Door Hanger Advertisement: Write-In Joe Kopsick for U.S. House of Representatives on November 3rd, 2020 (Versions #2, #3, & #4)

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Created on July 30th and August 26th, 2020

Published on August 26th, 2020

Edited on August 29th, 2020

Advertisement: Write-In Joe Kopsick for U.S. House of Representatives on November 3rd, 2020 (Versions #2, #3, & #4)

Click on images, and/or open in a new tab or window, to enlarge and see in full detail

Images created on July 30th and August 26th, 2020

Published on August 26th, 2020

Edited on August 29th, 2020

Response to the Green Party Youth Caucus's Candidate Survey

Q1: Name?

A1: Joseph W. Kopsick.







Q2: Email?

A2: jwkopsick@gmail.com





Q3: Phone?

A3: 608-417-9395

Q4: Position Sought?

A4: U.S. Representative (10^th District).

Q5: State?

A5: Illinois.






Q6: Are you running as a Green? If not, why not?

A6: No, I'm running as a write-in candidate, and trying to form a Mutualist Party in Illinois. The Green Party declined to nominate me by one vote.






Q7: Have you sought and have you been endorsed by your local party and your state party? If not, why not?

A7: I tried to get nominated by the Green Party but approval failed by one vote. I tried to get nominated by the Libertarian Party before that, and David Rych was nominated instead. I was the only person whom the state Libertarian Party ran somebody against, although I was told that it was in error and I would have been nominated if I had contacted the right person in time. But the way I lost the nomination at the state convention makes me doubt that; electronic voting failed, and then in the paper ballot round I was handed a ballot filled out with the name of my opponent instead of a blank ballot. Ideologically I am right between the Libertarian and Green parties, so I probably failed both parties' tests because I am not strongly aligned enough with one party or the other. But I believe that candidates in the middle will get more votes, while still promoting a large number of Green Party interests, because I believe that the radical middle is closer to where the average undecided and independent voter is. I want radical, swift change, but I also want lasting, constitutional reform, so I tend to mention the Constitution and the need for balanced budgets more than the average Green seems to appreciate. But the need to protect the environment, anti-war issues, and small parties' need for election reform, are progressive values that will always be important to me.





Q8: What other groups have endorsed your campaign?

A8: None so far, although I am in contact with Black Lives Matter, Stepping Stones (a sexual abuse recovery organization), and the local Green and Libertarian party chapters, concerning legislative matters related to issues they care about. My campaign manager and I are working on reaching out to more groups, including on social media.





Q9: How does your campaign help build the Green Party?

A9: Growing the Green Party, the Libertarian Party, and the number of independents in elected office are major goals of mine. I like to remind Libertarians that the party's co-founder David Nolan was a "Geo-Libertarian". This means that in terms of economics and tax policy, Nolan believed that Land Value Taxation is the most efficient, and least harmful, form of taxation. Milton Friedman praised L.V.T. as well. This means that Greens and Libertarians are much more compatible on environmental and tax issues than they think they are. I will promote things Greens and Libertarians agree on: decentralization, anti-war issues, civil liberties and police brutality reforms, and re-orienting tax policies across the nation in a manner which focuses on preserving the environment and the quality of land. I will advocate replacing all or most current forms of taxation - except for mineral resource exploration fees - with a tax on the unimproved value of land, and on the disuse and abuse of land in a way which makes it unusable by other potential human owners and by native species.





Q10: How does your campaign help empower youth?

A10: One of my top three issues is protecting children, together with reforming education. My proposed constitutional amendment, SKA (the Safe Kids Amendment), would reform education and child trafficking laws in a manner which protects children from kidnapping while also providing them with the skills and education they need to have middle class careers. I support bringing wood and auto shops, and other trade skills courses, back to high schools, but only for upperclassmen, and only with waiver systems, and on campuses separate from freshmen and sophomores. Additionally, as part of SKA, all states should be prohibited from allowing people under 17 to get married. I will also push for a full congressional investigation into the crimes of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.









Q11: How do you foresee your campaign advancing liberation for frontline communities?

[Author's Note: “Frontline communities” refers to communities on the front line of potential ocean level rise due to sea ice melting which results from less and less ice melting each year due to harsher summers between those melting seasons.]


