Can we talk about political involvement?

Wegl13

Okay so this weekend I did my first ever volunteering for a political campaign. My job was to call up other people that had signed up to help with the same campaign and try to get them to go to an organizing party (yes I'm being intentionally vague because I don't want to be "campaigning" here since I'm not sure that's allowed). Has anyone ever done anything like this?
Guys it was so hard. Over 60% of the people I called let their phone go to VM so then I had to leave some super long VM without it sounding like I was reading off a piece of paper (which is what I was doing). I also called two people that were NOT supporters of the campaign I was helping with (even though somehow all their contact info ended up on the official volunteer list). Those two phone calls were terrifying because of course, they are like "omg don't call me" and I'm like dude, YOU signed up for this. Luckily I also had two people that let me sign them up for an organizing party (three if you count my grandfather-in-law, would that be a GFIL?).
The most disheartening thing was that apparently only ~130 people were actually helping with this phone call thing, which is pretty piddly for how huge this national campaign is. I felt really alone doing it in my deep red state and really wish I had someone to commiserate with, even though it was kind of an exciting and proud moment to actually feel like I was making a difference in a teeny tiny way.
More of the story: yay political involvement, boo feeling alone.

OliveOilsMom

I had a part time job once with one of the local political parties.  It was to go around to registered voters and ask if they wanted to sign up to vote by mail.  It was a weird job because we only targeted certain people.  We did not canvas every house and we would only target certain people in a house hold.  I think the houses we targeted had people registered as the political party who hired me. 

But one household I went to, the guy was obviously not that political party.  He oddly went on a rant about this one political candidate of the opposing party.  I never identified myself as being employed by any political party, I also had nothing identifying me as any party either.  When someone would answer the door, I would just say I was there to register people to vote by mail, if they were interested and answered any questions.  So when he finished his rant I just said, "So did you want to register to vote by mail or did you want to keep voting in person?"  He said, "in person" and closed the door in my face.  I was at his house for like 20 minutes! 

I think sometimes people get put on these lists as a joke by other people!

Wegl13

That's what my husband thought but the first woman I think signed up by accident when she went to some town council meeting thing. It made me really gun shy after that- every time I called someone in an area that didn't readily identify, or if I called someone with a name that seemed like they wouldn't identify I would pray that it would be right.

kimmiinthemitten

I held a few political campaign jobs before selling out for private sector work (aka jobs that pay).  

Cold calling volunteer lists is probably the hardest of them all!  Don't feel discouraged, you're working on a grass roots campaign and for every part that is challenging, there are two more parts rewarding. Like you said, you're a part of something bigger than you and that's exciting.

The election is still 15 months away, if you keep volunteering, you'll be amazed at how many people are in the office come the month before your states primary, and even better, you'll become a respected volunteer since you'll already know the ropes.  

I hope you're enjoying it!  It's an experience unlike any other!

madamerwin

I volunteered during the 2008 presidential campaign - a lot of phone calls to party members to make sure they would vote (and for the candidate we were supporting). And I HATE talking on the phone... It was rough, but it felt good to actually do something to encourage people to get out and vote.

hellohkb

I would like to get involved in Bernie Sanders 2016 campaign but have been so sidetracked with other stuff I haven't gotten a chance. I've donated to his campaign as well as donated to Obama's '08 and '12 run. I guess that's better than nothing.

Wegl13

So there's not an office yet! I'm seriously cold calling from my home phone. I think that's part of people's reticence to volunteer because most of us just have our cells which feel like they should be more "private." But we got a home phone for emergencies (which is literally attached to the wall and has no caller ID or voicemail), and I have been using that. Im really hoping to meet up with some more supporters tomorrow night though! And @hellohkb, cough cough, debate watch party tomorrow night, cough cough.

themosthappy91

Wegl13 said:

Okay so this weekend I did my first ever volunteering for a political campaign. My job was to call up other people that had signed up to help with the same campaign and try to get them to go to an organizing party (yes I'm being intentionally vague because I don't want to be "campaigning" here since I'm not sure that's allowed). Has anyone ever done anything like this?
Guys it was so hard. Over 60% of the people I called let their phone go to VM so then I had to leave some super long VM without it sounding like I was reading off a piece of paper (which is what I was doing). I also called two people that were NOT supporters of the campaign I was helping with (even though somehow all their contact info ended up on the official volunteer list). Those two phone calls were terrifying because of course, they are like "omg don't call me" and I'm like dude, YOU signed up for this. Luckily I also had two people that let me sign them up for an organizing party (three if you count my grandfather-in-law, would that be a GFIL?).
The most disheartening thing was that apparently only ~130 people were actually helping with this phone call thing, which is pretty piddly for how huge this national campaign is. I felt really alone doing it in my deep red state and really wish I had someone to commiserate with, even though it was kind of an exciting and proud moment to actually feel like I was making a difference in a teeny tiny way.
More of the story: yay political involvement, boo feeling alone.

I could tell you soooooo many stories about this- I was extremely politically involved in college (i.e. president of my school's chapter of College Democrats) and I feel like I've spent years of my life calling for everything under the sun- calling people with unknown affiliations to ask them to support my candidate, calling identified supporters to ask them to volunteer, calling people to remind them to actually go vote, calling old people to make sure they have rides/can get to their polling places... every type of calling.

It definitely can be traumatic- I have been straight-up screamed at. I have been told that because I called during dinner they will be making it a point to vote for the other candidate. I have talked to people who are unaware an election is going on. Most of all, I have spent a lot of time calling and leaving messages, because who answers their phone when they don't recognize the number anymore? It can be exhausting, but it IS valuable. 

I don't know if you have any flexibility with what you are asked to do, but I found the most rewarding and least confrontational type of calling by far was in the ten days leading up to the election calling people to ask them to tell me their plan for election day. A lot of people have a vague idea that they are going to vote but never actually sit down and think about how they are going to do it- where their polling place is, what time of day they'll be able to go, if they have transportation etc. I think asking people to solidify that in their minds ahead of the day probably makes the most difference of everything those kinds of calls are supposed to do.

You don't mention at what level you're volunteering- presidential, state or local- but I also like to encourage people to consider getting more involved at the state and local level because I think that 1) it's more meaningful in terms of who actually affects your life and 2) it's way less glamorous so they really need the help a lot more. The people you reach out to are also way more likely not to already have their minds made up, so it feels like you get to have more genuine conversations about why you like and support your candidate. 

Okay this comment is now officially a novel but I just have so many thoughts about political participation! And foremost among them- good for you for doing this, and keep at it .

hellohkb

@Wegl13 What time is the debate tomorrow? I get home around 8:30, I hope I can catch it.

Wegl13

It is at 830 Eastern. I'm going to PM you more info.
Edited to add: I really appreciate the perspective and support for this. Because of my job, I felt like I had some talent talking to people on the phone (and the fortitude to have people mad at me for what I was telling them on the phone) but this is like a whole different ballgame! I have already felt humbled by how little I know but I really am enjoying adding this dynamic to my world.