GOTV-voter registration

[trof]

I posted this in GD, but figured I'd open a thread here.
If you have any other ideas, I'd love to hear them.
trof

The county registrar of voters (I think that's the right title) will give you a list of registered voters. I think it's by precinct within the county. At least the list I have is. I was given the list by a party activist, so I'm not sure if they did the precinct breakouts or if they come that way from the county. Anyway, here's what we plan to do...

Split the list among 4 or 5 or however many we can get.
Call each one and say something like "Hi, I'm with the Kerry campaign and would like to ask who you support in the coming election."

If you get a stream of profanity, or if they're more polite and say "Bush*", say thank you and hang up.

If they say Kerry, then you start with the follow-up questions.
You know the phone # is good, but make sure they're still at the same address.
Are you registered to vote?
Are there any others in your household of voting age and are they registered?
If "no" to either, offer to bring (NOT MAIL) registration forms and get them registered.
Do they know where their polling place is or a gentle reminder.
"Let's see...you vote at the Foley city hall, is that right?"
Make SURE they know where to go.
Do you need a ride on election day?
It's been suggested if you know the person you ask if they need a babysitter/caregiver to stay with someone while they vote, but (IMHO) that might leave you open to some liability.
Any other thing you can think of short of offering cash money to get them off their dead butts and VOTE!
Make copius notes. What you want to wind up with is a list of DEMOCRATIC voters to use later in targeted campaigns.
Good luck.

[Frances]

1. Good luck, Trof!

I think outreach is a very good way to get to know your community. When I lived in Maryland, I had a list like the one you have, and I used to walk the streets around my house. I felt good listening to my neighbors, and I think they appreciated the fact that the Dems cared enough to canvass.

This grass roots campaigning may produce some good local leaders as well.

[AlabamaYankee]

2. Lee County is just beginning the process

At the Democratic Club meeting last evening we had a much larger than normal turnout, and a great deal of interest. As a result I have a stack of contact cards, and a pile of work to to do to get them organized. One big advantage we have here is the Auburn Student Democrats. They have enthusiastic leadership and growing numbers, which should really help with our canvassing activities. There's also a monthly Meet Up sponsored by the state Kerry campaign that we will be able to tap into. We'll probably focus on low turnout and low registration neighborhoods since they have the greatest potential for results. The election is just 110 days away, so it's going to be crunch time real soon.

[JessicaEast]

3. Voter Registration

Yep, the Auburn Democrats are ready to help as soon as you need us.

A few weeks ago I had a calling party at my apartment and we filled out voter registration forms over the phone for people, then highlighted the parts they still needed to fill out (SSN and signature), and put the form in an envelope with a pre-addressed envelope to the Elections Board and a personal note from us encouraging them to finish the form and mail it in. This made it much more likely that they'd fill it out (as opposed to sending a blank form and no stamped envelope), and is a good alternative if going to every house personally is not an option. Of course, taking it personally would be the best case scenario, though.