I made 40 phone calls tonight to Washington State voters through my.BarackObama.com. I've done it more than a few times before, even though I really hate being on the phone, especially with strangers. If you're nervous, that goes away after the first time you reach a person at home. I really wonder if they put in a faux number to someone sitting there with a smile, who tells you that they're voting Obama, just to make you less nervous. Ok, I'm kidding. But every time I've called, the first person home is friendly.
Many were not home, or were the wrong number. Even those that are not voting for Barack either quickly end the call, or just hang up. I've not been yelled at, or had any real negative experiences.
Tomorrow, the effort will be GOTV, where you are calling committed voters, asking if they voted yet, and letting them know where to vote. All the info is right there on your computer screen.
If you can, make some calls. Or head to your local Democratic Party to help with local campaigns. Just don't let yourself wake up on November 5th, wondering what you could have done...
Like Ezra Klein, I just can't describe this, so I'm going to give you a quote, and ask you to read it.
“In a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long,” he said. “They feel so betrayed by government that when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn’t buy it. And when it’s delivered by—it’s true that when it’s delivered by a forty-six-year-old black man named Barack Obama, then that adds another layer of skepticism.”
Tonight was a special "Utah Call Team Conference Call", where Emily Murphy and Amy (didn't catch her last name) gave a quick training of the neighbor to neighbor calling tool available for supporters of Senator Obama to help the campaign. Because Utah is helping drive the effort in Colorado, there were a few special guests on before that training began.
Ray Rivera, the campaign's Colorado Director, introduced Roy Romer, former Colorado Governor. Roy talked about how we can win Colorado, but we have to reach everyone we can. Every call is critical. Sincere calls from out of state will be effective. He said: "We need you. It will be effective. There's nothing more important you can do for the campaign."
Ken Salazar came on and talked about how we can move the votes from 250 to 271 by winning in Colorado, and that win the election.
Amy Klobuchar, Senator from Minnesota, talked about being in Wisconsin with Barack, and is now in Colorado. She told a story about how she got stopped by State Trooper, thinking she'd be given a ticket, and have to "take one for the team", and found out that it was just because the tags on her license plate were reversed, which was quite a relief to her. She said "You can make a difference, you taking the time out to make these calls WILL make the difference."
Ray came on again, and said that to win, we need to get 2.5 million Colorado voters to the polls, and we need to reach them at least 2 times to make that happen.
Amy came back on and stressed that nothing is more important right now than reaching out to neighbors, and personalizing Barack's message.
Emily then led the training, and the first thing she had to say is that if you can make it to Colorado for Get Out The Vote (GOTV), it will be fun.
Emily then walked us through Neighbor to Neighbor tool to show how it's used. If you come to the Phone Banking set up for this Saturday or Sunday, we'll be showing you how to use the web tool then, if you bring your laptop with you, or we can give you lists if you don't have one.
Each state's call script looks different, so if you switch states, make sure to read the script before you make the call. The web page is simple, and easy to use. You can even do it from home. Peak times are 6 to 9 PM, so if you can make calls during this time, please consider it. Even half an hour is great.
When looking at the script, you don't need to read it word for word, if it doesn't feel comfortable. However, each of the questions need to be answered, if possible, so try to make sure to fit them in when talking to the person you're calling.
You don't have to call every number you're given. If you don't get to the calls, they will go back into the queue.
It gets easier and easier as you use N2N. You'll probably even start to love making the calls, and it definitely becomes more comfortable after you've started.
Amy came back on and asked us to invite friends, family and neighbors to our own house, and pointed out that there's even a Host Guide available online.
Don't let November 4 pass you by. Your involvement does matter. Just ask Al Gore.
If you are sitting around, saying to yourself that you wish you had plans this weekend, you're in luck! How about heading to Grand Junction, Colorado, as part of Drive for Change?
Can't afford it?
Well, you have to eat, anyway! And all you'll have to pay for is your food.
Colorado is swinging back and forth, and we can't afford to let McCain win there!
