Almost a dozen local and statewide candidates ventured to the picnic as everyone gears up for November’s all-important judicial and municipal elections.

Among the VIPs in attendance were Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan, Supreme Court candidate Maria McLaughlin, Superior Court Candidate Timika Lane and Commonwealth Court candidate Lori Dumas.  

Our zone was well represented at CCDC’s “Back Together Picnic” on June 25 with Great Valley school board candidate Andrea Rizzo (second from left) mingling with AZL Marsha Peltz, CCDC Vice Chair Jerry  Pyne and District Leader (and EW Supervisor) Sue Drummond.

In 1787 as Benjamin Franklin was walking out of Independence Hall after the Constitutional Convention, someone shouted out, “Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?” To which Franklin supposedly responded, with a rejoinder at once witty and ominous: “A republic, if you can keep it.”

As we witnessed the mob insurrection in Washington DC, we are reminded of just how fragile our democracy is. The work that we do demonstrates that we understand that we shape our government through ballots, not bullets. It is the electoral process, protected by our Constitution, that is the foundation of our democracy.

Because of our efforts, Democratic candidates did extraordinarily well in East Whiteland and Charlestown. Each candidate won every precinct in our zone. In addition, we continue to outperform the county results by 4-5% even though the county results have been trending up for Democrats.

Our zone delivered a 3,054 vote margin for President-elect Biden. We have improved upon the overall results for Democratic candidates compared to the 2016 and 2018 elections, especially for the candidates running for state offices.

Despite Covid-19, despite President Trump’s attempts to disrupt mail-in ballots, we persevered and made a difference. It is a confirmation of Margaret Mead’s belief in civic engagement when she stated, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Please consider getting involved as there are a number of ways to volunteer.

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For the November 3,2020 election two of our normal polling locations are not available. Immaculata East Whiteland 1 and People’s Pantry East Whiteland 3 will be voting on November 3,2020 at the Great Valley Middle School on Phoenixville Pike (east of Route 401).

Here is the list of polling location of our 7 Precincts.

Charlestown at Charlestown ElementaryEW 1 and EW 3 are voting at Great Valley Middle School.
EW 2 at Great Valley Administration Building
EW 4 and EW 5 at East Whiteland Township Building
EW 6 at People’s Light

Other Chester County polling location changes. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jp9EHqoS5lHiuba07NStAtYg0qQ_PuNv/view?usp=sharing

Or consider voting by mail! The deadline for applying for vote by mail is October 27 at 5 PM. Apply online using ewcdems.com/m of in person at Voter Services or one of the satellite voter service offices – see below. If you apply in person, Voter Services can print your ballot and envelopes and on that single trip, you can vote!

Voter Services Office

Location	Hours of Operation
Chester County Government Services Center 601 Westtown Rd, West Chester	Mon 8:30AM-4:30PM Tue  8:30AM-4:30PM Wed 8:30AM-7:00PM Thur 8:30AM-4:30PM Fri    8:30AM-4:30PM Sat   9:00AM-1:00PM Sun  CLOSED

Satellite Offices

Location	Hours of Operation
Henrietta Hankin Branch 215 Windgate Drive, Chester Springs 610-344-4635 or 610-344-4659	Mon 9:30AM-5:00PM Tue  9:30AM-8:00PM Wed 9:30AM-5:00PM Thur 9:30AM-8:00PM Fri    9:30AM-5:00PM Sat   9:00AM-1:00PM Sun   CLOSED
Oxford Public Library  48 S Second Street, Oxford 610-344-4673 or 610-344-4682	Mon 10:00AM-5:00PM Tue    1:00PM-8:00PM Wed 10:00AM-5:00PM Thur  1:00PM-8:00PM Fri    10:00AM-2:00PM Sat    9:00AM-1:00PM Sun   CLOSED

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Senior’s Voters Guide. http://retireguide.com/guides/seniors-voting-guide-2020/

My conclusion, wear a mask!

Since the Mummers parade is canceled, it is unlikely we will be able to have the traditional East Whiteland/Charlestown Democrats picnic.  We have an alternate plan.   This plan will also replace the envelope stuffing parties and other routine get-togethers that we are sorely missing in these difficult times. 
Starting next Friday (July 24, 2020), we will have a Zoom happy hour every other Friday.   We have put it on the calendar as 7 PM but will move it to 6 PM based on feedback.   Our goal would be to replace a single event (that routinely is a schedule conflict causing us to miss some people) with a biweekly happy hour were gather around the Zoom device to see and hear each other every two weeks.   We will have opportunities to enjoy stories from our fellow Democrats, and the first theme will be conversion stories of Republican Friends.  The gatherings will be focused on fun and keeping in touch.   Please send me your ideas to make it a fun routine for everyone.
Please send an email if you want to present a story, but everyone should put it on their calendar.
Endless summer Zoom Picnic @ Fri, Jul 24, 2020 7:00pm – 8:00pm (GMT-04)

I’ll send a zoom meeting invite a few days before the event.  Make sure you get the zoom invite by mailing to eastwhitelanddemocrats@gmail.com and request that you be added to our email list. Please invite others and ask if we can add them to our email list.
In regards to the envelope stuffing to get sample ballots to our voters, we will be using a new design for the mailing and leverage the efficiencies of bulk mailing vendors.