the popular vote, creating swing states and safe states. Historically, vote swapping (or “vote pairing”) has been practiced in presidential elections in the US since 2000, most notably in 2016 and 2020 to counter Trump, in Canada, and in the UK, such as the Forward Democracy project. A similar “vote swap” method was used in 2000 and almost changed the outcome in Florida, where Al Gore would have carried the election. Vote swapping involves no financial exchange and is a trust-based pledge to one another.
###
SwapYourVote.org was created by dedicated volunteers who want to protect democracy and make big progressive wins in 2025 and beyond. This project receives funding from Landslide PAC.
Website: www.swapyourvote.org
Social Media Accounts
#SwapYourVote
Instagram: www.instagram.com/swapyourvote
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566957032934&mibextid=LQQJ4d