It’s GOTV time, and I’m here to tell you dear worriers: don’t fear it, do it.
There are Harris voters out there desperate to see their team on the ground for reassurance, be reminded their vote is critical, and be encouraged to show up.
There are also Trump voters who are beginning to doubt and who need encouragement and an open mind to help them crossover. They are sooo close!
Some takeaways:
- At least 3 households where a single Dem voter was listed, usually a woman, reported their husbands were voting blue too. The list I was given definitely underestimated potential supporters.
- Lots of high information voters, including the man who told us with a wink he would be voting for Harris on January 5th “just like Trump (wrongly) told him.” (Election Day is November 5.)
-Most Harris people seemed to prefer to vote in person and knew their polling place. While a few knew when early voting started and planned to go on Day One. One woman said, “I want to go on the first day in case anything happens to me before Election Day, and I can’t go.”
-We stopped at a yard sale because of course we did. The elderly owners weren’t on our list. I told her who we were and why we were in their neighborhood. I asked if she planned to vote and she said yes but for Trump. Ok, I said cheerfully. Then I bought a $2 item (retro stationary), and she offered that she did like Kamala. She found her very sharp. And then she offered that she didn’t really like Trump. We brought up the Cheneys’ and Karl Rove’s support for her as in all Republicans are putting country over party. And we told her social security is on the ballot. She said she knew this could happen and that she relied on it. She listened and maybe just maybe our stranger voices on top of her Harris-supporting children’s could help break the dam. They are soooo close. The absentee ballot is in their hands.
- Many Harris supporters did not have yard signs.
- We talked to everyone in our path and encouraged a young unregistered Dad playing basketball in his driveway with his kids to show up election day, when he can register to vote. He said he would.
-Another person not in our list said he planned to vote for Trump. Fair enough. We continued on our way.
-An elderly man was relieved to see us: “I’ve been wondering where you have been.”
- Many refused literature. They are clearly inundated.
- We skipped one house full of Trump signs because it was our last house and it felt a bit intimidating. Why end on a sour note? (Plus, gentle reminder you can skip any home where you might feel uncomfortable too. But I doubt there will be many.)
For me, meeting these older white men and women who weren’t hesitating to vote for Kamala was so hopeful.
And there you have it. I hope this post inspires at least one person to move out of their comfort zone and take action.
You will heal yourself and a nation from this orange nightmare.
All gas. No brakes. LFG.
Longtime listener. First-time poster.
[Update 1: Oh my gosh, thank you everyone. Please GOTV.
One more thing: before we headed out to canvass and got trained on the 411, a young Kenosha voter, whose name I did not capture, shared her horrifying story of the pregnancy complications she experienced under Trump’s abortion ban. She was forced to wait while bleeding out, and having lost her daughter, for 24 hours so that 2 doctors could sign off on her life being in danger.
She lost so much blood that she completely forgets the brief, precious time she was able to hold her deceased daughter. Her voice shook while she shared her truth. Her heartbreak and anger were understandably raw and palpable. Trump is a clear and present danger already.
Her daughter’s name was Ember — the spark of hope and everlasting fire that clearly motivates this mom in her activism and her life. If I am able to find her name, I will share it.
Let's win this.