From the Campaign:
Utah for Obama will be departing from our Salt Lake City headquarters this Friday, September 12th at 5:30 p.m. to talk to voters in Grand Junction, CO about the Obama-Biden plan for the change we need. We will be returning on Sunday evening, though there will be an option to return Saturday as well. All costs will be covered except for food. Please let us know in the sign-up form whether you can drive or will need housing.Help us do our part in ensuring that Barack and Joe win this most crucial of battleground states. No prior experience is needed.
Utah for Obama will be departing from our Salt Lake City headquarters this Friday, September 12th at 5:30 p.m. to talk to voters in Grand Junction, CO about the Obama-Biden plan for the change we need.
We will be returning on Sunday evening, though there will be an option to return Saturday as well. All costs will be covered except for food. Please let us know in the sign-up form whether you can drive or will need housing.Help us do our part in ensuring that Barack and Joe win this most crucial of battleground states.
No prior experience is needed.
Still haven't convinced you? Do you really want to help, but just can't make the trip? Consider purchasing a gas card, and giving it as an in-kind donation, to help others get there. You can drop it off at the new Utah Campaign HQ: 780 E., South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84102 or call the office at (801) 983-7372 to make arrangements.
November is less than 10 weeks away, as Justin of the Young Democrats of Utah reminded me via the email below. We can't just wait around and see how this turns out, we have to be a part of changing how it turns out!
Misty, With the election closing in on us fast, it is time for us to get in gear and start working to get Democrats elected. The Young Democrats will be knocking on doors every Saturday from 10:00 AM to 1 PM Please come out and join us. This Saturday we will be meeting at Dimple Dell Rec Center 10600 So. 1000 E. in the 10600 So. parking lot. Come out knock a few doors, meet some new friends, and get a free t-shirt. To RSVP: Email justin@youngdemsofutah.org Phone 801-824-4073 We will also be making phone calls every Thursday from now until the election. Our Headquarters are located at 1063 E. 3300 So. (in the Corroon campaign headquarters) If you have any questions about these events or how you can get involved please let me know. Justin
Misty,
With the election closing in on us fast, it is time for us to get in gear and start working to get Democrats elected.
The Young Democrats will be knocking on doors every Saturday from 10:00 AM to 1 PM
Please come out and join us.
This Saturday we will be meeting at Dimple Dell Rec Center 10600 So. 1000 E. in the 10600 So. parking lot.
Come out knock a few doors, meet some new friends, and get a free t-shirt.
To RSVP:
Email justin@youngdemsofutah.org
Phone 801-824-4073
We will also be making phone calls every Thursday from now until the election.
Our Headquarters are located at 1063 E. 3300 So. (in the Corroon campaign headquarters)
If you have any questions about these events or how you can get involved please let me know.
Justin
You can also sign up to volunteer through Utah for Obama by calling 801.983.7372. Don't let yourself wake up in November and realize that the wrong person got elected at any level of politics. Do something today!
Theodore Cowan has been one of the most active members of Utah for Obama since the beginning. He's the Secretary of the grassroots group, Utah for Obama, and he was also elected as a delegate to the convention. As if we don't already have enough to be proud of Theo for, he's now been highlighted by the official Obama campaign blog.
I think that the "party official" he mentions in that blog is Rob Miller, the owner of UtahAmicus. We were thrilled when Rob began his involvement with our grassroots group last fall, and has maintained that relationship ever since. Thanks, Rob!
Keep up with the UtahAmicus group's blog postings for continuous Democratic National Convention coverage. You can also find mini-updates from me by watching Twitter. All of my blog posts will be on the UtahAmicus, with some of them duplicated at my personal blog, Saintless, and possibly a few here, as well.
Yes, it's last-minute. But it's decided. I'm going to Denver with the rest of the Utah Amicus crew! I'll be blogging live from the Democratic National Convention, so that you, too, can experience history as it happens!
Don't forget to check in often at the Utah Amicus for all the greatest coverage! (And maybe a special post or two from my personal blog, Saintless)
The invitations are starting to come--in the mail AND by email. I don't know which ones to choose!