A11: Tax policy should be re-oriented so as to focus on using punitive taxation to disincentivize the degradation of land, water, and air. Sourcing all of government's taxes from the misuse and abuse of land, will help prevent environmental degradation, while improving our economy. It will help production occur with the minimum amount of pollution necessary, and for each community to set up Community Land Trusts would help ensure that no pollution and mineral extraction occur without fully compensating the community (through paying taxes and compensating the community's health costs). Refocusing a huge portion of our political economy on environmental issues and land use, will help ensure that the land is responsibly developed, without either sacrificing the environment, or sacrificing too many jobs too quickly. I additionally support a tax on land hoarding, and I support ending all subsidies to all forms of energy, to end the rigging of the energy markets.





Q12: How do your foresee you campaign advancing anticapitalism and ecosocialism?

A12: If the question is "How do you foresee your campaign advancing ecosocialism?", then my answer is that I hope to promote Georgist (land-oriented), Mutualist, and socialist values and policy proposals, by discouraging the collection of rent, interest, and profit, but without prohibiting them. I will make it clear that these things are symptoms of the problems of monopoly; government grants the monopoly right to collect rent, interest, and/or profit to a given bank or business or certified lender. This rigs the economy; therefore rent, interest, and profit should decrease. They will only go away completely, when monopolies are broken up and defunded. I support removing all taxpayer supports of monopolies and oligopolies, to give socialists (and people wishing to build voluntary communes) the opportunity to participate in the economy with everybody else.





Q13: How many doors do you think your campaign can knock on? How many calls can it make?

A13: My campaign currently has only a small number of volunteers, but we are in the process of finding more volunteers. We will be spreading awareness about mail-in voting, as well as the push to make mail-in voting more difficult.



Q14: What kind of events and community involvement will your campaign have?

A14: My campaign will attempt to hold meet-and-greets, including candidate question-and-answer sessions, at local libraries, and possibly private events. We have held one meet-and-greet so far; in March in Lake Bluff.





Q15: How much money does your campaign anticipate fundraising? And how?

A15: We are not actively fundraising. My campaign manager has donated some gifts to the campaign, in the form of paying for campaign literature and signs and advertisements to be printed. But I want to set a good example for other congressional campaigns, by not accepting corporate contributions, and having my campaign be funded (thus far) by myself and my campaign manager. I hope that other candidates follow my example, and I hope that this helps get money out of politics.



Q16: What other groups will you seek support from?

A16: I will seek support from any and all parties, clubs, interest groups, and organizations that support civil liberties, peace, environmental justice, racial justice, equal protection of minorities, individual rights, increased ballot access for third parties and independents, decentralization of powers not specifically delegated to the federal government, and serious fiscal reform.






Q17: What parts of the district do you think you are strongest in and why?

A17: I'm not sure. Due to my message of promoting economic reforms that would make the markets more free and more fair, I suspect that I will do the best in areas with large numbers of young people, low-income voters, and people who do not identify strongly with either the Democratic Party or Republican Party. I also believe that making environmental issues a top priority will help appeal to people across my district, because many people in Lake County live near places where industrial pollution has recently taken place.





Q18: What forms of support would you ideally like from the Youth Caucus?

A18: I would like your endorsement, but what really matters to me are the individual write-in votes on Election Day (as well as your members' trust in me as an independent citizen-legislator). And if your members and supporters could share links about my campaign, I would appreciate it.






Q19: What is your current online and social media presence?

A19: I am active on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and other sites.





Q20: Website?

A20: www.joekopsick.com (under construction).




Q21: Facebook?

A21:
- Personal: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012735515034
- Campaign Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/586988188625917/
- Mutualist Party of IL page: http://www.facebook.com/MutualistPartyIL/?modal=admin_todo_tour





Q22: Twitter?

A22: http://twitter.com/JoeKopsick





Q23: Other?

A23:
- My blog: www.aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/

- My platform: http://aquarianagrarian.blogspot.com/2019/08/expanded-platform-for-us-house-of.html
- YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/JoeKopsick4Congress





Q24: What is your media plan for your campaign?

