Miracles happen.

[Changenow]

I've been banging my head against the wall in my small (50,000) town to convince the powers that be to start canvassing and registering. The party chair is only interested in efforts that will put his name in the paper, cause him to be around important people or cause him to be the center of attention.

I've given up one fewer times than I've tried, and I was back in it tonight. Calling people who have signed in at HQ and asking them to walk.

Well, I just called a man who agreed to go out on Sunday. A small victory. Then he asked if I'd need anyone else?!? When I got up up off the floor I said yes. He said his union has a calling tree for just this sort of thing. They want to do something, he told me and have been waiting to find out what they can do. This is an important year, he explained. What is ironic is that if he had called the party chair they would have been told of some rally he is planning.

Now I need to figure out how to plan a canvass with 20 volunteers. I have a data base, but so far I've only had to organize a street or two at a time. Any thoughts?

[DebJ]

1. I just pm'd you with a guy to contact.

[aquart]

2. That's not a miracle. That's persistence.

That's drilling a hundred dry holes and striking oil on 101. If you hadn't kept trying, it wouldn't have happened.

[Changenow]

6. Thanks.

I know there wasn't divine intervention, but when you hit pay dirt it's easy to attribute to chance.

Say, anyone out there have practical advice? This might be an example of the curse, be careful what you wish for...

[aquart]

9. Actually, it was a miracle.

If you define a miracle as anything that happens when you need it to happen, because it doesn't have to.

[DebJ]

3. Can you identify the lower income areas? This is where you

will find the most support for Kerry and against Bush. These are also the areas with the 'invisible' voters that will crush the polls.
These are the areas of the massively disconnected and disenfranchised. We have registered 1500 people, about 87% new first time voters and 85% Democrat, in heavily Republican York Pa.
Here's a sample from one person I registered:
A young woman in her twenties answers the door. She says she can't vote because she is a convicted felon (my guess in this area, drug abuse). I tell her yes she can now vote in Pa as long as she is not behind bars. She says dismissively, "Yeah, well, first they told me I couldn't vote, then they told me I could, so I said, F##k them." I
replied, "If you want to screw them, then sign here and vote them out of office. Get someone INTO office who will do something about the issues that resulted in your past choices." She smiled, signed up, and was very very happy to see that HER VOTE IS WANTED, HER OPINION IS WANTED. She loved it. So did I.

[Changenow]

4. Who knew there were so many felons?

I feel like an expert on the area in my state. It has become clear to me why the Bush cartell wanted to exploit this area.

[Changenow]

5. Yeah, the software is great at that.

It's the nitty-gritty that will be hard for me.

[AuntPatsy]

7. This is Texas and as I have been saying for a while, I have

yet to see one Bush sticker, honestly, I kid you not, anyway, today, drving home in my area something huge caught my eye. Stopping right there in the middle of the street I had to look and see that if what my eyes had seen was no mirage....

Behold, a huge wooden fence running along side of a huge house. On this fence was hung a huge white sheet type poster, incredibly big, with John Kerry's face on it, his name and a call to all those looking to vote Kerry/Edwards and a smaller writing on the idiocy of the swift boat vets....

Now this is huge because this is a fairly influential neighborhood, and as I have stated before this not one sign for or against either candidate...

I will keep an eye on it to make sure it stays it's rightful place, and I will also let those know who live there if I see them outside how proud I am to be their neighbor....

Definately a miracle if you ask me....

[AuntPatsy]

8. Kicking it up top myself, I was really thrilled with this vision of

Kerry being shown so openly in my part of Texas...

[PeaceProgProsp]

10. Break down your DB into even and odd sides of the street.

Break them up into the precincts. Put a map on top of each packet (evens, odds). Send the teams of two out. One takes evens, one takes odd.

They go around and ask reg'd Dems and Inds if they intend on voting Dem. ID your strong supporters and your leaners. Try to persuade people, but don't waste time. Leave literature at houses with nobody at home. (If you walked up to and empty house, don't wast the effort by not leaving anything.) Don't leave it in a mailbox though.

Have the volunteers take voter reg forms too.

Bring the data back to the office. Call the strong supporters in the last few days before the election to make sure they've voted absentee or intend on voting Dem. Call leaners and try to persuade them.

Tell your precinct walkers to ask strong supporters to volunteer. Drop lit and solicit volunteers at the homes of people with Dem candidate signs, even if they're not on your lists.

Tuck lit telling people to call you to volunteer in the handles of cars with Democratic bumperstickers.

Am I missing anything?

[AgadorSparticus]

11. it's amazing how when you are on the right path, doors will open up

for you. miracles, indeed.

[Eloriel]

12. True, but when I read that, I thought to myself,

"And the miracle is YOU."

Good luck is preparation meeting opportunity.

Way to go!! Good luck!

[AgadorSparticus]

13. very true! doors can open up for ya, but you still have to walk through

it.