Conference turris::womannotes-v2

603.0. "Working on a Political Campaign" by SCARY::M_DAVIS (nested disclaimers) Wed May 17 1989 12:39

    A friend asked me for some pointers on volunteering for his favorite
    candidate for office.  In preparing my response, I thought there may be
    other folks who have thought of campaigning and wonder what they'd be
    expected to do.  Others who have volunteered or managed campaigns are
    encouraged to add their experiences:
    
Probably the first thing to do is to find out if s/he has a phone
    number listed for a campaign office.  Try the information operator.  
    If not, then call the party office. They'll direct you to the number of
    the campaign director. 

Sign up as a volunteer.  There're lots of ways to volunteer.  You can
    stuff envelopes, drive around and put up (and take down) signs, do
    telephone canvassing, stand in the rain on election day with a sign at
    the periphery of some polling place (called aptly "poll standing"),
    stand in the middle of a busy intersection on a traffic island and hand
    out brochures to people who are waiting to turn left... etc, etc.

Probably the thing they'll need immediately is signatures.  What this
    means is getting a clipboard and a formal petition sheet and standing
    at the entrance to a post office, or other public place, to solicit
    signatures from registered voters (must be of same party as candidate).
    There's a great misunderstanding among the general public about what
    they're signing for, so it's important to explain that they aren't
    necessarily endorsing this person as their candidate of choice, just
    allowing his or her name to be placed on the ballot.  The other thing
    is that they must list their street address, not a P.O. box on the
    signature sheet, otherwise the signature is disallowed. 

You can also give money, but that's usually secondary... I think you
    can contribute up to $1k per candidate from your own funds... I've
    never been hit up for money when I asked to volunteer though.  You'll
    be offered tickets to dinners and speeches, and you can go or not.   In
    some cases, if there's a rally, they like to have lots of people there
    supporting their candidate, especially at debates, so they'll "pack the
    hall".  You'd be given tickets from the campaign office from their
    allotment to attend, probably no charge.
    
I have been asked to have a "coffee" at my home.  If you're a social 
    type with a circle of friends who might be interested in meeting the 
    candidate and contributing to his or her campaign, this is a nice way
    to facilitate that.  You're expected to get the gang together and to
    offer refreshments, sort of like a Tupperware party.

Mostly what they need is your body and your time... It's definitely
    not glamorous work... but it's fun to be working with like-minded
    people.

One misconception I had when I started to do telephone canvassing, was
    that I thought I was expected to try to convince the people on the
    phone that my candidate is the right choice. That's not what it's
    about; the purpose of telephone canvassing is to find out,
    statistically, what issues are important to the voters and how your
    candidate stacks up against the others.  Then, the ad managers take
    over...they write brochures and ads addressed to the important issues
    and they target their advertising at those geographical areas where
    your candidate is failing in his campaign. With limited funds, ad
    managers don't want to just blanket the world; they want to target
    issues and people,and telephone canvassing is the only good way to find
    out who hates your candidate and why. 

You'll also use the "Yes, I'm for your candidate" list to do a call-
    back a few days before the election...called "getting out the vote".
    This means you make sure your backers are going to vote, that they are
    given a ride to the polls on the day of election if need be... that
    they know where they're supposed to go to vote, etc.  Drivers are
    definitely needed on the day of the election (along with poll
    standers).  

Also on the evening of the election, the campaign officemay want you to go
    to the polling place and be there when the votes are counted.  What
    this means, if you've been a driver or poll stander during the day, is
    a mad dash to get to the specified polling place just before they close
    their doors...then a wait of some minutes or hours for the remaining
    people to complete their voting...then the count starts.  What you do,
    with notebook in hand, is to jot down the numbers as they are called
    out from the person reading them from each of the voting machines.  The
    campaign manager may want you to just get the numbers for your
    candidate and his or her opponent, or to get the numbers on all the
    races.  After you've collected up the numbers, there's a mad dash for
    pay phones (or the closest gas station) to call in the numbers.  When I
    did this , they just wanted me to wait until the first three machines
    had been read, then get to the phones...the assumption being that the
    trend is established very quickly, that you don't need all the numbers.

