Most of us were assigned low-income wards, so seeking out votes it really was. Nearly every household agreed to "support the Democrats" in this election, and yet
nearly every household held unregistered voters who jumped at the chance to vote from home by absentee ballot.
We explained that someone would come back to their house to register them. (The rules in Wisconsin are very specific and only certain people can do it.)
We explained that if they filled out the absentee application today, the ballot would arrive in two weeks and then someone would come back and pick up their ballots from them.
We explained how critical Wisconsin is in this election and we wanted to be sure their vote was counted.
Most of the people were surprised they could vote from home and many, frankly, were relieved. They weren't sure whether they'd be able to make it to the polls on Nov 2 (e.g., one worked two jobs, another was a trucker who would probably be out of town, still another was elderly and had a hard time getting around - and, really, so many were unregistered).
Some households had friends over on this beautiful Saturday, so we signed them all up for absentee ballots too. Every one of them. And we assured them that we'd help them get registered.
One African-American woman insisted she was not going to vote this year because Bush stole the election last time and her vote didn't matter. She voted, Wisconsin went Dem, and Bush stole it anyway. She didn't want to go through that again. I explained how Kerry has a team of lawyers and millions of dollars ready for a legal fight. I told her how much her vote is needed now because we cannot let Bush be re-elected after the disaster he created in Iraq. I even used the sympathy plea and revealed that I'd driven from Chicago to get her vote because Wisconsin is such a tight and critical state. In the end I got her absentee ballot application - as well as those of two other unregistered, unlikely voters in the house.
I also received an absentee ballot application from a woman with MS who thought she couldn't vote. She couldn't leave her home, so how could she vote? Her caretaker filled out the application for her, and then the woman -- who was completely alert but bedridden and unable to move her hands well -- signed the application with an X. How wonderful is it that this woman will be voting for the first time in, probably, years? The caretaker also filled out an application for herself.
They were not all unlikely voters. One elderly man, when I asked if he'd be supporting Democrats in this election, told me he'd served four years in the Army for his right to a private vote. He did not want to reveal his intentions to me. I said I understood, thanked him, and walked away. As I was knocking on the next door, he called out to me: "I'll tell you one thing, though. I'm looking for a change." He is not an unlikely voter -- he is a military man who, if he's breathing, will be voting on Nov 2 for change.
After four hours two of us came back with 38 absentee ballot applications of mostly unregistered - and all Kerry-supporting - voters who didn't know whether or not they'd vote in this election. Our Chicago group came back to Beloit-HQ on this one afternoon with nearly 250 absentee ballot applications. In 2000, Gore won Wisconsin by only 5,000 votes.
This is one small story, but it shows how we can - and are - finding the unlikely voter in Wisconsin. We're doing everything in our power to bring the unlikely voter the power of the vote and to keep Wisconsin Blue.
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I'll also say that it was great to see many first-time canvassers in Wisconsin this weekend. They were nervous at first, but after a couple of houses, their nerves were gone. Even if you've never done it, it's worth it. It's much easier than you'd ever imagine and it'll be that much more rewarding when Kerry declares victory.
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