How do I make a good first impression on voters?
June 9, 2012 3:51 PM   Subscribe

Going door-to-door to petition for a fresh young candidate -- me. What are some tips and advice to make the best impression on voters?

I will be asking my neighbors for their signatures on a petition to be a member of the Democratic Party County Committee. I only have to get signatures from registered Democrats, and I have list of names and addresses of Democrats in the area I have to cover. I will probably only need to get on the ballot, after that I will likely run unopposed.

There are other names on the same petition running for higher positions, and in general I'd like to help those candidates (the signatures I gather count for them as well) and make the best possible impression on voters. So I need some advice and tips: What are the best days and times to hit the street? (Are, say, Monday evenings more likely to annoy tired workers?) What should I wear? And what would make you more or less likely to help out a stranger?

Additional info: I'm a 31-year-old female who looks much younger than her age. My area is not my immediate street, so these won't be the same people I usually see/say hello to. I live in North Brooklyn, so I will be ringing a lot of buzzers and talking over intercoms to get people to open their doors. What would be most likely to get people to come downstairs for a stranger?

Thanks in advance!
posted by miniminimarket to Law & Government (10 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
In addition to ringing buzzers, I would suggest visiting local businesses, coffee shops, markets, etc. where you can casually speak to people as they are going in. Ringing buzzers in apartment buildings is a bit intrusive (but not obnoxiously so), but this kind of contact is low-pressure.

Some kind of hat or badge clearly identifying your party affiliation would be helpful, so that those who are not registered Democrats can say "no thank you" and move on.

Make sure you have a thick skin. Rejection is a constant.
posted by yclipse at 4:00 PM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]


Take note of big games with local teams, and don't canvass during those times -- specifically, football games. (I'm guessing you might not be going during those times, but still!)
posted by Madamina at 4:01 PM on June 9, 2012


The things that would get me to sign are that I'd need to know the bullet points of what you'd be advocating for (even if it's just "I want to be a part of the political process"_ and to know, right away, that you're trying to get me to sign this thing and that's the thing that will draw the conversation to a close. So if you're advocating for things I'm into, and you give me a clear path to resolution, I'd be most likely to sign. Also to know right away that you're not looking for money.

So basically what would work for me is if a nice sane-looking person showed up at my door and said: Hi. I don't want your money. I want to be a part of the Democratic county committee. I want to be a part of the political process, and the way I have to get there is by getting signatures from registered Democrats. Can you help?
posted by A Terrible Llama at 4:29 PM on June 9, 2012 [3 favorites]


Best answer: I've done the door-to-door routine.

You have to go out weeknights, because that's when the most people are home. Sunday to Thursday, late afternoons and early evenings are your prime time. (Friday and Saturday evenings probably won't be as good.) For efficiency, do your first few passes through the neighborhood on the best timeslots (3pm to dark), then try the daytime if you don't enough signatures.

Dress to "not distract." Shirts, in particular, shouldn't have writing, logos, or pictures unless the shirt is advertising your cause. You don't want the other person looking at your shirt when they should be talking to you. Likewise, avoid flashy jewelry, hats, etc.

At the other extreme, don't go too formal and accidentally dress like a religious missionary!

Have a clear, short, pitch that you can say faster than people can slam doors (or hang up on an intercom). Say your full name up front, to build trust. Since you're only looking for Democrats, go ahead and say "Democrats" as soon as possible in your pitch, so you don't waste time talking to Republicans. (I know you have a list, but there's bound to be some out-of-date listings.)

Something like "My name is miniminimarket and I'm running for a seat on the Democratic County Committee. I'm need registered Democrats to sign my candidate petition." Then, if they don't close the door, they'll probably have questions, and you can engage them.

Absolutely important (and you wouldn't believe how many first-time candidates don't know this one): Be able to succinctly explain what the office you're running for does and why it's relevant to the person you're talking to.

And, on the off chance somebody lets you into their apartment building, by all means, knock on some more doors while you're there. Nobody wins elections by being timid!
posted by faster than a speeding bulette at 4:38 PM on June 9, 2012 [4 favorites]


To get on a party committee, you typically* need party members (not just voters), and your chance of finding them in public is relatively low (ceiling: roughly 30-35% nationally, maybe different in an urban district; but paid-up members are a fraction of that). So I would stick to party events and door-knocking. In short, this is usually going to be a different sort of game than running for public office.

When I'm door-knocking, I just try to be cheerful and brief, hitting the bullet points first. "Hi, I'm miniminimarket, and I'm running for the County Democratic Party Committee. Would you be willing to sign my nomination papers?"

Engaged voters, such as paid-up party members, are more likely to be willing to just sign a petition on the principle of democracy, without really needing any discussion of positions or status in community. But be ready anyway with some bona fides, such as "I served on the summer cookout committee last year; did you come to that?" etc.

* In my experience. Locally, we just do these sorts of elections at the annual meeting, but then we're also a small enough county that it's more a matter of showing up and looking bright to get you put to work.
posted by dhartung at 4:42 PM on June 9, 2012


Best answer: Do you have the chance to "walk" with anyone experienced? Offer to help someone more senior gather signatures for the ballot, and you can walk in a pair and get some experience. It helps.

I "walked" in neighborhoods of houses, so I don't know about buzzers, and I walked in December when I was super-pregnant, so I wore a warm (but nice) pregnant-lady coat.