So far I'm going to the Unconventional Women Symposium, the Airplane Pilots party, and a panel discussion hosted by Chevy Chase. Next, I have to make sure I can get in to the Daily Show tapings.
I've downloaded 16 pages of convention related events and activities. They were published to compare to the lame Republicans events.
I really hope some group, like GLBT gets Kathy Griffin and Margaret Cho perform at a party. That would be amazing.
I've finally uploaded some photos from the Utah Pride Parade. Our amazing Obama puppet won second place among about 60 parade entries. Check out the photos at:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/utahforobama/
We will be in the Murray City 4th of July parade on Friday. Join us if you can. Here are the event details:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/447z4
Show your red, white and blue and your Obama enthusiasm with us in Murray on Friday.
If you can't join us in Murray, there are other events from Cache Valley all the way down to St. George. Check them out.
I just wrote a post on my blog that compares Obama's vs. McCain's Internet presence among Latter-day Saints. I also discuss differences among Utah-based groups.
The results are pretty pathetic (for McCain).
I think you'll enjoy the post. Take a look.
This year's Utah Pride Festival theme was "Come Together." And so we did, Barack having clenched the nomination earlier last week and Hillary having graciously thrown her support behind him on Saturday.
Again this year, Utah for Obama organized a booth and for the first time, a parade entry. We distributed hundreds of bumper stickers, over a thousand Pride themed lapel stickers and pins, among other Obama items. A few dozen people got raffle tickets for our Audacity/Dreams book raffle. Consequently, the booth brought in donations to defray some of the the costs of our participation in the festival and parade this year. We also registered over 100 voters, some first time voters, as well as some reregistrants after moves.
This is all great, but the best part this year was our parade entry. Thanks to Janet Lee and Dominic, with a smattering of help from others, we had a 15 foot Obama puppet that took up the rear for our contingent in the parade. We had "secret service" detail for our Obama, and just a lot of enthusiastic Obama supporters waving rally signs and hootin' and hollerin' for Obama. As soon as I can get some of the 170 photos uploaded onto Flickr from my camera, I'll share them with you. Our Obama and performances impressed the parade judges and we won second place out of all 70 parade entries. Janet Lee deserves that trophy for all the creative energies that she put into our fabuluos giant puppet.
We have got to get this puppet into other parades in Utah and perhaps take it to Denver for the convention. Nikki took video footage of us all from the back of Misty's Jeep that led our procession. We will perhaps edit it and submit an entry to the Days of 47 Parade, the only Utah parade that beats the Utah Pride Parade in size. We will be participating in the Southern Utah Pride Festival again this year, and hopefully we can enter the parade this time around in Springdale. If any of you know of parades and festivals in your localities in which we could participate, please let us know whether you can help organize participation for Utah for Obama.
At any rate, we have a lot to do as grassroots Obama supporters before November. Do you think it possible that we can give the republicans in Utah and McCain a run for their money this fall? I do! Join us in registering new voters and spreading the word and our enthusiasm for this grassroots, 50-state campaign to take back the White House and our government! Look for a Utah for Obama Organizing Meeting in the next few days.
Best to you all, Janet Hurley (your Utah for Obama Events Coordinator)
We've decided to use my Jeep for Utah for Obama in the Pride Parade this Sunday, along with the 10' Obama puppet. Here are a couple of photos of the Jeep:
I'm hoping to find someone that has one of the following to decorate the Jeep with:
If you have any of the above that you can help us with, please let me know ASAP. I'll be decorating the Jeep tomorrow (Saturday). Any suggestions for other decorating ideas are also welcome.