A24: I believe that it will not be necessary to attempt to garner media coverage during the second half of August, because I suspect that the fact that I have made it into the League of Women Voters' debates throughout the month of September, will gain me some media coverage, without any effort on my own behalf. But I am interested in reaching out to independent media, freelance journalists, and reporters who are used to covering independent and third party runs.

Responses Written and Published on August 17th, 2020

Joe Kopsick for Congress Yard Signs

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Created and Published on August 7th, 2020

Originally Published Under the Title

"Joe Kopsick for Congress Yard Sign"

First Image Created and Added on August 7th, 2020

All Other Images Created and Added on August 17th, 2020

Door Hanger Advertisement: Write-In Joe Kopsick for U.S. House of Representatives on November 3rd, 2020 (Version #1)

Created and published on July 30th, 2020

Title Edited on August 26th, 2020

Advertisement: Write-In Joe Kopsick for U.S. House of Representatives on November 3rd, 2020 (Version #1)

Created and Published on July 30th, 2020

Second Image Created on July 30th, 2020

and Added on August 6th, 2020

Title Edited on August 26th. 2020

Guide for Volunteers Circulating Petitions to Get Joe Kopsick on the Ballot for U.S. House

     This document was created by the campaign to elect Joe Kopsick to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2020. It was created to instruct campaign volunteers on how to approach potential voters and signatories to the petition to get Joe Kopsick on the ballot, by name, on November 3rd, 2020.

     The document has been published here, for two reasons: 1) to allow campaign volunteers to access this information for job training purposes; and 2) to show other independent and growing campaigns how to train signature gatherers for their own campaign's purposes.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Phase 1:

APPROACHING VOTERS POLITELY AND CASUALLY

and

FINDING OUT WHETHER THE PERSON YOU'RE TALKING TO IS A REGISTERED VOTER

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 1A:

     Decide, carefully, whom to approach. Avoid people who are using cell phones, talking to other people, or who appear to be in a rush. Take care not to bother people who may be busy.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 1B:

     Approach the person casually; do not come within 6 feet of them. Take care not to appear to follow people or intimidate them.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 1C:

     Avoid misgendering the person; do not use the phases “ma'am”, “madam”, “girl”, “sir”, “dude”, “man”, “my guy”, etc..

     Address the person in a gender-neutral fashion, using any one of the following icebreakers:
- “May I have a moment of your time?”
- “Do you have a second to talk about the election?”
- “Hi, are you a registered voter?” or “Excuse me, are you a registered voter?”

     If the person is interested, then proceed to Step 5 (determining whether the person is registered).

     If the person is not interested, then see Step 4.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 1D:

     If the person appears very reluctant to engage you, or says they're not interested, do not bother them any further. If they say something, say “Thank you for your time” if it's appropriate. Avoid inconveniencing and upsetting them, wait a moment, and move on to another person (i.e., go back to Step 1).

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 1E:

     If the person says “I don't know” (after Step 3), show them the QR code that lets them know whether they're registered, and which districts they live in. Tell them that they can enter their name, address, and birth date on that page, to get that information.

     If the person has time, invite them to do it on their cell phone, or use your own (if the voter is OK with that).

     If the person is not registered to vote, but they want to help, tell them that their signature will be counted as long as they register to vote by July 20^th, 2020.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Phase 2:

EXPLAINING THE CAMPAIGN AND INTRODUCING JOE KOPSICK

and

EXPLAINING WHAT THE PETITION DOES, AND WHAT THE SIGNATURE MEANS
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

     Step 2A:

     If the person is registered to vote, say either:

- “I'm working with a campaign to elect Joe Kopsick to the U.S. House. Do you know who you're voting for, for Congress, this year?”, or

- “I'm working with a campaign to start a Mutualist Party in Illinois. Are you satisfied by the current set of choices you have, in regards to political parties in America?

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

     Step 2B:

     If the person is interested, and wants to know more, then tell them the following:

- “I work for a campaign that's collecting signatures to get independent candidate Joe Kopsick on the ballot for U.S. House on November 3^rd. Every signature also helps establish a Mutualist Party in Illinois.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

     Step 2C:

     Offer them free campaign literature, whether they want to sign the petition or not. But do not make them take it if they don't want it.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

     Step 2D:

     If the person wants to know more about what they're signing, and what the petition does, tell them the following:

- “This petition helps get independent candidate Joe Kopsick on the ballot for Congress, and it helps establish a Mutualist Party in Illinois.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

     Step 2E:

     If the person wants to know more about the Mutualist Party, then give them the relevant literature, and explain the following:

- “Joe Kopsick has founded a Mutualist Party in Illinois, but he is currently the party's only candidate. Every signature that helps get Joe Kopsick on the ballot, helps the Mutualist Party get closer to 5% of the vote, at which point the party would be legally recognized as a major party in the State of Illinois.”

