Well, it's been two weeks since I've written a canvass diary. My Mother-In-Law passed away unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago so I took some time away from the campaign. I did some phonebanking and a little canvassing during that time, but went back to a long day of canvassing yesterday.
My experiences after the jump.
It was a good day for canvassing and a busy one. We were canvassing sporadic voters, which can be frustrating. Their lack of interest in the campaigns makes them difficult to engage in conversation. Out of 22 contacts, I had six undecided voters yesterday and simply could not engage any of them in a discussion. They weren't friendly or mean, they just seemed defeated and indifferent. As a canvasser, it's hard to understand how someone could be so detached from the responsibility of selecting our next President. Regular undecided voters are great because they want to talk, they have questions, and they're completely open to discussion. Sporadic voting undecided voters, on the other hand, are the most frustrating people you can encounter while canvassing.
As for McCain supporters, I only encountered three of them. I also had one person who refused to talk and another who is not voting because she dislikes politics. The McCain supporters were nicer than they usually are and I didn't have to shake off any verbal attacks.
The good news of the day is that 11 of my contacts were not only Obama supporters, but strong Obama supporters. One of them was a 62-year-old woman who is voting for the first time ever and the other was a 19-year-old man, who was so excited to be casting a vote in this election. I've never gotten such a large number of Obama supporters from a sporadic voter list before and I know if we can get all of these people to the polls, we can win this state.
I went to the Board of Elections and cast my vote for Barack Obama today. I couldn't believe the excitement in Cleveland. There were busloads of people being driven to the polls and it was pretty crowded. 90% of the cars in the parking lot were decorated with Obama bumper stickers and the energy in the air was hopeful and positive. As I filled out my ballot, I noticed that my hands were shaking. For the first time in my life, I truly understood the value of my vote and the message I am sending to my government by casting it. I couldn't help but think about the work that goes into just getting a single person to make a decision and get to the polls. I felt powerful and strong and proud of my country, my candidate, and most of all myself.