This weekend, I had the opportunity to go door to door for John McCain and Gov. Mitch Daniels – I was volunteering with the Hamilton County Republican party making sure that voter registration records were accurate and that the Republicans knew where their supporters were so they could target them with fliers and other information.
The script they gave us was pretty straightforward, you would go to the door, knock, and if someone answered you’d introduce and identify yourself, and then ask them to verify if the people living in the house matched up with the current voter registration records. If they did, you’d then ask them 2 questions: 1) Who they planned to vote for in the Presidential election; 2) who they planned to vote for in the Indiana Governor’s election.
At the conclusion of all that, you’d then ask them if there was anyone who was eligible to vote that wasn’t registered, and offer to give them a voter registration form (which was also a Mitch for Governor card) for them to fill out.
For the most part, it was pretty laid back. The most common answer I got from people who actually answered the door was undecided in the Presidential, and Mitch Daniels in the Governor’s race. The 2nd most common was McCain/Daniels in the Presidential and Governor’s, respectively. Only a few people identified for Obama, which isn’t too surprising considering the area I was in, and even fewer people identified for Jill Long Thompson, who is pretty well reviled by a lot of people.
Now, you might be wondering where the value for the campaigns is in all of this. It was explained to me that the people who answer let the Republican Party know where their support is – and they can then take effort to make sure that those supporters get out to the polls come Election Day. Additionally in , there is a lot of bipartisan support for Mitch Daniels; I did have a couple of people say that’d vote for Obama in the Presidential and Daniels in the Gov. race. Knowing that allows the Republican party to get information out to those people who might not have otherwise received it; which again strengthens their position going into the election.
I did have a couple of fun responses, including a little old lady who said I was “a very nice boy”, and cute kinda-hippie chick who said I was “pretty cute for a Republican.” It was an interesting, and valuable day for me. I really enjoyed getting involved in traditional activism – I feel very strongly about this election, as I still believe that all other issues aside, Obama will be an absolute disaster for our right to keep and bear arms.
I encourage you to contact your local party and get involved – do more than just blog it, actually get there and knock on doors or make phone calls.
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