And if you want to be in the parade with us, it's not too late to sign up! http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4d3m
According to Dictionary.com, "respect" has 16 definitions. Here are the ones I find relevant to the subject of Hillary Clinton's withdrawal from the Presidential race:
3. esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability: I have great respect for her judgment. 4. deference to a right, privilege, privileged position, or someone or something considered to have certain rights or privileges; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgment: respect for a suspect's right to counsel; to show respect for the flag; respect for the elderly. 5. the condition of being esteemed or honored: to be held in respect. 6. respects, a formal expression or gesture of greeting, esteem, or friendship: Give my respects to your parents. 7. favor or partiality. 8. Archaic. a consideration. –verb (used with object) 9. to hold in esteem or honor: I cannot respect a cheat. 10. to show regard or consideration for: to respect someone's rights. 12. to relate or have reference to. —Idioms 13. in respect of, in reference to; in regard to; concerning. 14. in respect that, Archaic. because of; since. 15. pay one's respects, a. to visit in order to welcome, greet, etc.: We paid our respects to the new neighbors. b. to express one's sympathy, esp. to survivors following a death: We paid our respects to the family. 16. with respect to, referring to; concerning: with respect to your latest request.
–verb (used with object)
—Idioms
Listen to what Senator Obama had to say about Hillary Clinton on Tuesday.
We've spent the last year and a half looking at her as the competition. Many have other reasons for disliking or not wanting Senator Clinton to become our first woman president. But, today, that is irrelevant to our goal of having Senator Obama as the 44th President.
Do we want Senator Clinton's supporters to now support Senator Obama as the Democratic nominee? Well, I do. In order for that to happen, we need to redirect ourselves at this point in time.
We need to understand that the bitter voters that the media told us about don't represent all of Senator Clinton's supporters, and I'd venture to say they are a small minority. I've spoken to many of her supporters, and I have yet to meet one face to face that holds that sort of resentment. Many of them are grateful to have been part of her campaign, but are ready to move on with Senator Obama as the nominee. Some of them will join us in campaigning for Barack. Some of them will watch quietly from a distance, and cast their vote for him in November. Some of them will have discussion with us, trying to decide whether they can support Barack.
As we engage in discussion with the Hillary supporters, we need to respect what she accomplished, without bringing any of our negative feelings into it. We don't need to debate the reasons we didn't support her. We don't need to question her supporter's motives. We don't need to be negative. Period. Dot. The end.
We need to do as Senator Obama did, and recognize the positive aspects of her presidential run. We need to be gracious about Senator Obama's win, and the role that Hillary played. If anything, her constant testing of him helped set the tone of the General election - he's been tried and tested, and come out on top. We wouldn't be going into the General knowing he'll succeed against the GOP attacks, if it weren't for that.
When we do run across Hillary supporters that have not accepted Obama as their candidate, we don't have to convince them of anything. We do have to respect their opinions, and avoid debates. We don't need to give the media or the Republicans any fodder for their cannons. Only when those supporters of Hillary feel that we respect them and their goals will we stand any chance of uniting with them behind Senator Obama.
August gives everyone time to gain perspective, and watch as Hillary stands behind Barack's candidacy. August is the next big date on our timeline leading to January 20, 2009. These are exciting times for us, but we have to focus on the November election, and realize that our hard work during the primary needs to continue into the General election. That is our focus, and we no longer need to work against Senator Clinton.
I think that these two statement summarize my thoughts well:
If we want Hillary's supporters to respect us and our candidate, we must do so first.
If we want Barack to be our leader, we must follow his lead.
When we see the media publishing crap articles like the op-ed from Maureen Dowd in such an untimely manner, we need to realize that it's an attempt to create drama that the media thrives on. Ignore it, or deny it, but don't be sucked into it, and don't let it affect your ability to have respect.
Hillary Clinton has yet to admit that the Democratic Presidential Primary is a done deal, but the tone of media chatter that I've heard is that she's going to - on a night of her own choosing, when she can have the spotlight on her for a moment. My personal feelings about that very, but at the moment, I feel like that's an OK thing. Granted, her 'offer to be Obama's VP, in order to unify the party' seemed rather out of line, to me. But, hey, I'd be happy to follow he lead and offer myself as Obama's Technology Czar. Ezra Klein put it best, I think:
If you were Clinton and, on the one hand, you had your hated adversaries in the media clamoring for you to drop out, and on the other, you were mobbed, every day, by devoted supporters who had invested their hopes in you and begged you to keep up the fight, and you yourself wanted to continue prosecuting your case, well, what would you do?
