# Public Service Announcement - How To Deal With Campaign Workers **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 31, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730 "2010-07-31T21:44:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/1 "2010-07-31T21:44:18Z")
If you get a phone call or someone knocks at your door asking for your feelings and which person you prefer in a race, just answer the question. If you don’t answer the question, you’ll get called until you do, or until you ask to get off their list. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/2 "2010-08-02T04:37:35Z")
Least is completely right. (Except about asking to get off the list – the list is that of voters, so you are already on it to stay.) After all, it takes less time to just answer their questions, and then they will stop calling (until the night before the election, when they will remind you of that). Frankly, it’s a little flattering that they included you in the small group to be pursued so ardently. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/3 "2010-08-02T05:46:32Z")
And my response will ALWAYS be that I have a right to vote in private, and my decision on who/what to vote for in the upcoming election is _private_ and will stay _private_ and I will _not_ tell anybody including my husband what my voting history is or will be, and that they can make a notation _not_ to come around again asking as I will _not_ answer and it is a waste of their time. I have all the political people in my town conditioned not to bother knocking on my door. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/4 "2010-08-02T05:57:42Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > And my response will ALWAYS be that I have a right to vote in private, and my decision on who/what to vote for in the upcoming election is _private_ and will stay _private_ and I will _not_ tell anybody including my husband what my voting history is or will be, and that they can make a notation _not_ to come around again asking as I will _not_ answer and it is a waste of their time. I have all the political people in my town conditioned not to bother knocking on my door. Guess I’ve never been that ashamed of who I was voting for. Heck, I usually have yard signs or bumper stickers for them. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/5 "2010-08-02T11:05:06Z")
an automatic, “Remove me from your call list” ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/6 "2010-08-02T11:08:09Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > And my response will ALWAYS be that I have a right to vote in private, and my decision on who/what to vote for in the upcoming election is _private_ and will stay _private_ and I will _not_ tell anybody including my husband what my voting history is or will be, and that they can make a notation _not_ to come around again asking as I will _not_ answer and it is a waste of their time. I have all the political people in my town conditioned not to bother knocking on my door. But don’t waste five or ten minutes of some poor pollster’s time lecturing them about your right to vote privately. Just say, “I’m not interested; please don’t contact me again.” ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/7 "2010-08-02T16:28:01Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > > [@aruvqan](#): > > > > And my response will ALWAYS be that I have a right to vote in private, and my decision on who/what to vote for in the upcoming election is _private_ and will stay _private_ and I will _not_ tell anybody including my husband what my voting history is or will be, and that they can make a notation _not_ to come around again asking as I will _not_ answer and it is a waste of their time. I have all the political people in my town conditioned not to bother knocking on my door. > > Guess I’ve never been that ashamed of who I was voting for. > Heck, I usually have yard signs or bumper stickers for them. The political sign that I put in my yard at voting time has a picture of Chief Tammany, and words stating Tammany: Vote Early, Vote Often! I don’t care how popular or unpopular the candidates I plan on voting for are, I have absolutely no interest in informing people of my choices. I have seen more arguments over religion and politics. I am not playing that game. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/8 "2010-08-02T17:00:44Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > But don’t waste five or ten minutes of some poor pollster’s time Eh – they waste my time; I waste their time. Usually I just put the phone down and let the cat talk to them if he’s so inclined. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/9 "2010-08-02T17:07:17Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > > [@aruvqan](#): > > > > And my response will ALWAYS be that I have a right to vote in private, and my decision on who/what to vote for in the upcoming election is _private_ and will stay _private_ and I will _not_ tell anybody including my husband what my voting history is or will be, and that they can make a notation _not_ to come around again asking as I will _not_ answer and it is a waste of their time. I have all the political people in my town conditioned not to bother knocking on my door. > > But don’t waste five or ten minutes of some poor pollster’s time lecturing them about your right to vote privately. Just say, “I’m not interested; please don’t contact me again.” Why not? They felt free to waste **aruvqan’s** time by calling in the first place. Personally, I prefer to get myself put in the “insane” file: “I’ll be voting Obama because I am a pro-life, opposed to Affirmative Action and want to start WWIII, just like him. Also, the gremlins told me to.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/10 "2010-08-02T18:14:07Z")
> [@](#): > > Usually I just put the phone down and let the cat talk to them if he’s so inclined. That’s what I used to do when a caller asked for the “head of the household”. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/11 "2010-08-02T20:42:50Z")
I love Caller ID - if I don’t recognize the number, it goes to the machine. Even more so during an election season. If they come to my door, they get a very curt “I’m not interested” and a door shut in their face. Pollsters, religious folks, sales, I couldn’t even tell you what they were there for. The conversation doesn’t last long enough. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/12 "2010-08-02T20:51:39Z")
