Today's episode is coming to you on the sixth of November, in a year, twenty eighteen, how burial, out there in the United States is voting today or has already voted depending on how the system works in your state. As mentioned in the recap. The other day I am arrest of Oregon, which does exist. Voting by mail so actually build up my ballot more than a week ago, but for those who actually go to the poor. And stand in line to fulfil their civic duty. Send you a high five for democracy here too quick fund facts about voting, courtesy of PBS and mental loss First voters in the: U S, heads the Poles on Tuesdays, but much of the rest of the world prefers to save its votes for Sunday. Interesting com, in which English is the primary language, tend to be the exception in Canada. Citizens vote Monday's while Brits vote on Thursdays and Australians and new cylinders on saturdays. Second, one fact in seventeen fifty eight George Washington who was a

on candidate for the Virginia House burgesses. That was the first just laid of assembly of elected representatives in North America. He spent his entire campaign budget on a hundred and sixty gallons of liquor, which served to three hundred and ninety one voters the custom of buying, but with alcohol, was an english tradition imported to the american colony. Thank you great Britain, for that contribution. Now what about our story today? This is actually satisfy school. By the way my name is critical about today. Store features a freelance designer who sells voter turnout postcards after handwriting hundreds of postcards herself. This Answer designs, her own sets for sale and in the first year she does more than sixty thousand dollars in sales, so get out and vote, but also stay tuned for the story Mary Hawkins believes everyone should have a say in the way their country is right. Last year, Looking for a way to encourage as many people as possible to go out and vote on election day, but should be the first to tell

she's, no in your face, glowed o as a self described interval, the idea of cold calling or door knocking didn't appeal to her. What she needed was activism parental rights and she soon stumbled upon the perfect thing. Furthermore, what started as a way to encourage voters would turn into marries first successful side us off, but before we rebuild these results, let's take a quick look at her background or, let's call it her campaign trail on top of her passion for him proceed. Mary is also a talented animator and designer she's been brilliancy over ten years and has worked with brands like by a calm lorry, I'll NBC and many more now for those work. A traditional office job, the life of a freelancer might sound glamorous you can From home in your underwear, you can only work the hours that you want. Everything is perfect in the freelancer life right well, freelancing may have its benefits, but it also has challenges one of the biggest challenges is that you inevitably have periods without much. Work now can be won. Some financially, especially when you aren't sure when the next job is coming through, it marries case quiet periods occur around MID year. Women

people in the media. Take vacations and twenty seventeen actually a welcome break because she was just about to stumble across that perfect type. A political activism, one that he'll do her integrated nature and allowed her to use her design skills to encourage people to go out and vote Saint Mary was introduced to the world of postcards to voters. This is a movement where groups of people right postcards, registered voters reminding them to exercise their civic duty and the upcoming election, the postcards or handwritten directly Each individual and data suggest they have a huge positive effect on voter turnout. Mary love this yeah. She immediately volunteer to write, postcards inner downtime, soon she was sending out more and more into the hundreds she enjoyed it so much. She believed she could bring some artistic flare to the postcards themselves, most people here, postcard simply by them from their local area. So if a new Yorker volunteer, they might send up postcards with a statue of liberty on them. Mary figured well that's nice, but if she sending people postcards to encourage them to vote, she might as well make the postcards.

Subject to that purpose. Her idea was to make generic go vote, postcards to keep the message non, partisan and on point The design was the easy part. After all, that's what Mary did she made a couple of cute postcards your voters set about printing them up for her own use. It wasn't long before us Volunteers and friends commented on her maid for purpose postcards in suggested she try. Selling on Etsy, she agreed and plan to launch her side. Hustle Mary likes postcards here that the types of people who said postcards usually do so in large numbers like her. They are passionate and active. So she D. To sell them in batches of one hundred price between twenty and forty dogs. It was important to her. That The cards be printed in the: U S, so she teamed up with a printer that could supply them on demand. Not this date. She had spent around five hundred dollars getting things set up and it was time to make some sales. The first set of cards was purchased by someone in that group. It generated five dollars and profit from Mary enough for a coffee a bit more determination to keep going. It turned out she needed that determination, because

would be another mind until her at sea store and write this next sale. That might seem like Long Break between election cycles, with the pace increased significantly after that, as the fall elections drew near, more more people began by shells have benefited by promotion from the postcards to voters, group since the beginning of the year, she can now claim to have soared over sixty thousand dollars worth of postcards. So she does the work herself. Her. Only real expenses are printing in shipping That's a lot of orders. How does she generate that kind of money? All was still working a full time job, while Mary her stands, this is a seasonal business. She can maximize profits from this site hustle during the voting season emitting recent freelance hours, the rest of the time she hopes to grow more next year, especially as the eloi since I ramps up again and then again in twenty one, when it really ramps up with another presidential election she's already

additional products to restore including stickers and stamps that people can use to decorate the carts cast your ballot for freedom? My vote is in favour of this project. But every election season, certainly including this one- I tend to get a ton of male, including lots of fires and postcards from candidates as well as lobbyists and interest groups that are in favour. Or opposed to whatever measures. On the ballot. Each state has a number of measures, but I don't think I've ever received a handwritten postcard from a stranger. And it would probably stand out. I already vote, but if I didn't Maybe what give me the night? I need to register these days. People in the. U S are becoming politically active in the form of phone. Or emailing, or writing. Letters to the representatives seems to have taken a huge jumper We, especially not just in response to various events, but also with the advance of technology

so I dont rise. There was also as much activism in terms of writing fellow voters to encourage them to exercise their democratic rights, but it makes sense. So I was happy to hear about this project. Our congratulations Mary. Thank you for doing your part for democracy and doing something for yourself. At the same time, I don't see any conflict in those things whatsoever. In fact, I think that's the goal for a lot of us to do something for ourselves, while also making the world a better place. So listeners hope you enjoy this one and if you're in the? U s again, I hope you have voted if you have not done so, it is too late. I don't want you to feel guilty like this time is already fast now, but do make sure you register, so you can participate the next time shots. Are it's out school, dotcom, slash, six, seven! Five! You check out these upon postcards anything else I mentioned I'll be back again tomorrow and I hope you'll join me for democracy and beyond. This is side US school.