"I am going to say this on every blog that will let me:
Take a neighbor to vote. First make sure that neighbor will vote the same way you do, then take that person to vote. There are too many people who are registered to vote who don't vote. Take them to vote."
October 2, 2006
Take a neighbor to vote
Message from Gloria:
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7 comments:
I'm not one to get too deep into political debate on the internet--it's more fun to use my time on the net making fun of people not limited to politics--but to suggest that one should first check to make sure a neighbor is going to vote the same as you before you haul their ass to the polls? I agree that far too many people do not vote exercise their right to vote, but that shit ain't right.
Nonsense.
Yes, when you register people to vote you most certainly do have the obligation to turn in the cards no matter what party they sign up to.
However, what Gloria is talking about here is doing a little personal GOTV (Get Out The Vote).
GOTV is never get out the other candidate's vote, it's get out your own candidate's vote. It's part of campaigning and there's nothing wrong with it.
It's only wrong if you try to prevent the other party from voting.
If I have a "Dump Rick" sign in my window, I don't put up a "Santorum for Senate" sign up too in the interest of fairness. I am campaigning.
Gloria is talking about campaigning here and on those terms, she's absolutely right.
If my neighbor wants to vote for Lil Ricky, I sure as hell won't enable their sickness. ;-)
I feel the need to explain this in more detail (I'm also maybe coming down with something and can't get back to sleep).
Here's how it works for those of you who have never volunteered for a big campaign:
1. You call the Super Voters (dependable voters) and ask them if they will vote for your candidate. This is IDing your votes.
2. On election day, you have a pollwatcher sitting at the polls with a list of your ID'ed voters (those who said "Yes" when you asked for their vote). You check them off as they vote.
3. Periodically, someone collects the list of those who have voted from the pollwatcher and takes them back to the campaign.
4. Then some other volunteer calls the people who haven't voted yet to remind them to vote. (If a campaign has less money, the pollwatcher calls the voters themselves.)
What Gloria is talking about here is trying to grab up some of the Lazy Voters (less dependable voters) that the campaign has missed.
Capice?
I know all about the inner workings of campaigns and don't have a problem with any of what you explained. Perhaps if I read your comments more, I would know who Gloria is and would have read her comment in the context that you explain. But I wasn't thinking in terms of GOTV when I read the comment. My naive self was thinking about it in terms of helping those who don't have transportation such as senior citizens get to the polls.
No problem -- I wrote it for anyone who might have had the same train of thought as you.
I started doing some phone banking this weekend for Altmire, but would also plan to help out on election day by actually transporting people to the polls, which I understand can be an issue for some older voters.
Any recommendations for the best way to go about this? Just contact the local Butler or Allegheny County Democratic Organizations?
Contact them, or contact a particular candidate's campaign that you like, or organization like America Votes.
Drivers are always needed!
And:
BRAVO! :-)
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