To the editor:

Early voting is underway right now at town and city halls in the East Bay and across Rhode Island. Many of us are asking the same question: What can I actually do to make a difference in these midterms?
It starts right here. Rhode Island has real races on the ballot. Senator Jack Reed is running for a sixth term, both of our House seats are up, and we're choosing a new governor and attorney general. Even in a reliably blue state, a big turnout matters. A strong showing in Rhode Island sends a clear message and helps produce results that can withstand any attempt to challenge their legitimacy. So the first step is simple: make a plan to vote, vote early if you can, and bring a neighbor.
The past two years have hit Rhode Island hard. We may not have seen many ICE raids here, but local construction and other businesses are hurting as workers self-deport or disappear into the shadows. Rhode Island families have watched health premiums skyrocket. Grocery bills are up because of senseless tariffs, and fuel costs are up because of a war that shows no sign of ending. These aren't distant national problems. They show up at our kitchen tables.

The second step is to use your own network. Stand Up Rhode Island (SURI) is asking our members and readers of this paper to reach out to people they know in key states: Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas. Two of those are our New England neighbors. Many of us have family in Maine and friends just over the line in New Hampshire. Call, text, or email them. Ask if they have a plan to vote, and tell them why it matters to elect Democrats to the House and Senate - decisions made in the U.S. Congress directly impact our lives here at home. Then encourage them to write a letter to their own local paper. Publications like this one have local readers in every swing state, and a letter from a neighbor can reach people that no campaign ad ever will. In Maine, Susan Collins has voted with the Trump agenda on almost everything, and our friends there can help change that.

Only a Democratic House and Senate can put a real check on this administration in its final two years, including on future Supreme Court nominees and the fairness of future elections.

SURI members are already doing this work, and we invite every Rhode Islander to join us. Vote early, then pick up the phone, text or email. You can make a difference.

MaryKae Wright, Stand Up Rhode Island (SURI)
Bristol