And I don't like answering my door to strangers.  But outreach is important.  Even if people don't talk to you, they may be influenced by the literature you dropped.

Thank you for all you are doing.

I actually like canvassing.  But there needs to be some positive feedback....please!

Of course my favorite canvassing experience was in Manchester, NH for Howard.  An elderly couple invited us in to warm up a bit and when they thanked us for what we were doing, it was just the most incredible feeling. 

But overall, I don't think we as activists are setting the goal high enough.  The goal should be to end the need for canvassing and lit drops.  There should come a time when citizens act like American citizens--fully involved and informed. 

I'm an idealist...always have been.  Always will be.  I want to be able to hold myself, my neighbors and my candidates to the highest standards.

Sorry I was working today or I would have been plugging along out there with you and Monica. I'm hoping to go next Saturday.

My take on the apathy is this: I'm not mad at the voters. I'm mad at our elected "representatives" who get into office and immediately forget about who they are supposed to represent... until right around election time. I'm mad at politicians who promise the earth and don't deliver, or worse yet, promise the earth and then do the exact opposite of everything they promised.

I'm mad at all the public-trough-feeders-at and all the players who have used and abused the poor voters and left them utterly indifferent. I remember being a kid who found politics the most exciting thing there was and now find myself a cynical adult who goes through the motions, hoping whoever I'm working for doesn't turn out to be even worse of an a-hole than I believe he/she will be.

So for me, I want representatives to DO THEIR JOB and REPRESENT THEIR CONSTITUENTS 24/7. I would walk through fire for such a person.

-- volney

Hey Volney...

Thanks for your words.  What you said does allow me to think about this in a different light.  Our elected representatives and their broken promises are most likely the direct cause of voter apathy. 

But everyone needs to fight the urge to drop out of the role of citizen.  And I still wish everyone was like Dean people--you know, smart and informed and involved.

It's kind of a vicious cycle. What the pols do makes the voters apathetic, and then the apathetic voters fail to call the pols to account... lather, rinse, repeat.

-- v.

So, what is the key to break the cycle?

I'd be happy if at some point, there was 75% voter turnout.  Is this the year for some much greater than average turn out?  I hope so. 

Speaking of voter turn out, just days after the 2007 elections, I began to write to local and state representatives, not worrying about whether they were my representative or not.  I made a suggestion to that might help with voter turn out.  I suggested the use of the variable message/Amber Alert road signs to flash messages on election day/primary day to remind people to vote. 

I sent my letters to 13 elected officials at the county and state level.  I sent the same letter to all twice--6 months apart.  Not one responded to me.

I do not think a persons front door is ever the correct place for pursuasion.

Canvassing more narrowly is listening to answers to simple telling questions which determine support for GOTV list purposes. Lit drops can be knock and drop with an invitation to learn more about your candidate, or simply droping the lit and engaging in random conversations(the best kind of pursuasion).

A front door is a good place to invite sharing of their concerns (it is rude to share yours unless you are a candidate)

I do not think it is ever a good idea to go door to door if you are talking instead of listening, always have a piece of lit to leave or simply ask if all in the house are registered to vote, and then be prepared to take action reporting back concerns or especially things like a yard sign, don't ever forget to take one back if asked.

I do like a crew for expanded door knocking where a candidate walking a neighborhood can be leveraged by having a team which will quickly report a voter that wants to talk to the candidate and get a response while doing a simultaneous knock and drop on adjacent streets.

We have been very sucessful doing a team effort that way with two or three candidates working a neighborhood with four or five volunteers.

But if you are showing up at the next door angry, time to go home and chill yourself.

any public space is fair game for political conversation, a person's home is their castle and one must be careful not to do more harm than good

I know the experience is totally different when I walk with a candidate door to door.  Those experiences are usually wonderful and the conversations are awesome even when the voter is of a different party. 

I don't ever show up at a door angry.  Door to door is a weird experience.  It's like Let's Make a Deal because you never know what's behind door #1, #2 or #3. 

My favorite experience was coming upon a townhouse owned on her hands and knees in her garden.  When I started speaking to her, she didn't move a muscle in response to my appearance in her front lawn.  I got the impression I was bothering her, so I simply said I would leave some candidate lit and if she had any questions, the candidate's phone number was in the lit.  She turned ever so slightly and looked up at me.  She said she had a question.  The question was "Do you know how to keep squirrels and chipmonks from digging up and eating bulbs?"  I told her all the home remedies I had heard of and she said she tried all of them.  I thanked her for her time and went on my way. 

Continued

That evening, I google search the topic of squirrels/animals eating flower bulbs.  I printed out 43 pages of information, put it in an envelop with more campaign lit and dropped it off at her townhouse.  Now I had no idea if she found this act of kindness impressive or not or whether it secured a vote or not, but I did what I could. 

Door to door definitely works in many situations.  Some people are incredibly openminded about answering their door and at the very least, being polite.  However, just like with phone banking, I believe there is a saturation point.  When there are visible signs of another candidate's lit in the neighborhood, things will be tougher because people may have already been interrupted once that day or the day before. 

I think the use of text messaging in a campaign is brilliant but runs the danger or over use and there for an added cost for the recipient.  But one or two well placed text messages might be very effective.

the difference between a litdrop and a knock and drop is being polite and solicitious and your response about the bulbs won't soon be forgotten and I bet you added a vote.

if you interupt people make it worth their time

"Do you have any concerns you want me to pass along?" is the question I use to "talk politics"

and if they don't have any I don't try to create some, I'll just had them the lit and say "here is some literature, hope you vote Democratic after you check it out"

sometimes you bump into someone living alone who wants human contact and it is hard to get away, but maybe that door is the reason God put you on that street that day(or was your fate)

I think it of utmost importance to be polite when you ring someones bell.

I think the Rochester crew does an awesome job canvassing.  I know everyone is polite and probably goes out of their way to be extra nice. 

We pick up their newspapers that were thrown into their driveway and take them to the door with us.  We catch their dogs as they try to make a made dash out the screen door. 

For some reason, I think people are becoming more weary about politics and anyone who shows up at their door.

Typically canvassing doesn't have the role of swaying anyone, rather is the ID process for GOTV.

Candidates need to go knock on doors, I just don't think volunteers should do it without direct involvement with a candidate, or to register voters, or deliver lit.

at least that has been my experience in the many thousands of doors I have been at over the years

volunteers are very effective however at magnifying the impact of a candidate who is also right in the neighborhood

that doesn't answer your frustation with low information voters Thomas but that is a separate issue from pursuading voters at their door, just don't think except for the candidate that it is a good idea, but I would be glad to hear from someone who thinks I'm wrong, this post kind of confirms my instincts, but I haven't seen emperical evidence