So, who’s grabbing a clipboard or their phone? Here’s a thread to discuss what we’re doing in this election cycle.
Tomorrow, I start getting ballot access signatures for Pete Buttigieg. I’ll also be doing some phone banking after this weekend.
I’ll probably do somewhat the same as I did in 2016 – nothing for the primaries, but work for the general election. This time I’ll do more phonebanking – my knees have gotten bad enough that I can’t really do door-to-door canvassing. I’m sure I’ll do some postcard work for races in other states, too.
If anyone here is interested in volunteering, but not committed enough to one candidate to want to work for that person, may I suggest signing up to be a pollwatcher? And although it’s not volunteer work, being an election judge pays so little it might as well be – and most areas need election judges.
I live in Indiana, which isn’t a swing state. It will either go red, or in the rare case it goes blue that means the entire race was a gigantic rout.
I may travel to ohio to do door to door canvassing, or maybe do some volunteer work for house races in the state.
What are ballot access signatures?
I’ll be doing it through my NEA local–interviewing local candidates for the possibility of endorsement, and then organizing teachers to pass out “apple cards” with our endorsements at polling sites, and doing that myself.
Politics are local. The important stuff, anyway. Definitely the stuff that you can have an impact upon.
I will be working with the city council woman that I helped get elected last time around for her re-election. If it comes up, I will endorse other democratic candidates, but my focus is her keeping her seat against the guy she won it against last time who is running again.
IMHO, it’s more important to build up local politicians and develop a ground game and talent for working towards higher office. One of the problems that I’ve seen is that the democrats don’t have any really eligible up and comers to national offices. People look to the presidency like it’s a golden ring, and the US legislature as though it is the only thing that matters.
We have restrictive reproductive rights measures being proposed in state houses across the country. Ohio has proposed one that nearly rivals Alabama’s in the stripping of rights from a woman. We need to fill up these lower offices before we can really start concentrating on the national stuff.
In Illinois a candidate needs 5000 signatures to get on the primary ballot. Anyone can sign who is an Illinois registered voter. This year should be easier since there is no competitive Republican primary. I can sign for as many Democratic candidates as I want but I can’t sign for any Republicans or they’re all invalid.
And that’s admirable, everyone is in a different situation. My state rep and senator are two of the most powerful members of the Illinois state assembly and will be re-elected easily. Same with Dick Durbin to the US Senate who will only face some Republican sacrificial lamb. We had Mayoral and aldermen elections back in February. So, I’m free to focus on the presidential race here.
In which state do you live? I ask because in Illinois we have strict rules about “electioneering” that prohibit handing out endorsement materials (among other activities – wearing visible attire that supports a candidate, for example, is also not allowed) within a certain distance (I think 50 feet) of the polling place.
We have that in Ohio as well, except I can’t find a specific reference to the number of feet. We have flags that we put up, and you cannot do any electioneering between the flags and the polling place, nor within 10 feet of the line if it extends outside of the flagged area.
NC, and yup, we have similar limits. It may be 50 feet, I don’t remember.
In 2018 I stood in front of polling spots during early voting and on election night. There was often a crowd of us, passing out Sierra Club and Democrats and NEA materials, as well as Republicans and maybe some religious rightwing group as well. We all knew where the line was and staked out a spot near that line. I didn’t really worry too much if someone took a Sierra Club flyer instead of mine, but I tried to make sure people would see something more than the Republican flyer.
I kind of hate doing it, because I kind of hate being harassed when I go to vote. But many people are mid-information voters. They know who they want at the top of the ticket, but they don’t know much about local races, or judges, or the like. They’re happy to see who’s recommended by their local public education advocates. So I had to get over myself and be willing to do it.
Yeah, people neglect the local races. You ask someone who they are voting for, and they will respond with the presidential candidate of their choice. Maybe their US congresscritter as well.
Ask them about state reps, state judges, county officials, or municipal officers, and they just go blank. Judges are even worse, as they generally (in Ohio anyway) do not have a D or an R next to their name, so a low information voter has no idea what they are voting on. Same with school board members and a few other offices that are considered to be non-partisan.
Being out there and helping these individuals make what are actually very important decisions is very necessary task, and while it’s probably just as if not more annoying than knocking on a few hundred doors, it is probably even more value.
I am not permitted to directly volunteer for regulatory purposes.
But I do host phone banks at my home and I instruct canvassers in how to frame the message and improve their communications.
Thanks for explaining it. 
I live in Wyoming. I’ll just be sitting around bitching that the Rs will win, ESPECIALLY if they shot someone on 5th Avenue.
Go vote in your primaries. If the republicans are sure to win, then vote int eh republican primaries. Vote for the candidates that are most sane.
I’ve never volunteered for a political campaign before. Is there any group whose sole purpose is ensuring Donald Trump doesn’t get re-elected? I don’t necessarily care to campaign for any one candidate. I’ll switch candidates at any point if it lessens the odds of his re-election. Does something like that exist?
I didn’t do much for the primaries, but I phone banked and went door to door in the general. I’ll probably get started earlier this time.
I live in Illinois but I’m canvassing for the Democrats just over the border in Wisconsin. Illinois is a blue lock next year, but we gotta have Wisconsin.
How does that work? Do you just cold call people and pitch your candidate? Do you have anything info about whom your calling?