"The Most Important Part of We… is You"
June 10, 2008
Over the past few weeks we have been making a significant push to register new voters all across the country, so they can make their voice heard in this crucial election. Many of you have already responded to this call to action, organizing and participating in your own voter registration events.
In Mercer County, New Jersey, a dedicated group of grassroots supporters have been coming together for months now to help grow the movement. They recently decided to turn their attention to our Vote for Change drive, as Liz, one of the group members explained:
We have an active team, so we try to have something going every weekend. We had a brainstorming session a couple weeks ago, with about fourty people in attendance, including Harry. Harry suggested we register voters at Heritage Days in Trenton, and called the organizers of the event to get permission and register for a table. We were hoping to hang up our Obama signs and pass out Obama stickers as well as registering voters, but the organizers of the event said we needed to remain non-partisan. So I painted some plain "Register to Vote Here" signs with my kids.
While the initial circumstances might have been less than ideal, the group was determined to make an impact. Upon receiving permission to have a presence at Heritage Days, they began recruiting volunteers to help at the event.
The people staffing the table were a mix of volunteers that Harry and Marc recruited from their personal networks, active volunteers on our Mercer County for Obama team, and newer volunteers who signed up on my.barackobama. Harry was very successful in reaching out to Obama supporters and even some former Hillary supporters in his East Ward Democratic Organization — for some of them, this was their first time volunteering for Obama. Within days, we had more volunteers than we could accommodate.
When the day finally came, there was a lingering sense of anxiety about the event. As Harry explains, weather conditions were a cause of concern…
The weather was extremely hot. I thought that would be a problem with both volunteers and patrons of the festival. However, we have some very energetic people in our organization and my fears of that did not materialize.
The group overcame the heat and ended up registering 100 new voters over the course of two days. They documented their activities, while profiling some excited new voters and dedicated volunteers. It’s an inspiring and informative video that you can view here.
Simply having an excited base does not necessarily mean you will be successful. It takes a connected organization and attention to detail. People need to know their efforts matter, as the organizers of this event were well aware. Harry explained how he connected and motivated his volunteer base:
I kept all volunteers informed … After the success of the first day, I sent e-mails to those that had volunteered and also to those that were scheduled for the next day. I thanked them and let them know how successful we were on day one.
That kind of communication is often what separates cohesive groups from collections of individuals, and leads to improved results and a better experience for everyone. For people who have thought about getting involved in a group or starting their own, Liz says now is the time to start and registering voters is a fantastic way to do it…
This is a great time to start a group for a lot of reasons. Now that the Democrats have chosen a candidate, it’s easier to mobilize people to work on getting ready for the general election. We did several tabling events back in the fall before our Feb. 5th primary, and the response we’ve been getting recently has been much more enthusiastic.
Also, registering new voters is an activity that appeals to a lot of volunteers. We’ve found that people are even more likely to sign up if they know they will be at a table with other volunteers. We have a lot of people who have never volunteered for a Presidential campaign before, and this is an easy first-time activity and a way to get them involved.
Liz also shared a few lessons that the Mercer group learned during their Heritage Day event. Insights that should be helpful to anyone looking to register voters in the future:
Next time I will print out copies of a sample voter registration application to have at the table for volunteers to cross-reference so they can be sure the forms are being filled out fully. Also, be sure to have volunteer sign up forms, and invitations or information about your upcoming events. It’s also good to have copies of the contribution form in case someone is feeling generous. We collected $250 three weeks ago at a table in downtown Princeton, mostly in increments of $5.
If you want to follow the lead of this dedicated group and continue to build the movement for change, click here to find an event in your area or create your own. As for the Mercer County group, this Saturday they’ll be registering voters at the Trenton Farmers Market. Feel free to join them and other groups across the nation, so we can make sure every voice is heard this November.
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