I'm so happy to read the diaries documenting early voting in North Carolina and how big the turnout is. In our city of Wilmington, in the southeastern part of the state, the polling places are smokin', so much so that a poll worker told me yesterday he would just love a five minute break. Persiflage and I took my Mom and we were in line for about 45 minutes before we entered the actual voting place which had about twenty five machines and abundant workers available to help. We had no problem what so ever, things ran beautifully.
Today we volunteered at the local OFA office, manning the phones to get out the early vote. I have to tell you, the operation is really impressive.
Obviously the people were great. I mean, they're Democrats and Obama supporters, what more can I say? The organization is incredible. Schedules, paraphernalia, computers, phones, food, signs... everything is there.
What blew me away was the phone banking system. All computerized. You just log onto a site and after entering your cell number you receive a call and off you go. The computer places the calls, you talk to the person, enter pertinent info, finish the call, click on something and the next call is made. In addition, I was calling people all over the state and right there on the screen was the early polling site for them with an address and hours of operation. I used this repeatedly and could not have managed without this feature. Folks who wanted to vote early but were unsure of where to do so were very grateful for this information. Another killer feature was a drop down tab for people needing transportation to the polls. Click on "needs ride", into the system it goes and you simply tell the other person that someone would be calling them to make the necessary arrangements. Very cool.
We got terrific results, so many we spoke with either already voted or are going to vote early. We're going back next week to do it again and are really fired up! Early vote and turn North Carolina blue for President Obama!
GOTV, volunteer, donate!