Campaign Volunteering: Doing More with More?
August 30, 2020 2:40 PM Subscribe
I'm willing to devote a significant amount of time to campaign volunteering in the next two months. What will make the most difference?
I live in a state that Trump won by a very narrow margin, and I regret not doing more in advance of the 2016 election. For this election cycle, I've signed up with my state Democrat organization and I've been doing A LOT of phone calling. For every 80 calls I make, I wind up talking to maybe five people, four of whom hang up on me once I identify myself or tell me not to waste my breath on them (and those are the nice ones). I also attend candidate events--virtual and real--and signed on to be a poll worker on election day. But . . . is there more I can do? The phone banking seems like a waste of time; is it still considered an effective way of reaching people? (There's no door-to-door canvassing here because COVID.) And I've got 25 years of professional communications experience--including PR, messaging, and crisis communications--under my belt. Could the Dems use these skills? How would I go about upping my volunteer game? What's the most helpful thing I could be doing for the next few months? Grateful for any ideas!
I live in a state that Trump won by a very narrow margin, and I regret not doing more in advance of the 2016 election. For this election cycle, I've signed up with my state Democrat organization and I've been doing A LOT of phone calling. For every 80 calls I make, I wind up talking to maybe five people, four of whom hang up on me once I identify myself or tell me not to waste my breath on them (and those are the nice ones). I also attend candidate events--virtual and real--and signed on to be a poll worker on election day. But . . . is there more I can do? The phone banking seems like a waste of time; is it still considered an effective way of reaching people? (There's no door-to-door canvassing here because COVID.) And I've got 25 years of professional communications experience--including PR, messaging, and crisis communications--under my belt. Could the Dems use these skills? How would I go about upping my volunteer game? What's the most helpful thing I could be doing for the next few months? Grateful for any ideas!
What will make the most difference?
Helping manage other volunteers. I run a phonebank/textbank for a large campaign and the management tasks of onboarding new volunteers, training them, assigning work, checking their work, coaching them on where they need to improve, etc. is very time consuming. Every time I find a smart, competent volunteer who is willing ans able to take on managing some of the other volunteers I nearly cry with relief.
posted by Jacqueline at 11:57 PM on August 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
Helping manage other volunteers. I run a phonebank/textbank for a large campaign and the management tasks of onboarding new volunteers, training them, assigning work, checking their work, coaching them on where they need to improve, etc. is very time consuming. Every time I find a smart, competent volunteer who is willing ans able to take on managing some of the other volunteers I nearly cry with relief.
posted by Jacqueline at 11:57 PM on August 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
I'm also in a narrowly-won state where the Dems are revved up. The volunteer coordinator I work with is ramping up a sign-up-to-vote-by-mail texting campaign, so with your experience it would seem like a natural.
I will say, though, that I receive at LEAST a dozen texts and emails a day to support candidates, and I delete them routinely. If you could devise a hook that will actually encourage people to open your messages, that would seem to be an important refinement.
I feel like we are all so energized and yet panicked about the election that all the different pods of Dems and candidates are tripling down on the communication media open to them. I see this as problematic as it is difficult to differentiate among the messages, and so many have dire headlines as grabbers. Again, I delete.
I walked by census workers talking to a neighbor on their front steps last week masked and distanced. Why can't we do this? I'd be willing under those circumstances. It would be a relief from all the electronic bombardment.
posted by citygirl at 7:25 AM on August 31, 2020 [1 favorite]
I will say, though, that I receive at LEAST a dozen texts and emails a day to support candidates, and I delete them routinely. If you could devise a hook that will actually encourage people to open your messages, that would seem to be an important refinement.
I feel like we are all so energized and yet panicked about the election that all the different pods of Dems and candidates are tripling down on the communication media open to them. I see this as problematic as it is difficult to differentiate among the messages, and so many have dire headlines as grabbers. Again, I delete.
I walked by census workers talking to a neighbor on their front steps last week masked and distanced. Why can't we do this? I'd be willing under those circumstances. It would be a relief from all the electronic bombardment.
posted by citygirl at 7:25 AM on August 31, 2020 [1 favorite]
I asked this question see the answers re:helping people vote, particularly on getting existing democrats registered to vote-by mail.
Also, try and raise money for the great slate, they need all the help they can get.
See if you can get more knowledge spread about free rides to the polls with lyft and uber if their state doesnt allow vote by mail or they don't get registered in time.
posted by lalochezia at 9:26 AM on August 31, 2020 [1 favorite]
Also, try and raise money for the great slate, they need all the help they can get.
See if you can get more knowledge spread about free rides to the polls with lyft and uber if their state doesnt allow vote by mail or they don't get registered in time.
posted by lalochezia at 9:26 AM on August 31, 2020 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
It's the ONLY way to have a live human to human conversation with a voter and studies show that it really does work to increase voter turnout.
So keep at it! I promise it's not a waste of time.
posted by Hollywood Upstairs Medical College at 3:24 PM on August 30, 2020 [2 favorites]