> [@zoog](#): > > I love Caller ID - if I don’t recognize the number, it goes to the machine. Even more so during an election season. If they come to my door, they get a very curt “I’m not interested” and a door shut in their face. Pollsters, religious folks, sales, I couldn’t even tell you what they were there for. The conversation doesn’t last long enough. Yep, that’s exactly what I do on all accounts and I don’t feel bad about doing it. Although, when Arnold was doing robo-calling, I would always listen instead of insta-deleting the message. It was just so cool to hear his voice on my answering machine. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/13 "2010-08-02T23:34:08Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > > [@zoog](#): > > > > I love Caller ID - if I don’t recognize the number, it goes to the machine. Even more so during an election season. If they come to my door, they get a very curt “I’m not interested” and a door shut in their face. Pollsters, religious folks, sales, I couldn’t even tell you what they were there for. The conversation doesn’t last long enough. > > Yep, that’s exactly what I do on all accounts and I don’t feel bad about doing it. > > Although, when Arnold was doing robo-calling, I would always listen instead of insta-deleting the message. It was just so cool to hear his voice on my answering machine. 🙂 That doesn’t stop the calls, though. Again, it’s much easier to just say who you’re voting for or just to ask to be taken off the list. **furt** , the reason is just extra. Your declaration of whom you’re voting for is more than enough. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/14 "2010-08-03T01:43:57Z")
They are not interested in your personal feelings. They are compiling statistics and trends. Don’t take everything so personal. ---
**Author:** ![AirFarce1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airfarce1/32/298_2.png) [@AirFarce1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AirFarce1)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/15 "2010-08-03T03:37:19Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > > [@aruvqan](#): > > > > And my response will ALWAYS be that I have a right to vote in private, and my decision on who/what to vote for in the upcoming election is _private_ and will stay _private_ and I will _not_ tell anybody including my husband what my voting history is or will be, and that they can make a notation _not_ to come around again asking as I will _not_ answer and it is a waste of their time. I have all the political people in my town conditioned not to bother knocking on my door. > > But don’t waste five or ten minutes of some poor pollster’s time lecturing them about your right to vote privately. Just say, “I’m not interested; please don’t contact me again.” At least when I keep them on the phone for 10-15 minutes, they’re not bothering someone else, like LOUNE 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/16 "2010-08-03T04:32:45Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > > [@Pleonast](#): > > > > Yep, that’s exactly what I do on all accounts and I don’t feel bad about doing it. > > > > Although, when Arnold was doing robo-calling, I would always listen instead of insta-deleting the message. It was just so cool to hear his voice on my answering machine. 🙂 > > That doesn’t stop the calls, though. Again, it’s much easier to just say who you’re voting for or just to ask to be taken off the list. Eh, the calls stop by themselves. I can’t say they bother me much. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/17 "2010-08-04T01:27:25Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > > [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > > > That doesn’t stop the calls, though. Again, it’s much easier to just say who you’re voting for or just to ask to be taken off the list. > > Eh, the calls stop by themselves. I can’t say they bother me much. Well, then answer the questions quickly and promptly. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/18 "2010-08-04T03:04:39Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > > [@Pleonast](#): > > > > Eh, the calls stop by themselves. I can’t say they bother me much. > > Well, then answer the questions quickly and promptly. Fuck that. DON’T ANSWER THE QUESTION. The ubiqitous use of polling (and push polls in particular) is a large part of the downward spiral of politics in this country. Maybe if we all band together and deny them their poll data, politicians and parties will have to go back to, you know, telling us what THEY believe, instead of what their polls tell them we want to hear. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/19 "2010-08-04T23:03:37Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > > [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > > > Well, then answer the questions quickly and promptly. > > Fuck that. DON’T ANSWER THE QUESTION. The ubiqitous use of polling (and push polls in particular) is a large part of the downward spiral of politics in this country. Maybe if we all band together and deny them their poll data, politicians and parties will have to go back to, you know, telling us what THEY believe, instead of what their polls tell them we want to hear. You’ve got it all wrong. You get asked these questions so time doesn’t get wasted. In a campaign, there’s only so much time and only so much money to go around. If you get a call, it’s because there’s a reason. You might have donated money, you might have some kind of demographic that some candidate thinks that you’re supportive of them or their issue or so forth. You’re talking about polling. I’m talking about people volunteering/working for a campaign, making calls or knocking on your door because you’re a targeted individual and because they want to get your feelings on the candidate/issue. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730/20 "2010-08-04T23:26:40Z")
“Sorry, I can’t vote, convicted felon.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/public-service-announcement-how-to-deal-with-campaign-workers/548730.md?page=2)