My friend Pete from DC and I are going to go to Virginia for the week (or so) before the election. Last night we looked over the 2004 presidential election map by county, and the voter turnout in 2006 and 2004, and pinpointed Buchanan and Tazewell counties as areas with Democratic views, medium-high population, and low voter turnout - those are counties in the far SW of VA, where the state makes a little sharkfin shape. This morning, I was able to speak with the Tazewell office directly, and the director there welcomed us with open arms and is making arrangements for us to come. I contrast this with the approach of simply using the "come to Virginia" link or contacting the VA campaign outreach - there we were met with little enthusiasm and a lot of vagueness about what we could do. I would much rather work hard and know I was making a difference, personally, so I'm REALLY EXCITED about this opportunity.
I was also just speaking with Fred Wong of the Tallahassee office in Florida, and he's saying that they're very, very eager for volunteers down there, and will have no trouble hooking you up with work and housing if you need it. It sounds like Florida is gearing up in capacity to handle out-of-state volunteers, but I note that the Florida page doesn't have an obvious "Come to Florida" link. So, if you're interested, I'd suggest that you try contacting Tallahassee directly. ;)
I guess that in sum I would just like to say: it's hard to organize volunteers, especially out of state volunteers. Obama offices want you, and if they fail to respond to your generous offer of volunteering the first time, don't give up. Keep trying, get creative, try to talk to specific people. I know it's more work, but it will pay off - you'll get a more rewarding volunteer experience, the offices will get the help they badly need, and hey, maybe America will even get the president we so richly deserve.
P.S.: If you're in NYC, Harlem4Obama is always looking for more office volunteers. They're located at 2479 Frederick Douglass just below 133rd. You can also call 347.577.7547.
I'm in the midst of printing out address labels for about 3,000 Tallahassee-area swing voters, in anticipation of the postcard and cell phone bank we're running in Harlem on Sunday. I have friends already hard at work writing postcards, but any additional volunteers you can muster up would be most appreciated. Also, we're very happy to take any donations of 27-cent stamps or money for postage. $30 sends 100 postcards!
See more details on the event here:http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gs5fh3
States' Actions to Block Voters' Registrations Appear Illegal
"Tens of thousands of eligible voters in at least six swing states have been removed from the rolls or have been blocked from registering in ways that appear to violate federal law, according to a review of state records and Social Security data by The New York Times."
Please pass this along to your friends and loved ones, expecially in Florida, Michigan, Nevada, Colorado, Indiana, Ohio, and North Carolina! Not to mention Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia... while not swing states, the violations of voters' rights there are tremendous.
I'm a dog person - I volunteer regularly at animal shelters, and was totally overjoyed to see a dog in practically every fourth yard when I went canvassing this weekend. So I didn't realize at first that a lot of canvassers are intimidated by dogs.
Aside from the common sense sorts of things like approaching the dog calmly, letting it sniff your palm/fist (no fingers please), etc., there's a trick I've used to calm down crazed/barking dogs that seems to work about 75% of the time.
You've probably seen this opportunity to write personal postcards to swing voters in Washington and Ohio - and other similar local letter-writing events. (Check out the postcards tag for more from other bloggers.) I've just written to the organizer of the postcard event, and luckily, the deadline is being extended, so there's still time.
The basic idea is that you buy ten (or more) local ("Greetings from Minneapolis!", "Beautiful Lake Champlain") postcards from off the rack, write a 2-4 sentence message about why you support Obama, stamp them each with 27-cent stamps, stuff them all into an envelope, then send them off to a main office, where volunteers will address them to undecided voters. Details below the cut.
