hillsborough canvass

One of these days I will write about something besides politics. But not today. Because today I went to the Fairview community in Hillsborough for a voter registration canvass. It was great. I think the best (both most productive and most enjoyable) political volunteering I've ever done.

The Obama people had coordinated with a community organizer from Fairview, and they had recruited volunteers from within the community to pair with the outside volunteers. Each of us walked with a resident of the neighborhood. I think there was a dual purpose: to make today's canvass more effective, and also to train and motivate Fairview residents to be more politically active. It felt like the community was canvassing itself and we were assisting them, rather than us coming in and telling them what to do. It was a nice feeling.

I walked with Dorothy, an amazing lady who is already very involved: I didn't catch the actual title but she's the "block captain" or "neighborhood chief" or something, anyway I think she's the community organizer the Obama people coordinated with. I was lucky to walk around with her. She knew a lot of the people we spoke to, and if she didn't already know them, she got to know them. She was so engaging and had something nice to say about everyone -- she would compliment their child, their garden, even a pretty front door. She did the talking, and I carried the clipboard and helped people fill out the form.

We got 6 registrations, all of them new -- no changes of address. That is much better than I've done standing outside supermarkets, even though we talked to far fewer people. Plus people were so excited about the election. At a supermarket everyone is in a hurry, they're trying to get past you without making eye contact. This was totally different. The last house we stopped at had a lady who wanted to register, an older lady in a wheelchair who's already registered and wanted us to arrange an accessible van to take her to the poll, and a little girl who literally jumped up and down and yelled "Obama!" when she saw our pins. While I was helping her mother with the form, the little girl counted on her fingers how many years it will be before she can vote. (She's almost 11 now.) I wish we could bottle that enthusiasm and give some to everyone.