I don't think there's a chance in hell that she'll be Obama's VP. In fact, I think McCain would be more likely to offer her the job than Obama, but we all know that's not very likely, either. Obama will likely choose someone to round out his skills, maybe someone strong on foreign policy, to satisfy those who believe he needs more experience. I do believe he'll make a wise choice, no matter who it is.
If Hillary gets a job in the Obama administration, I could see it having to do with healthcare, since that is one of her strong points, and the one she seems to be the most passionate about, at least if you narrow it down to things Obama and Clinton can agree on. And that would satisfy a lot of people.
Last night, about 5 hours after I scheduled the "Yes We Did" party, people began to show up at the SkyBox Grille. Kurt Bestor beat us all in the door, and was just beginning a snack as I walked in with Dimitrios and his girlfriend (sorry, I suck at names) to the back room where the big screen awaited us. Not long after, people began arriving, eager to own another little piece of this campaign. Many were people I'd never met before. Others were the people who I've known since this all started, like Theodore, Strider, Brandon, Janet Lee, Laurie Noda, and so many more. Rob Miller brought Utah Attorney General candidate, Jean Welch Hill, and Pete Ashdown and Robin Ballard brought their two youngest children. I would guess attendance at about 40 people. Which really isn't bad, considering the short notice everyone had about the event.
Chris Vanocur, of ABC 4, sent down a camera to check out the activities. Halfway through Senator Obama's speech, I was asked to do an interview, and so I missed much of the speech. I love technology, though. It's all on YouTube, and if you else would like to (re-)watch it, just head over to the official Obama Blog. Kurt Bestor and Theodore Cowan were also interviewed, presumably because of their status as elected National Delegates for Senator Obama. ABC 4's video feed isn't allowed on this blog's setup, so I can't post it here. But, you can view it on ABC4.com.
KSL also had some interesting coverage yesterday regarding the Democratic Primary, including Donald Dunn's take.
There were two other reporters there last night. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that they were reporters until it was too late, and they were gone. Apparently, one was from the Salt Lake Tribune.
The Deseret News had some other interesting news coverage yesterday. They quoted Wayne Holland as confirming rumors that I keep hearing, about Helen Langdon and Karen Hale switching from Hillary to Barack, as well as saying that Jim Matheson would be coming out for Barack. I've been hearing about the first two for a long while now, and from many different people. I had almost begun to think it was wishful thinking, but regardless, this is good news!
Now we can get on to the serious business of facing John McSame McCain. You know, Mr. 4-More-Years-Of-Bush, who thinks that spying on Americans is patriotic and on registering new voters across Utah. Watch for a summary very soon about the successes we've already had!
Utah for Obama is hosting a "Yes We Did" Celebration party to watch Barack Obama's Victory Speech tonight (Tuesday) at SkyBox Grille at the Gateway Mall at 7:30 PM.
After Saturday's decision to finalize the Michigan and Florida delegates, 2,118 is the magic number of delegates to reach the Democratic Nomination. As of this writing, Barack Obama needs 31.5 delegates to get there. Tonight, after the votes are counted in Montana and South Dakota, the last few names of Super Delegates who will vote for Senator Obama at the DNC in August will be announced, and Senator Obama will make his victory speech.
According to my sources, his speech will happen at 8:15 MDT, just after the polls close, so make sure that you arrive by 8!.
This campaign is a movement of the people, and I cannot think of a more appropriate title for tonight's event than "Yes we did". Barack won this nomination because of you, and me, and literally millions of other people's efforts. It's not just Barack who won, it's all of us. We have more work to do, but tonight it's time to celebrate what we've accomplished.
And tomorrow, we can get on to the work of showing John McCain for what he really is - 4 more years of Bush.
Details: SkyBox Sports Grill, 7:30 PM 4 South Rio Grande Street Family-friendly event Bring your friends, too! Use Winter Parking entrance on north side of 100 South. SkyBox is on the west side of Rio Grande Street, on the Promenade level
Hillary Rodham Clinton will concede Tuesday night that Barack Obama has the delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, campaign officials said, effectively ending her bid to be the nation's first female president.
