My friend raised a good question about what we're going to do to get people out to the polls come election day. It is true that canvassing is a good way to initiate direct contact with someone. We go to their homes and talk with them, we find out a bit about who they are, we let them know about us. It is also true that getting people to the polls is another question. I mean, we're working to get people to the polls, but who's to say that we are the reason people are voting. In the past, the NY Vote program we run has increased participation by roughly 15-20%. They have measured this by tracking the voter turnout in one election district where we work and one where we don't. They try and have the two districts be as similar as possible, so the only new variable is our presence.
So getting back to how we're going to turn people out--or at least my understanding of the thinking behind these activities. The actual activities involve targeting and then trying to ensure that those voters you've targeted get out to the polls. So our canvass, for example, will go in waves. We'll cover the most people in the first wave, less in the second, and so on. Canvassers will have to identify who we need to go back to and who we don't. And the strategy to get those identified voters to the polls will be repeated contact, reminders, and then a flurry of intense action right before the election. There is some general number of times you are supposed to contact someone before they are likely to vote, and there is another generally accepted ratio of people who will come out out of people you contact. I'm sure I'll learn all of this soon.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Conservative for Obama
Here's a good article from a one time publisher of the National Review. It was a 'finally' moment for me.
Staten Island Get Out the Vote, Round 2
I haven't written in a while...this is a new habit I'm trying to pick up here, so there's bound to be periods of blankness. I'm just hoping to keep them short.
So, the first phase of the get out the vote campaign I've been doing in Staten Island is over. It ended with a relatively successful meeting on Staten Island I've talked about below. Last week, we got a bunch of money to do a much larger campaign for the general elections. People are interested in Staten Island because it forms the majority of a congressional district (NY-13, the other part is a sliver of Brooklyn) where the Republican incumbent is leaving and the Democratic candidate has a good chance of taking the seat. We were going to be doing the campaign on behalf of a large umbrella organization. What exactly the campaign will end up being is still in the works -- going to be figured out by us, other organizations, etc -- but what we do know is that there will be a get out the vote campaign on Staten Island.
Given that there were only really two people working on the campaign before the primaries (myself and Karina), a lot of the coordination of the campaign is going to be up to us. This is cool; we're going to build a team of door canvassers, train them, and run a big canvassing operation on Staten Island. We're going to get to figure out which voters to spend our energy on, and make sure people are having positive conversations at the door. The fundamental idea here is voting. People need to vote. Some initial goals thrown around were contacting roughly 16,000 voters, with the goal of increasing turnout by roughly 4,000. This means starting big -- talking to all 16000 and then narrowing the pool as we identify voters we definitely want to make sure get to the polls, and those about whom we don't care as much. This could change, though, should our only focus be participation, in which case we wouldn't weed anyone out. We'd try and get everyone to vote. But, money is coming from certain people, who care about certain issues, so we're going to probably be working to turn people out who support our platform on immigration or health care or education or whatever it happens to be (probably will be immigration).
Whatever happens this is interesting work for me -- meeting people in the community, talking with other organizations in Staten Island, getting a lay of the land a little bit. There are many many service organizations in Staten Island, but not to many people doing community organizing. One woman told me the other day that organizers ran screaming from Staten Island, that the place was too tough to organize in. That may be. It is a tough place, that is for sure, but, at the same time, things seem to be moving. Which is why I really hope that once all these non-profit politics get played out, that Staten Island is a focus, because a) its a race that really counts and b) its a place ready to break out i, in my cursory knowledge, think.
So, the first phase of the get out the vote campaign I've been doing in Staten Island is over. It ended with a relatively successful meeting on Staten Island I've talked about below. Last week, we got a bunch of money to do a much larger campaign for the general elections. People are interested in Staten Island because it forms the majority of a congressional district (NY-13, the other part is a sliver of Brooklyn) where the Republican incumbent is leaving and the Democratic candidate has a good chance of taking the seat. We were going to be doing the campaign on behalf of a large umbrella organization. What exactly the campaign will end up being is still in the works -- going to be figured out by us, other organizations, etc -- but what we do know is that there will be a get out the vote campaign on Staten Island.
