An open letter from a volunteer about the Georgia Senate run-offs: Let’s stop harassing voters

Like many progressives, radicals and people who vehemently despise Trump, I fueled my anxiety about the current historical moment and my hope for the future into volunteering with thousands of people across the country to defeat Trump. I phone-banked, text-banked, sent postcards and letters, did literature drops and knocked on doors in Pennsylvania. I sent stickers, postcards and posters to activists and voters in swing states. I monitored polls in Pennsylvania on election day. And after a week of nail-biting and a weekend of dancing in the streets, I am tired and proud to have been part of the success of defeating Trump. I hope all of the other volunteers are enjoying this moment of victory. We helped make this happen.

While everyone seems to be pointing the finger at different segments of the population for sealing this election for better or for worse, I am most immediately interested in discussing the get out the vote strategy for the Georgia Senate run-offs. I was an active volunteer with many groups across the political spectrum and country. Most of these organizations have already contacted me about volunteering for outreach efforts in Georgia, and I know many volunteers feel it is imperative to continue to do the grunt work these inspiring organizations will lay out for us. However, I am greatly concerned that if we continue to use the same theories of change, strategies and tactics that were employed for the past few months, we run the danger of:

1. annoying voters in Georgia to the point of discouraging their participation in the run-off elections; and
2. missing the opportunity to activate the much needed additional voters who didn’t respond well to all of the text messages, television ads, postcards and phone calls we collectively sent their way.

Specifically, I think there needs to be better coordination and data sharing between all of the organizations involved so that we stop harassing the same voters over and over again. Instead, we need to make the next two months of organizing much more dynamic — with virtual town hall meetings where constituents can speak to their prospective Senators, with volunteers providing real support to families in Georgia that is responsive to this challenging public health and economic crisis, and with volunteers providing support to grassroots groups and youth in Georgia to personalize their creative interventions and messaging connected to getting out the vote. There are brilliant organizers at the helm of these organizations and thousands of dedicated volunteers out here, so I know we have the time to invest in additional, dynamic organizing efforts.

I spoke with many volunteers over the past few months who were unsure that their hard work was paying off because of their direct feedback they received from voters. And so while this is a moment to celebrate, it is also a moment to share our experiences on the frontlines of voter engagement to parse out better tactics for the next phase of outreach. Here are a few examples of some of the experiences I had communicating with voters:

• With phone-banking and text-banking, the most frequent response I received was no response. The second most common response was “STOP” or “this is the 5th call I’ve gotten; please stop calling me.”
• When I first started text-banking, I was told that the response rate was 10–20%. By the end, my text-banking response rate was 0.1%.
• Over the course of months of phone-banking, I was confused that I kept getting Trump supporters on the phone. Hadn’t the hard work we’d done in the summer already identified and segmented the Trump supporters by October?
• Canvassing in Pennsylvania several times, it was disheartening to drop off literature or knock on doors that already had Democratic party literature strewn on their porch floors.
• It was also sad to meet young, enthusiastic workers at local campaign offices in Pennsylvania who were not being empowered to provide creative outreach ideas, but were instead following the marching orders of their superiors as if the Democratic party’s strategy was thoroughly tested and proven.

The amount of money groups invested in data and technology to get out the vote was impressive. Whether on the streets or on the phone, we tagged people in various apps so that future outreach could be most effective. But despite the method of contact, the main feedback from constituents was “stop contacting me.” So I can only imagine that organizers were simply too overwhelmed to evaluate data, to update lists and to work with other groups across the country to be more strategic about who we were reaching out to and how. Given my experiences with voters that have resonated with other volunteers I’ve spoken to, I have a few suggestions for the next two months of organizing:

1. Let’s stop harassing voters. I’m not sure which state and national organizations are planning to get out the vote in Georgia and how they plan to work together. There will be many organizations involved and my experience shows they may not take the time to talk to each other to make sure that they aren’t overwhelming or annoying voters. Perhaps a coalition could form that gave one organization (Fair Fight?) the authority to handle all contact lists to make sure that people are not contacted more than is absolutely necessary. Or perhaps groups could make an agreement to divide up districts of Georgia. With two statewide run-off races and numerous national organizations getting involved at the state level, we have the danger of exhausting voters to a tipping point. We need to make sure that voter files are being more strategically used to connect with voters. Sometimes less can be more.
2. Let’s make get out the vote work a two-way conversation. The real danger is not armed militias; it’s our broken political system where politicians think they can stroll down your street every few years and blanket you with ads and get your vote in return. While we may have just found out that many people in this country prefer white supremacy and the false promises of rightwing populism, Americans are not stupid. Communities in swing states know that they are being targeted. And many acknowledge their past experiences — that the politicians will stop reaching out as soon as they are elected. This pandemic winter is the time for Jon Ossoff and Rev. Warnock to be hosting virtual town halls for voters to share their thoughts and ask questions. Seeing how many people show up for a political meeting these days, I’m sure virtual town halls for the entire state, for different segments of the population (i.e. voters under 30, county-by-county) would get a huge turnout. The campaigns may not be able to collect as much clean data that way. But do they even need to? Were they using the data they collected in the most strategic ways anyway? Since Georgia winters are nicer than winters in many “blue” states, town hall events could safely happen outside — not drive-in rallies but real conversations — where the candidates let the audience speak. Volunteers could help turn these listening conversations into a meaningful and memorable experience for voters, where candidates demonstrate that they already know how to do a better job at constituent services than their opponents.
3. Let’s volunteer to provide real services. After candidates receive feedback from constituents at town halls, volunteers around the country could be utilized to provide constituent services to people with real needs. Resource and referral guides could be easily developed in collaboration with grassroots groups in anticipation of the most common issues shared at town hall meetings. Volunteers could be utilized to reach back out to people and help them navigate bureaucracies, connect them with resources and demonstrate that these candidates will be providing constituent services with more power behind them once elected. These subtle actions can be a more effective way to entice people to pick-up the phone or remember a new candidate’s name.
4. Let’s volunteer in a way that meets the unique circumstances of this moment. Another option would be for volunteers to offer one-on-one tutoring for families that request it through the Ossoff and Warnock campaigns. We know that women are disproportionately burdened by the pandemic — both because of the industries they work in and because they take on the majority of care work in their households. We know women are an important constituency for the Democrats and that mothers are over-burdened with remote/hybrid schooling systems this year. The thousands of volunteers who could be utilized to harass Georgians with phone calls and text messages could instead be trained to provide free and remote student tutoring for families who sign up. Volunteers could help families finish the semester off successfully and build real relationships that could help get out the vote right after the semester ends.
5. Let’s lead with content about why these elections matter for the future of the country. We need to make it clear to Georgians why these two seats will deliver a different future — more stimulus checks in the hands of working families, support to the schools and healthcare systems that are struggling due to the virus. The majority of Americans who were concerned about the economy in exit polls overwhelmingly voted for Republicans. There is a myth that Republicans are “better for business” in this country. Control of the Senate will have a huge influence on future stimulus packages and fiscal relief to states in need. This is an important message that needs to be clearly spelled out for voters.
6. Let’s empower young people and grassroots organizations in Georgia to shape the outreach messaging and strategies. A glossy finished blue door hanger is not going to compel anyone to vote at this point. And traditional media outlets were already exhausted by election news over the past few months. Meanwhile, young people overwhelmingly voted against Trump and that means that we should be looking more to them for outreach ideas. I hope that the Ossoff and Warnock campaigns can encourage the young people volunteering and working on their campaigns to design outreach materials and activities. The goal is to connect with people and every idea should be on the table, not just standard campaigning strategies. Furthermore, how can all of our efforts this winter in Georgia funnel momentum and investment in progressive grassroots organizations who will be carrying on the work long after the run-offs in January? Georgia’s long-standing grassroots organizations will be leaned on to get out the vote. Rather than pulling these organizers and their base away from their work to get out the vote, the Ossoff and Warnock campaigns (and the thousands of volunteers across the country who want to support them) could show up and provide volunteer support over the next two months for existing efforts like after-school programs, emergency food providers and legal clinics.

I know there are a lot of passionate volunteers who are excited to put more time and energy into the Georgia run-off races. This campaign will be different, because it’s not about defeating Trump anymore. We need creative tactics to connect with Georgians and respect their time and intelligence as they weigh whether or not it makes sense to show up to the polls a second time. I hope this letter can be the start of a conversation amongst volunteers and organizers — not to upend the urgent work needed in the next two months — but to shift organizing strategies and volunteer activities to respond to what we’ve accomplished and what we’ve learned.