Then there's the celebration... party after the election.. If you've
    won, it's fun... if you haven't, you can go commiserate, talk about
    "next time" like the Patriots... 

One other thing...lest you think that ad managers are putting words
    in your candidates mouth, they are.  However, there are important
    little pieces of paper which are called "position papers" written up by
    the candidate himself (with help) and are written on a variety of
    topics.  People often walk into a campaign office and ask for a
    "position paper on < >" or such.  Also, when you're stuck in a phone
    call with someone who wants to argue a point, the general rule of thumb
    is not to try to represent the candidate's views... but to be very
    polite and to offer to send them the candidate's "position paper" on
    that very issue... this is whether they're friendly or hostile. You
    simply verify their address as you have it on the sheet, and  take care
    of the mailing or put the request in the proper pile.

I've also been enlisted to prepare list processing criteria for mailing 
    label and letter generation.  Anyone with computer experience is a 
    valuable resource for any campaign, be it for a candidate or a cause.

    Marge

    Long, long ago in a campaign far, far away......
    
    I worked for the Jimmy Carter for Pres campaign in 1975-76 and
    for his re-election bid in 1979-80. I REALLY enjoyed it! If
    anyone has a chance to get involved with a presidential campaign,
    GO FOR IT! Especially if you hook up with a winner. And the people
    you meet......
    
    1. Attend a "coffee klatch" in your area. These types of get togethers
    (especially during the early stages of a campaign) are great ways
    to get involved at the beginnings. The campaigns are usually looking
    for volunteers at these early functions.
    
    2. Once entrenched in the campaign, you can expect to stuff envelopes,
    put flyers on cars in parking lots, telephone canvassing, hosting
    carwashes, and GOTV (Get Out The Vote...calling voters and asking
    if they need rides, riding around and putting brochures of polling
    places on people's doors, being at the polling places with your
    candidates sign, etc). Also, there are all kinds of GREAT functions.
    (personal experience: during the 1980 olympics, I worked on a function
    in Salem where Walter Mondale was the lead speaker. I worked in
    the
    communications room, working a fax machine, while Jody Powell kept
    running in and out doing his thing
    
    also in 1979, the Carter Campaign did Christmas caroling around
    the neighborhoods of Salem, NH. Stopped in some selectmen's home
    for hot cocoa, cookies and some local media pictures.
    
    in 1980, night of the election, we PARTIED HEAVY DUTY!! We were
    in a Concord disco with media types like the Sam Donaldsons, et
    al...keeping the tote board up to date, dancing, drinking, etc.
    
    in 1977, Carter invited all his NH workers to the White House to
    thank them for their NH primary win. We got to meet Jimmy, eat
    buffet style, and dance in the White House. FUN!)
    
    3. Expect to give it your all. Committment to your candidate is
    required.
    
    4. Provides EXCELLENT contacts if you're interested in getting
    into local politics, since some of the big-wigs (locally) are
    your selectmen, congressmen, reps, etc. And can give you insights
    into the political arena. (I was actually approached by a rep to
    get into representative arena for next election (I would get her
    backing), but declined).
    
    I would suggest volunteering for a campaign. It was fun for me and
    you can never meet too many people!
    
    pat
    
    
    

If you can find a candidate that you can support enthusiastically, campaign
working can be a truly exhilarating experience.  I worked for a number of
candidates when I lived in Michigan.  A fond memory:

Our man was making an issue of inflation.  We had decided to make a sign which
said "Tired of inflation?  Vote Nov. (whatever)" and our candidate's name,
and post it at the Ann Arbor Art Fair.  The art fair is held during what
usually turns out to be the hottest weekend of the year, and someone had
a brainstorm:  why not put the sign on a barrel and have someone wear it?
I volunteered; to the teeming masses at the art fair it looked as if all I
was wearing was a barrel and some sneakers.  Needless to say, many were
curious about what was under the barrel, and came up to sneak a peek.  I
was always ready:  "What do I have under the barrel?  Why,...

information!"  And I would whip out a piece of campaign literature from
my shorts pockets (yes, I had shorts on underneath), and start a brief spiel.
By this time my victims had gotten too close to run away, and I had a cap-
tive audience.  I suspect I made a number of friends for the candidate.

It was a fun gimmick.

						--Q (Dick Wagman)