Given that there were only really two people working on the campaign before the primaries (myself and Karina), a lot of the coordination of the campaign is going to be up to us. This is cool; we're going to build a team of door canvassers, train them, and run a big canvassing operation on Staten Island. We're going to get to figure out which voters to spend our energy on, and make sure people are having positive conversations at the door. The fundamental idea here is voting. People need to vote. Some initial goals thrown around were contacting roughly 16,000 voters, with the goal of increasing turnout by roughly 4,000. This means starting big -- talking to all 16000 and then narrowing the pool as we identify voters we definitely want to make sure get to the polls, and those about whom we don't care as much. This could change, though, should our only focus be participation, in which case we wouldn't weed anyone out. We'd try and get everyone to vote. But, money is coming from certain people, who care about certain issues, so we're going to probably be working to turn people out who support our platform on immigration or health care or education or whatever it happens to be (probably will be immigration).
Whatever happens this is interesting work for me -- meeting people in the community, talking with other organizations in Staten Island, getting a lay of the land a little bit. There are many many service organizations in Staten Island, but not to many people doing community organizing. One woman told me the other day that organizers ran screaming from Staten Island, that the place was too tough to organize in. That may be. It is a tough place, that is for sure, but, at the same time, things seem to be moving. Which is why I really hope that once all these non-profit politics get played out, that Staten Island is a focus, because a) its a race that really counts and b) its a place ready to break out i, in my cursory knowledge, think.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Staten Island New York Vote Community Meeting September 5, 2008
The NY Vote Campaign that we have been doing in Staten Island has consisted largely in going to the homes of active Latino voters in Port Richmond, the neighborhood around Make the Road's (Make the Road New York is the organization I work for) Staten Island office. We've been asking a series of questions, encouraging them to vote, and then following up with the people who respond positively. After about a month of this we returned to some of the districts just around the Port Richmond area to do a second contact—more geared towards getting people to come out to a meeting where we'd be discussing the campaign and what our goals are.
Well, that meeting happened yesterday. Initially I had roughly 10 confirmations from different people. I was expecting, between my two co-workers and myself something like 15 people from Staten Island to come out to the meeting. These would have been 15 people living and voting in the districts we're working in. They would have been people we wanted to involve more in the campaign, who we had identified while we canvassed as people who showed more interest, who had a little more spark, who were more interested in asking questions. We also invited people from Queens out, and about 20 people came. I was excited about the possibilities—this was the first time that I was doing the work to bring people out. I was the contact, and whether or not people came would reflect on the work I had been doing.
By the time the meeting was supposed to start three people from Port Richmond had showed up. Granted, they were all people I had confirmed, but all the same, not quite the showing I had expected. I got on the phone and talked to a couple of people that had confirmed. The director, who had come for the meeting, told me to call people before the event, even though I had called them either Thursday or Friday. I thought that was a bad idea, that the people who had said yes would be there. I was surprised when she said the day-of call was normal, that it was simply what you have to do to turn people out.
The meeting, however, ended up going much better than I had expected. A few more people I had canvasses came out, bringing our total to seven. Each one of them had a few moments, sharing things about themselves or their community, responding to the group or a question that had been asked, that made me feel like the work we had done was worth it. The group dynamic was positive; the director came in and ran a small educational session, talking about the upcoming congressional primary and how we at the meeting could make sure that whoever won the primaries heard our voices. It was good to watch the group come to the conclusions that the 25 people in the room were not enough to be noticed, and that going out into the community and bringing more people into the campaign just like they had been brought in was the best strategy to get our concerns heard.
