Canvassing in Nevada

Last weekend I went to Reno, Nevada, to canvass for the Democrats.

Ready to canvass in Reno, Nevada!

We drove to Reno on Saturday morning, then spent the afternoon knocking on doors and talking to people, went out for a simple dinner and checked into our hotel. On Sunday morning, we drove back and made a little detour to drink coffee on the shore of Lake Tahoe. It was a fun road trip!

How does canvassing work?

As expected, we found the campaign to be well organized. After we arrived at one of the campaign headquarters in Reno, they explained to us what we were going to do. They gave us a list of addresses with names of people who lived there. Our list contained 87 addresses. It took us almost four hours to knock on all the doors! To everyone who wanted to talk to us, we asked then whether they were planning to vote for Clinton, for Catherine Cortez Masto (she could become the first Latina in the Senate) and Chip Evans (Congress). We then asked if they knew when and where they planned to vote and we explained how easy it is to do early voting in Nevada. In Reno (Washoe County), you have from Oct 22 to Nov 4th to go to any early voting location in the county, and there are many such polling stations, for example, in the library or the supermarket. Finally, if people were supportive of the Democratic candidates, we’d ask them whether they’d be interested to volunteer.

Who did we talk to?

I had never really thought of how canvassing is done, but I somehow assumed that it would consist of convincing people to vote for Clinton and not Trump. However, I had only one conversation on Saturday where I explained why I support Hillary, and Trump was hardly mentioned at all (what a relief!) Instead, we were mostly talking to people who were known to be supportive of Democrats, but who may or may not actually vote. Our main goal was therefore to encourage people to go and vote and to use the opportunity of early voting in Nevada. That’s why it was probably most important for us to be able to say: “Do you know that you can vote today in the supermarket down the road until 6PM? And tomorrow they’re open from 11 till 4.”

Would I do it again?

Yes, absolutely. It was fun (and tiring). Most people were happy to talk to us. I may have convinced a few people to go and vote and I may have encouraged someone to volunteer for the campaign. Plus, the weather was nice and I walked 5 miles. Highly recommended!

Ready to canvass in Reno, Nevada.

 

 

 

 

How you can help the Clinton campaign from California and why you should

I would like to convince you to join me in helping the Clinton campaign.

Why help the campaign?

First of all: does the campaign still need help? It seems like a sure win at this point!

1. Things can change quickly. Chances of Trump winning are small, but if it does happen it would be a major disaster for the country and the world, so I want to do my part to prevent it.

2. The senate is not a sure win, and right next door, in Nevada, is one of the tightest races for a senate seat. A democratic majority in the senate is within reach and would make a huge difference.

What to do?

For the longest time, I didn’t realize how I could help the Clinton campaign. Now I do, and I thought I share it with you!

1. Send money.

2. Volunteer for a two hour shift at one of the SF phone banks.

3. Drive or fly to Nevada (Reno or Las Vegas) in one of the next weekends to get out the vote right where it matters most.

To sign up for a phone bank or to go to Nevada, go to:

https://www.hillaryclinton.com/events/

Is it hard?

I did a two-hour shift at the phone bank last week and it was easy. I was calling people who were known Hillary supporters to ask if they wanted to go to Nevada to get out the vote. It was a simple question with a simple yes/no answer. I was not supposed to try and convince people of something they didn’t want.