I went trick-or-treating today (Yes, I still trick-or-treat at 16) and I decided to try something new. For my costume, I was a polling place. I carried one bag that had the Democratic Party's logo on it and another that had the Republicans'. Trying to do my own generic ballot, I polled each house (while getting candy (: ). I'm not in an extremely Democratic area, but it does lean that way.
I went trick-or-treating today (Yes, I still trick-or-treat at 16) and I decided to try something new. For my costume, I was a polling place. I carried one bag that had the Democratic Party's logo on it and another that had the Republicans'. Trying to do my own generic ballot, I polled each house (while getting candy (: ). I'm not in an extremely Democratic area, but it does lean that way.
Nevertheless, at the end of the night, my findings were quite extreme--the Democrats had clearly beaten the Republicans. In 2008, I did the same thing with Obama and McCain, and Obama had won 125-77. This year the Democrats received 91 pieces of candy and the Republicans received only 32. I know that this poll is essentially meaningless, but it was nevertheless a good experience. I had the opportunity to influence my neighbors and tried to talk to undecided voters if there was no line behind me.
Living in California, the big race is between Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman and I received a variety of comments from different kinds of people. One man insisted that I throw the Jerry Brown bag out into the trash and gave me a plethora of candy in the Republican's bag. If a voter was enthusiastic, it was indeed for Meg Whitman. Most Democratic candy-givers were hesitant and thought, eventually saying "Ehh, well if I have to choose between the two...", then putting candy in the Democratic bag.
Let's hope that this sentiment does not reflection the feelings of the nation. Most of the "ehh" voters probably aren't going to turn out Tuesday, and we have about 28 hours to change that. If all registered voters do indeed vote, based on my candy research, Democrats should be more than fine. But, in the end, those who take the time to vote are the only ones who matter, and, even in my Democratic neighborhood, the Republicans seem much more enthusiastic.
It's not too late to make a last minute effort to GOTV, but we must do it now! Take a day off work tomorrow, take time on your breaks, and call voters, knock on doors, and make a last minute push to make those "Ehh" voters turn into enthusiastic ones. Let's be so energetic that we're the ones telling young children to throw their Republican bags into the trash, not feel like we're picking between the lesser of two evils.
Don't wake up on November 3rd and suffer for the next two years!
So join me, and let's show these results throughout the nation on Tuesday:
Democratic Pile:
Republican Pile:
Let's hope that the election returns appear like that Tuesday evening and let's put Rasmussen, Fox News, Nate Silver, Charlie Cook, and all these pessimists out of business.