When we finished, the people that I had canvassed demonstrated interest in joining canvassing or other campaign efforts. That was great. Ultimately that was what we were looking for—a few people who wanted to get involved in the campaign, who liked what we were doing and wanted to help. In the past month I have spoken to hundreds of people and walked all over the Staten Island north shore. I wonder about our methods. I wonder how I would react if someone came to my door. I see the neighborhood—interesting enough to deserve its own post—and wonder about what life is like there. I wonder if this work is doing anything, if it will be worth anything more than allowing Make the Road to claim accomplishments in the small NY activist organizing circle. At times I take heart, when someone says thank you, when someone encourages me to keep working, but I admit that refusals or low-interest responses have grated on my enthusiasm. After yesterday, however, we have six or seven people ready to get involved, people who have shared their stories openly. I made a mistake in getting down about the lack of people. Numbers are important, but every person that comes out is a step forward—in a clichéd way I know.
Given that this was my first attempt at turning people out ever, and given that Make the Road had never done any organizing work in Port Richmond, and given that we were going door to door, I do not feel bad. There are lessons to take away, and the campaign is moving forward. We have two months to go.
Well, that meeting happened yesterday. Initially I had roughly 10 confirmations from different people. I was expecting, between my two co-workers and myself something like 15 people from Staten Island to come out to the meeting. These would have been 15 people living and voting in the districts we're working in. They would have been people we wanted to involve more in the campaign, who we had identified while we canvassed as people who showed more interest, who had a little more spark, who were more interested in asking questions. We also invited people from Queens out, and about 20 people came. I was excited about the possibilities—this was the first time that I was doing the work to bring people out. I was the contact, and whether or not people came would reflect on the work I had been doing.
By the time the meeting was supposed to start three people from Port Richmond had showed up. Granted, they were all people I had confirmed, but all the same, not quite the showing I had expected. I got on the phone and talked to a couple of people that had confirmed. The director, who had come for the meeting, told me to call people before the event, even though I had called them either Thursday or Friday. I thought that was a bad idea, that the people who had said yes would be there. I was surprised when she said the day-of call was normal, that it was simply what you have to do to turn people out.
The meeting, however, ended up going much better than I had expected. A few more people I had canvasses came out, bringing our total to seven. Each one of them had a few moments, sharing things about themselves or their community, responding to the group or a question that had been asked, that made me feel like the work we had done was worth it. The group dynamic was positive; the director came in and ran a small educational session, talking about the upcoming congressional primary and how we at the meeting could make sure that whoever won the primaries heard our voices. It was good to watch the group come to the conclusions that the 25 people in the room were not enough to be noticed, and that going out into the community and bringing more people into the campaign just like they had been brought in was the best strategy to get our concerns heard.
When we finished, the people that I had canvassed demonstrated interest in joining canvassing or other campaign efforts. That was great. Ultimately that was what we were looking for—a few people who wanted to get involved in the campaign, who liked what we were doing and wanted to help. In the past month I have spoken to hundreds of people and walked all over the Staten Island north shore. I wonder about our methods. I wonder how I would react if someone came to my door. I see the neighborhood—interesting enough to deserve its own post—and wonder about what life is like there. I wonder if this work is doing anything, if it will be worth anything more than allowing Make the Road to claim accomplishments in the small NY activist organizing circle. At times I take heart, when someone says thank you, when someone encourages me to keep working, but I admit that refusals or low-interest responses have grated on my enthusiasm. After yesterday, however, we have six or seven people ready to get involved, people who have shared their stories openly. I made a mistake in getting down about the lack of people. Numbers are important, but every person that comes out is a step forward—in a clichéd way I know.
Given that this was my first attempt at turning people out ever, and given that Make the Road had never done any organizing work in Port Richmond, and given that we were going door to door, I do not feel bad. There are lessons to take away, and the campaign is moving forward. We have two months to go.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Community Organizers and the RNC
I said I wouldn't write much about politics, but it's so entertaining these days, and, on top of that, the RNC couldn't stop talking about community organizers yesterday!