A clipboard with storage in it is awesome, you can protect your stuff from rain and keep well-organized.

You do sometimes have to wait a weirdly long time at the door. Sometimes people act like despite being a tiny (SUPER-PREGNANT) woman, you are clearly an axe murderer (this bothered me a lot; I didn't mind being blown off, even rudely, but when they acted like I was there to stab them, it made me crazy). Some people sign everyone's petition, some people will say, "Well, I don't put my name on things unless I really support it," some people will want to talk your ear off first. Since it sounds like your walk list is registered Democrats who probably get visited every year by walkers, they'll be pretty used to it and know what you're there for. Know something about the other candidates, people will ask.

I had a love/hate relationship with walking. It's really discouraging when you go to 10 houses in a row where nobody answers or everybody's rude, and it's absolutely exhausting work. (Well, I was really pregnant. Maybe it's not as tiring for everyone.) But you also get to talk to a LOT of people, a lot of different and interesting people, and people were actually mostly really nice. It was interesting.

You are going to make so much small talk that it's crazy. Be prepared to take it in good spirit and smile and laugh even the 100th time someone says the same thing. A lot of the people on your list will be older people (who are more likely to vote in local elections and off-year elections, and more likely to be registered with a party), and a lot of them will want to talk for a while because they may not have a lot of visitors.

Walking, oh, 20 houses (apartments?) takes longer than you think it will if it's going well. It only goes fast when you hit a discouraging stretch where nobody's home. So give yourself lots of time and walking just a liiiiiiitle farther than you planned to each of the first few days so you're not frantic the last week.

My hard-core campaign manager wanted me to have at least twice as many signatures as necessary, ideally three times as many. Most candidates aim for around 150% as many as they need, though. Just in case some aren't valid, etc. Not that you're likely to get signatures challenged for a county committeeperson, but still.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:18 PM on June 9, 2012


I worked the last 3 summers (not counting the most recent one) as a political canvasser in Baltimore. I was a field manager and ended up writing most of the "raps" that we used. I was also one of the highest earning canvassers on the east coast with our organization (not to brag. the organization wasnt that great, once you spent 3 years examining how they did politics). Here is the basic breakdown of a successful rap.

Greeting
"Hi, my name is X. I'm with Y."
Keep this short, simple, and super friendly. Lots of people have screen doors, so you are gonna want to wave and smile at them before they open the screen door, and wait to greet them until they can focus on what you're saying. Avoid awkwardness by leading the conversation, but listening for questions.

Introduce the issue
"We're out here working to X (put a REAL social progressive in office for the first time in years / reduce toxic pollution from overdevelopment / put New York on track to have 10,000 new high tech jobs in 4 years)"
You're going to want to word this very carefully. Make sure this is the most concise and impressive sentence of your entire rap. If people don't get what you're saying, don't care about the issue, or aren't swayed by your enthusiasm they will cut you off halfway through your next sentence, most likely.

State the problem
"The 17th district has never had a strong environmental candidate, and powerful developers are lobbying hard for new developments that could affect us for years to come."
Explain to people what is wrong with the way it is now. If they don't see something that requires their input, they aren't going to give you their input.

Offer a solution
"That's why we are out here collecting signatures for X. (S)he has a strong record of environmental responsibility, and won't roll over in the face of powerful lobbyists like other candiadates."
You need to convince people that there is hope to solve the issue you just presented. You need them to feel that they can have a real effect by signing your petition, donating to the campaign, etc.

That's why we're out here tonight.
"That's why we're out here tonight. We need signatures from Democrats like you to ... whatever."
This put's the responsibility on them

Ask earnestly and directly for what you want.
"So if you could sign this petition / get involved at a $50 dollar level / whatever, it would really help us in our effort to put an end to campaign finance bullying from developers."
don't ask if they can, thell them that if they do, good things will happen. Tell them that if they get involved, it will be great, and then leave the choice of whether or not to participate in that greatness up to them


There are many more tips I could give you about how to plan your routes, how to identify "no"s right off the bat, etc.

If you want these, just ask. I'm happy to answer any specific questions if you have them. I pounded the pavement for years, and I know how hard it is. Thanks for taking over, and good luck.
posted by ichthuz at 12:44 AM on June 10, 2012 [2 favorites]


Been there - I'm a former town Democratic committee- woman and I even got to go through a primary challenge. If you can walk with a buddy, that would definitely help. Also, be prepared to answer simple questions. Someone was collecting petition signatures at an outdoor movie and my husband asked him something easy,like what would you do differently than the other candidate, and he couldn't answer. Maybe make a list with your walking buddy of questions like that that you might be asked and draft answers. If you develop a good list of Q+A's, you might be able to pivot to them even if someone asks you something you haven't thought about. Or ask the person what their opinion is on that issue.
posted by kat518 at 11:03 AM on June 10, 2012


Response by poster: Just wanted to follow up today now that I've heard -- I collected the required signatures (after a pretty difficult and long collecting period -- my running mate and I collected 1-2 valid sigs per hour). I just found out we won't have any competitors for the primary, so we've both pretty much secured our seats. Thanks again for the advice here. And now that I've gone some hours of experience, I definitely have some tips to add, if anyone reads this later!
posted by miniminimarket at 5:14 AM on August 14, 2012 [1 favorite]


Yay, congrats! Thanks for updating us!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:40 AM on August 14, 2012


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