Today marks the start of in-person early voting and Democrats across North Carolina have been getting ready to get out the vote. They’re talking about issues that matter most and making sure their neighbors have the tools needed to cast their ballots. Congressman Butterfield said it best when he told volunteers in Wilson County that “we can leave no vote on the table and leave no voter behind.” 

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• “Volunteers are out knocking on doors, they’re calling voters to make sure they have plans to vote in the primary election. They’re going to have a major call to action this weekend where they’re engaged in that type of thing,” said Floyd McKissick Jr., a former state Senator who currently serves as the North Carolina Democratic Party First Vice Chair.

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• The Wilson County Democratic Party held a Saturday morning session to train volunteers on the importance of canvassing for votes and how to use new technology available to assist in that effort. 
• About 25 volunteers attended the training, held at Contending for the Faith Church. Participants heard brief remarks  from U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield, state Sen. Toby Fitch, state Reps. Raymond Smith and Linda Cooper-Suggs and Wilson City Council hopeful Karen Wellington. 
• “Today is not about me or any of the other candidates here,” said Cooper-Suggs. “This is about getting out the Democrat vote and being heard.” 
• Cooper-Suggs has joined volunteers to deliver information about Wilson County’s early voting schedule to residents’ doors for the past four weeks. Participants in Saturday’s canvass continued to hand out early voting information as well as materials listing the North Carolina judicial candidates and websites offering candidate listings, voting locations and other voting resources. 
• “Today’s mission is to bring attention to people that they need to get out and vote,” said Jim Hawley, chair of the Wilson County Democratic Party. “We need to get people prepared and ready for the upcoming election. Early voting starts next week, and we need to get all the information we can into the hands of people so they are motivated to get out and vote. 
• Hawley noted that primaries can be confusing to voters, who may notice their preferred candidates’ names aren’t listed on the ballot. 
• “Sometimes the person you want to support isn’t on the ballot because the election is in November for them and not now,” said Hawley. “And that’s the case with Linda Cooper-Suggs. Her name will not be on the primary ballot because she has no opposition. In essence, you might say that she’s already won the primary. But we’re getting ready to get out the vote for her for November’s general election.” 
• Daniel Franch, the North Carolina Democratic Party’s regional organizing director, coordinated the morning training. 
•  “According to the latest political science studies, folks are 10 times more likely to vote if we go to their doors and canvass them,” Franch said. “Phone banking is the next best option, with voters four times more likely to vote if we speak with them over the phone. As a member of your local community, you are the most effective messenger for our Democratic candidates, not someone who is from the other side of the state or has no connections to your community. 
• That’s why talking to our neighbors face-to-face is really the most effective way to ensure that we are helping folks make a plan to vote and that they will vote for our Democratic candidates.”