After last night's RNC speeches, a friend suggested I create a Facebook group "Community Organizers for Barack Obama." I probably will not do that -- especially because I'm not yet a community organizer (but hopefully will be one soon). I will say that, as someone who asked the very question Rudy Giuliani asked last night, "What is it that community organizers actually do?" I can attest to the absurdities in the way both Rudy and Palin regarded them.
Everyone, on both sides, seems to be obsessed with how working class their roots are. The less privilege the better. No one will admit to having money, even though everyone we're seeing up there lives more comfortably than the vast majority of Americans. The RNC happened last night, in the midst of this blue-collar one-upmanship contest. There is talk about reform, about accountability, about the American people deciding the fate of the country, about Washington politicians being out of touch with the rest of the country, and about the need to change all that. Funnily enough, the Republicans, the incumbents, spent the majority of the night last night talking about reform, quietly acknowledging the failures of their own party. But that's another subject.
Back to the "Well my great uncle's friend once took a tour of a farm and then drank beer with the guys and shot a gun" contest. It seems to me that if there is anyone dealing with politics on a local level, if there is anyone trying to get more people into the political process to make change in their lives, it is the community organizer. That is the basic idea -- constructing a unified voice where there is none. This work goes on overwhelmingly in areas without other, more traditional forms of voice (or power); moderate and low income areas. Without money, people must organize to influence local, city, and state representatives. These ideas -- standing up to cronyism and 'old guard' types and being in touch with the 'ordinary American' -- seem to be themes Republicans can't get enough of. So, again, Republicans are against something when it happens to be on 'the other side,' whether we're talking about Obama's organizing or about the Vet-cong's torture (they said it) of John McCain. Yet they try to tout the same experiences and values the organizer stands for. Yet they have enabled similar, if not worse acts to be committed in our nation's name.
But this is a long post for something silly. After all, as A.A. Milne said, "Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up."
Here's another post about this.
After last night's RNC speeches, a friend suggested I create a Facebook group "Community Organizers for Barack Obama." I probably will not do that -- especially because I'm not yet a community organizer (but hopefully will be one soon). I will say that, as someone who asked the very question Rudy Giuliani asked last night, "What is it that community organizers actually do?" I can attest to the absurdities in the way both Rudy and Palin regarded them.
Everyone, on both sides, seems to be obsessed with how working class their roots are. The less privilege the better. No one will admit to having money, even though everyone we're seeing up there lives more comfortably than the vast majority of Americans. The RNC happened last night, in the midst of this blue-collar one-upmanship contest. There is talk about reform, about accountability, about the American people deciding the fate of the country, about Washington politicians being out of touch with the rest of the country, and about the need to change all that. Funnily enough, the Republicans, the incumbents, spent the majority of the night last night talking about reform, quietly acknowledging the failures of their own party. But that's another subject.
Back to the "Well my great uncle's friend once took a tour of a farm and then drank beer with the guys and shot a gun" contest. It seems to me that if there is anyone dealing with politics on a local level, if there is anyone trying to get more people into the political process to make change in their lives, it is the community organizer. That is the basic idea -- constructing a unified voice where there is none. This work goes on overwhelmingly in areas without other, more traditional forms of voice (or power); moderate and low income areas. Without money, people must organize to influence local, city, and state representatives. These ideas -- standing up to cronyism and 'old guard' types and being in touch with the 'ordinary American' -- seem to be themes Republicans can't get enough of. So, again, Republicans are against something when it happens to be on 'the other side,' whether we're talking about Obama's organizing or about the Vet-cong's torture (they said it) of John McCain. Yet they try to tout the same experiences and values the organizer stands for. Yet they have enabled similar, if not worse acts to be committed in our nation's name.
But this is a long post for something silly. After all, as A.A. Milne said, "Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up."
Here's another post about this.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
McCain and Torture
Sorry, just feeling the need to be clear about all this. John McCain is not as hard on torture as I thought he was.
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