     If the person still wants to know what the Mutualist Party is about, explain the following:

- “The party supports making the economy fairer and more free at the same time, and wants the economic system of Mutualism to be a balancing influence between socialism (on the left) and capitalism (on the right).”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 2F:

     If the person wants to know more about what they're signing, and what the petition does, tell them the following:

- “This petition helps get independent candidate Joe Kopsick on the ballot for Congress, and it helps establish a Mutualist Party in Illinois.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 2G:

     If the person needs more information about what the petition does, say the following:

     “It's for registered voters (or people who will register to vote by July 20^th) who want to see Joe Kopsick appear on the November 3^rd ballot for Congress. The full name of the position is U.S. Representative from Illinois's 10^th congressional district. Signing this petition helps Joe Kopsick get on the ballot by name.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 2H:

     If the person doesn't know whether they live in the 10^th district, then show them either or both of the following two things, to find out:

     1. The list of towns, with the district map on the other side (copies of which have been provided to you).

     Towns: Bannockburn, Beach Park, Buffalo Grove (portions), Deerfield, Des Plaines (portions), Diamond Lake, Fort Sheridan, Fox Lake, Fremont Center, Gages Lake (portions), Glencoe, Glenview (portions), Great Lakes, Green Oaks, Grayslake, Gurnee (portions), Hainesville, Highland Park and Kennedy, Highwood, Indian Creek, Indian Trails, Ingleside, Kildeer, Lake Bluff and Knollwood, Lake Forest and Mettawa, Lake Villa (portions), Lakemoor (portions), Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Lindenhurst (portions), Long Grove, Long Lake, Mt. Prospect (portions), Mundelein and Ivanhoe and Sylvan Lake, Niles (portions), North Chicago, Northbrook (portions), Park City, Prairie View, Prospect Heights (portions), Riverwoods, Rondout, Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Heights, Round Lake Park, Third Lake, Vernon Hills, Volo (portions), Wadsworth (portions), Waukegan, West Miltmore, Wheeling, Wildwood, Winthrop Harbor, Zion

     2. The QR code that allows voters to determine whether they're registered, and which districts they live in

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

     Step 2I:

     Ask the person to sign the petition. Say “Would you like to sign the petition?”

___________________________________________________________________________________________________








___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Phase 3:

CLOSING THE DEAL
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

     Step 3A:

     If they're already eager to sign, and you've skipped over some of the previous steps, and they want to know, quickly, what the petition does, then give them this concise explanation:

- “This petition helps get independent candidate Joe Kopsick on the ballot for Congress, and it helps establish a Mutualist Party in Illinois.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

     Step 3B:

     If the person asks “How many signatures do you need?”, tell them this:

     - “One thousand two hundred nine (1,209).”

     If they ask “Why is that?”, tell them this:

     - “It's one-half of a percent of the number of people who voted in the same race in the previous election, which was 2018”.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

     Step 3C:

     If the person asks, “What happens if you don't get enough signatures?”, say the following:

     - “If the campaign doesn't get enough signatures to get Joe Kopsick's name on the ballot, then voters will still be able to vote for him on November 3^rd; by writing his name into the write-in space on the ballot, which will be underneath the names of his opponents who get their names on the ballot.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

     Step 3D:

     If the person asks where you're getting this information from, say this:

     - “All of this information is available in the 2020 Candidate's Guide, which can be downloaded from the Illinois state Board of Elections website.”

     (That website is at www.elections.il.gov)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

     Step 3E:

     If the person asks whether they will be obligated to do anything, or prohibited from doing anything, as a consequence of signing this form – or if they ask specifically whether they will be obligated to vote for Joe Kopsick on Election Day – then tell them the following:

     - “This form is not a binding obligation to support the candidate on Election Day; this is only saying 'I want another choice on the ballot for U.S. House, and I want that choice to be Joe Kopsick.' But if you sign this petition, then you may not sign a petition supporting any of his opponents' efforts to get on the ballot, for the rest of the signature gathering period.” (That period ends on July 20^th, 2020.)