While Hillary is conceding that Barack has the delegates needed, she's not dropping out just yet. I'm not quite sure why, but regardless, we're going to celebrate the fact that Barack Obama has won the Democratic nomination tonight!
We don't have a venue yet, because this is just breaking. But, I'll announce it here after we have it confirmed. And if you have a place you'd like to offer that has a tv and plenty of room, let me know!
It's rather amusing to me how right on the spot that The Spoof was about this.
Last Wednesday, hundreds, thousands or some large number of people showed up at Washington Square for the Peace and Human Rights Rally. So, we decided that would be the perfect place to register new voters, and update others' registrations. I had at least 6 people join me, including Cheryl, Theo, Brandon, Susan, Sherri, and Claire and her son. I swear there were a couple more but I didn't do a sign-in, so I'm stuck with the ones my short memory will recall. Anyway, we were able to register 43 voters. Not bad for an hour's work, right?
Here are some of the photos from the rally, much thanks to Theo for getting some of the better shots for me.
It took me 3 tries, but I finally got a full shot of this "Prez Lie Dispenser" sign.
These guys with the foil signs walked in front of and through the crowd several times.
Here's a shot from near the back of the crowd.
One from the side.
Another from the side.
Here's Rocky at the beginning of his speech.
I liked the signs put up from High Road for Human Rights. They said:
Our America Does Not Torture
America: Where Everyone Including The President Is Bound By Rule Of Law
Torture Is A Subversion Of American Values
Anyway, we've had a lot of positive stories about Vote for Change across Utah. Josh Der sent this email about the Logan Vote for Change event:
On Saturday, May 24, 2008, Utah State University for Obama, Cache Valley for Obama and the Cache County Democratic Party jointly organized a voter registration drive in Logan. We had four volunteers and we collected 16 new voter registration applications, 6 of which were Democrats, 6 were unaffiliated and only one of which was Republican. This was a test-run and was a great success, considering it was nice weather on a holiday weekend without any big events happening in Logan. One of our volunteers scouted the community for potential drive locations, one registered voters downtown and two volunteers worked outside of a locally owned, progressive coffee shop/deli counter. We wore our Obama flair, but focused on registering people to vote. If they asked why we were doing it, we told them about the Vote for Change campaign. We were well received and connected with some potential volunteers. By the end of the day, we came away feeling excited and energized. We also gave out free Obama bumper stickers to supporters who expressed interest. We didn't really push the stickers, but still gave out close to 30 of them. This registration drive represents something tangible, easy and proactive we can all do to promote Obama. The more we promote Obama in Utah, the stronger the democratic party will be on Election Day, regardless of how Utah's electoral votes are cast. This means the possibility for REAL change on a local level, where we are most directly affected. Here are a couple pieces of advice for organizers based on our experiences: 1) Identify locations before you start. Corporate-owned grocery store chains (e.g. Walmart or Albertsons, etc.) don't want anything to do with politics, so don't bother sending volunteers to these places, they'll just get turned away. I've found locally owned businesses are much more receptive to this voter registration drive. Consider the management's perspective; try not to bother patrons inside of the business, but rather catch them on their way in or out. Don't block the entrance and don't be too pushy. Look for places where you'll get a lot of foot traffic. Consider your target demographic and go to where you are likely to find them (e.g. for youth, find the local hangouts or work on campuses; for Latinos or Asian Americans, go to an ethnic market or restaurant). If you can (and they will allow), get a booth or a table at a local festival or farmer's market, otherwise get a lot of volunteers to work the crowd. In any case, its best to work in a location where people are not in a rush and can spend a few minutes to fill out the form or to chat with you. 2) Visit your County Clerk's office. They are required to provide voter registration application books to organizations who are registering voters. They will give you 4-5 books of 50 applications. Each volunteer will need a book, so this may limit how many volunteers you can use, but if a few different people request them independently or you make a plea that you are working a large event, you may be able to get more. The books have carbon copies so you can give each voter a receipt that is proof of registration and will get them a ballot in case they don't get their voter registration card or their application gets lost somehow. The books fit on a clipboard well and you don't have to make any photocopies or carry stacks of loose paper or bulky state-printed mail in forms (however, its good to have a few mail in forms to give out to people who don't have time, want their voter information kept private, or want to give it to a friend). Be sure to check that all the required information is completed and legible. When you finish a book, bring it back to the County Clerk and they will replace it. Set up your own vote for change event: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/create
On Saturday, May 24, 2008, Utah State University for Obama, Cache Valley for Obama and the Cache County Democratic Party jointly organized a voter registration drive in Logan.
