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Political Party/527

Turn PA Blue

Website:

turnpablue.org
Type:

Political Action Committee (PAC)
Founded:

2017
Executive Director:

Jamie Perrapato

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Turn PA Blue is a left-of-center voter mobilization and activism group focused on electing Democratic politicians to the Pennsylvania legislature and weakening voter integrity laws, with a particular emphasis on removing limitations on mail-in voting. 1

History and Activities

Turn PA Blue was founded in 2017 in response to Donald Trump winning the 2016 presidential election. 2

Turn PA Blue engages in mass-scale phone banking in support of Democratic Party candidates. In addition to phone banking, Turn PA Blue also engages in “Mail-in Ballot phone banking,” in which phone bankers call registered Pennsylvania voters to encourage mail-in voting. 3

It also provides over-the-internet training sessions to prepare activists to text voters with voting and issue information. 4

Turn PA Blue operates an online “voting center” where residents of Pennsylvania can enter their name and address, as well as other information, and Turn PA Blue will register the individual to vote, provide updates on whether the applicant has been registered to vote. 5 The voting center also provides online input forms that once filled Turn PA Blue uses to register individuals to vote with mail-in ballots. 6

Rallies

Turn PA Blue operates rallies and events in support of Democratic Party candidates. 7 These rallies have been attended by Pennsylvania elected officials including U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) and state Reps. Melissa Shusterman (D) and Sara Innamorato (D). 8

A Turn PA Blue event hosted Jacqueline Westman as a guest speaker. Westman is an employee of the Lincoln Project, 9 a controversial organization known for its vocal opposition to the Trump administration. 10

Other speakers at Turn PA Blue rallies have included Deb Ciamacca of Promote the Vote, a voter mobilization project of the National Council of Jewish Woman, a left-of-center advocacy organization with 60 chapters in its 30-state policy network. 11

Turn PA Blue also advertises events and rallies hosted by like-minded organizations, including the Pennsylvania chapter of the Working Families Party, a far-left political party that has advocated for government control over many aspects of the economy and endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in prior presidential elections. 12 Commentators have referred to the Working Families Party as one of the organizations leading the “post-Sanders” movement that intends to carry out his political vision. 13

Post-Roe Activity

Turn PA Blue has criticized the United States Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade. Turn PA Blue has encouraged its phone and text bankers to assert that after the overturning of Roe, “women’s rights are on the ballot.” 14 State Sen. Judith Ward (R) has commented this messaging, criticizing organizations such as Turn PA Blue by highlighting that Pennsylvania has no law in place that provides less access to abortion than was available prior to Roe being overturned. Ward also noted that the Republican-held Pennsylvania legislature’s only response to Dobbs was a ballot proposal for a constitutional amendment to limit abortion access, allowing the people of Pennsylvania to directly decide the scope of abortion laws. 15

Support for BLM

Jamie Perrapato, Turn PA Blue’s executive director, participated in a podcast hosted by Barnstorming PA that claims to address “a great need of [sic] messaging capacity expansion for the resistance against the Trump Administration.” 16 During the podcast, Perrapato praised the Black Lives Matter movement and stated that she believes her organization can translate support for that movement into more general support for Democratic Party candidates in suburban and rural Pennsylvania. 17

Leadership

Jamie Perrapato is the executive director of Turn PA Blue. Prior to forming the organization and serving as its executive director, Perrapato was a commercial litigation and criminal law attorney. 18 She has participated as an activist speaker at the Philadelphia Women’s March and at events sponsored by Netroots Nation, which supports the election of the more far-left candidates of the Democratic Party. 19

Andrea Koplove is the organizing director of Turn PA Blue. 20 She leads the organization’s phone banking, canvassing, and general voter mobilization efforts. 21 Prior to joining Turn PA Blue, Koplove was a public defender. 22

References

  1. “A Bit About Us.” Turn PA Blue. https://www.turnpablue.org/about
  2. Scott Detrow and Susan Davis. “A Year Later, The Shock Of Trump’s Win Hasn’t Totally Worn Off In Either Party.” NPR. November 9, 2017. Accessed September 30, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2017/11/09/562307566/a-year-later-the-shock-of-trumps-win-hasn-t-totally-worn-off-in-either-party
  3. “Take Action – Phone Banks.” Turn PA Blue. https://www.turnpablue.org/take-action
  4. “Take Action – Text Voters.” Turn PA Blue. https://www.turnpablue.org/take-action
  5. “Voting Center.” Turn PA Blue. https://vote.pa/?org=tpab
  6. “Voting Center.” Turn PA Blue. https://vote.pa/?org=tpab
  7. “Turning Outrage into Action!” Turn PA Blue. https://www.mobilize.us/turnpablue/event/520924/
  8. “Turning Outrage into Action!” Turn PA Blue. https://www.mobilize.us/turnpablue/event/520924/
  9.  “Jacqueline Westman.” LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelinewestman
  10. “The Lincoln Project Tells Donald Trump: ‘We’re The Only Ones You Can Trust.’” The Lincoln Project. August 16, 2022. Accessed October 1, 2022. https://lincolnproject.us/the-lincoln-project-tells-donald-trump-were-the-only-ones-you-can-trust/
  11. “About Us.” National Council of Jewish Women. Accessed July 11, 2022. https://www.ncjw.org/about/
  12. “The Working Families Party Endorses Bernie Sanders For President.” The Intercept. March 9,  https://theintercept.com/2020/03/09/working-families-party-endorses-bernie-sanders-president/
  13. Malpas, Amelia. “Win or lose, progressive challengers have influenced the Democrats’ agenda.” Washington Post. September 30, 2022. Accessed October 1, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/30/progressives-democrats-the-squad-socialists/
  14. Stephens, Jenny. “Bucks County Rally Energizes Pro-Choice Women To Get Out The Vote.” Buck County Beacon. September 29, 2022. Accessed October 1, 2022. https://buckscountybeacon.com/2022/09/bucks-county-rally-energizes-pro-choice-women-to-get-out-the-vote/
  15. Ward, Judy Sen. “Setting the Record Straight.” Morrisons Cove Herald. August 4, 2022. Accessed October 1, 2022. https://www.mcheraldonline.com/story/2022/08/04/opinion/op-ed-setting-the-record-straight/12154.html
  16. “About Us.” Barnstorming PA. https://barnstormingpa.org/home/about-us/?v=f24485ae434a
  17. “Deep Dive Roundtable Into PA General Assembly Races with Jamie Perrapato, Stephen Caruso, and Ben Forstate (s3e8).” Barnstorming PA. https://barnstormingpa.org/podcast/deep-dive-roundtable-into-pa-general-assembly-races-with-jamie-perrapato-stephen-caruso-and-ben-forstate-s3e8/?v=f24485ae434a
  18. “Meet the Team – Jamie Perrapato.” Turn PA Blue. https://www.turnpablue.org/copy-of-meet-the-team
  19. “About.” Netroots Nation. https://www.netrootsnation.org/about/
  20. “Meet the Team – Andrea Koplove.” Turn PA Blue. https://www.turnpablue.org/copy-of-meet-the-team
  21.  “Meet the Team – Andrea Koplove.” Turn PA Blue. https://www.turnpablue.org/copy-of-meet-the-team
  22. “Meet the Team – Andrea Koplove.” Turn PA Blue. https://www.turnpablue.org/copy-of-meet-the-team
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