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 3F:

If the person makes a mistake while filling the form out, ask them to start over again, and fill a blank line in correctly from the start. Remember which line they made the mistake on, so you can include that line on the list of deletions.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 3G:

     If the person asks whether they can leave a petition out for people to sign, tell them no. Petition circulators must be physically present while signatures are being collected.

     Tell them that they can help us collect signatures to put Joe Kopsick on the ballot, but only if they stay with the forms while collecting, to make sure that voters fill out the forms correctly.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 3H:

     Thank the person for their signature.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 3I:
     Offer them additional literature.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 3J:

     Point to business cards, or other information, to let them know how to get in touch with the candidate and the campaign.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 3K:

     Tell the person, “Would you like to stay updated about the campaign via e-mail, or help the campaign collect signatures?”

     If they say yes, then show them the sheet; ask for their name, town, and e-mail address; and ask them to indicate whether they'd like to receive e-mails, volunteer, or both.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Step 3L:

     Wish them a pleasant day (or week, or month; whatever is appropriate for the situation).

     Unless it would be rude, also remind them to register to vote by July 20^th, and/or to vote for Joe Kopsick on November 3^rd.

     If they leave the encounter still unsure as to whether they'll support Joe, remind them to vote that day in general.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

In order to sign petitions to help Joe Kopsick get on the ballot,
you must meet ALL FIVE of the below requirements:
___________________________________________________________________________________1. You must be an eligible voter.
(convicted felons' signatures will be counted, but undocumented immigrants' signatures will not)

___________________________________________________________________________________
2. You must turn 18 by Election Day (must be born on or before November 3^rd, 2002)

___________________________________________________________________________________
3. You must register to vote by July 20^th, 2020.
___________________________________________________________________________________
4. You must NOT have signed a petition for any of Joe Kopsick's opponents in the 10^th District race

[i.e., Brad Schneider (D), Valerie Mukherjee (R), David Rych (L), and Bradley Sigmund Heinz (I)]

___________________________________________________________________________________

5. You must be a resident of Illinois's 10^th Congressional District, comprised of the following towns:

Bannockburn

Beach Park

Buffalo Grove

(northern half only)

Deerfield

Des Plaines

(northern half only)

Diamond Lake

Fort Sheridan

Fox Lake

Fremont Center

Gages Lake

(central and southern parts only)

Glencoe

Glenview(western half only)

Great Lakes

Green Oaks

Grayslake

Gurnee

(southwest, southeast, and northeast corners only)

Hainesville

Highland Park

(incl. Kennedy)

Highwood

Indian Creek

Indian Trails

Ingleside

Kildeer

Lake Bluff

(incl. Knollwood)

Lake Forest

(incl. Mettawa)

Lake Villa

(southern half only)

Lakemoor

(northeast
quarter only)

Libertyville

Lincolnshire

Lindenhurst

(all parts except portions

of northeast)

Long Grove

Long Lake

Mt. Prospect

(eastern half only)

Mundelein

(incl. Ivanhoe

and Sylvan Lake)

Niles

(extreme northwest corner only)

North Chicago

Northbrook

(areas northwest

of Shermer Rd.)

Park City

Prairie View

Prospect Heights

(southern half only)

Riverwoods

Rondout

Round Lake

Round Lake Beach

Round Lake Heights

Round Lake Park

Third Lake

Vernon Hills

Volo

(central and
north only)

Wadsworth

(eastern half only)

Waukegan

West Miltmore

Wheeling

Wildwood

Winthrop Harbor

Zion

______________________________________
1,209 signatures will be required (0.5% of the number of people who voted in the 2018 election)

and must be collected and turned in before July 20^th, 2020.

If you'd like to volunteer to canvass / collect signatures for Joe Kopsick for Congress,

email jwkopsick@gmail.com (or call 608-417-9395) to request petition forms!

Illinois's 10th congressional district

Written and Originally Published on July 3rd, 2020

Expanded on July 4th, 2020