We had four volunteers and we collected 16 new voter registration applications, 6 of which were Democrats, 6 were unaffiliated and only one of which was Republican. This was a test-run and was a great success, considering it was nice weather on a holiday weekend without any big events happening in Logan.
One of our volunteers scouted the community for potential drive locations, one registered voters downtown and two volunteers worked outside of a locally owned, progressive coffee shop/deli counter.
We wore our Obama flair, but focused on registering people to vote. If they asked why we were doing it, we told them about the Vote for Change campaign. We were well received and connected with some potential volunteers.
By the end of the day, we came away feeling excited and energized. We also gave out free Obama bumper stickers to supporters who expressed interest. We didn't really push the stickers, but still gave out close to 30 of them.
This registration drive represents something tangible, easy and proactive we can all do to promote Obama. The more we promote Obama in Utah, the stronger the democratic party will be on Election Day, regardless of how Utah's electoral votes are cast. This means the possibility for REAL change on a local level, where we are most directly affected.
Here are a couple pieces of advice for organizers based on our experiences:
1) Identify locations before you start. Corporate-owned grocery store chains (e.g. Walmart or Albertsons, etc.) don't want anything to do with politics, so don't bother sending volunteers to these places, they'll just get turned away. I've found locally owned businesses are much more receptive to this voter registration drive. Consider the management's perspective; try not to bother patrons inside of the business, but rather catch them on their way in or out. Don't block the entrance and don't be too pushy. Look for places where you'll get a lot of foot traffic. Consider your target demographic and go to where you are likely to find them (e.g. for youth, find the local hangouts or work on campuses; for Latinos or Asian Americans, go to an ethnic market or restaurant). If you can (and they will allow), get a booth or a table at a local festival or farmer's market, otherwise get a lot of volunteers to work the crowd. In any case, its best to work in a location where people are not in a rush and can spend a few minutes to fill out the form or to chat with you.
2) Visit your County Clerk's office. They are required to provide voter registration application books to organizations who are registering voters. They will give you 4-5 books of 50 applications. Each volunteer will need a book, so this may limit how many volunteers you can use, but if a few different people request them independently or you make a plea that you are working a large event, you may be able to get more. The books have carbon copies so you can give each voter a receipt that is proof of registration and will get them a ballot in case they don't get their voter registration card or their application gets lost somehow. The books fit on a clipboard well and you don't have to make any photocopies or carry stacks of loose paper or bulky state-printed mail in forms (however, its good to have a few mail in forms to give out to people who don't have time, want their voter information kept private, or want to give it to a friend). Be sure to check that all the required information is completed and legible. When you finish a book, bring it back to the County Clerk and they will replace it.
Set up your own vote for change event: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/create
Lots of people are organizing small drives, and local businesses seem to be supportive, and often let people run the drive from there. In fact, Golden Braid Books contacted us, to offer a location. It's easy, and even if you don't want to run one yourself, you can join us at larger gatherings, like next weekend when we get going at Utah Pride. Check out events statewide.
Utah's Gay Pride Festival and Parade are fast approaching. We will be tabling at the festival on Saturday June 7th and Sunday June 8th. Sunday morning we will be marching in the parade with our 12 foot Obama puppet that is in the making. Paper mache was to start happening tonight. I am sure there will be more crafting to do over the weekend.
Please sign-up to join us for the parade on Sunday morning (June 8) here:http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4d3m
Sign-up to help with tabling on Saturday and Sunday here:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/4dzb/
