GOTV OH: Week recap
A few events have happened since my post last week. This post recaps those events.
Marketing matters
As I mentioned towards the end of last week’s post, with just 40+ days to go to the General Election, most people eligible to vote are already registered as voters. While we still look for unregistered voters and help them register, the majority of our conversations are now shifting towards helping people make a plan to vote.
To that end, it’s very useful to provide people with a handy little postcard that summarizes their voting options. We managed to get our hands on the image file for this postcard, designed in collaboration by three local chapters of the League Of Women Voters, and printed out 50 copies at the local Staples.
I took these to the Goodwill Outlet in Akron last Friday and they were a hit — we must’ve given out at least 30 or so and a handful of people were very appreciative of receiving a tangible reminder.
Encouraged by the success, and knowing that we were heading into National Week of Voter Registration, we immediately got 200 more printed up. My friend Ameya happened to make a monetary contribution to our efforts at around the same time and it neatly helped us defray the printing costs.
Dayton Drop In
Until last Saturday we’d been working at events in the Akron and Cleveland metro areas. However, as our analysis that led to this Ohio trip had surfaced, Montogomery County was one we desperately wanted to cover with our GOTV efforts. We’d been in contact with Dayton area organizers for the past couple of weeks and finally we learnt of a couple of events where we could help.
So at around 5:30 AM last Saturday, Tiffany and I got on the road to Dayton. Our drive took us on I-71 S towards Columbus and then on 270 W to get to the west-side of Columbus. This was a drive down memory lane for both of us, as we passed the exit to Ohio Wesleyan University (which is whereTiffany and I met); the Waffle House at that exit where my roommates and I would often go for late night eggs and coffee; Polaris Parkway, where I visited for shopping and concerts, Tiffany worked part-time as a Red Lobster waitress, and years later I spent time visiting my cousin Salil and his family; the Sawmill Road exit on 270 that I took twice a week during my Senior Spring semester as I interned at a local tech company; and finally Tuttle Crossing, yet another mall we’d occasionally visit for shopping and hanging out.
About three hours after our departure we pulled in curbside at the St. Paul United Methodist Church in the Historic Inner East neighborhood of Dayton. Every Saturday, starting 9 AM, the church serves breakfast to its community. In the time of COVID this is a pre-packaged takeout meal, recipients must stand in a socially-distanced line, and wear masks. From what we observed, there were many regulars visiting to receive meals. Church members and volunteers seemed to know many folks by name and not only served them a hot meal and beverage but also provided some of them with other life essentials such as sweaters or blankets.
We hung out a small distance away from the actual meal service line as we didn’t want to disrupt that service. We’d talk to people as they approached the church, and go over our familiar tree of questions: are you registered to vote, do you know if you’ll be voting via absentee ballot or in-person, have you considered early in-person voting, did you know about the delays in the postal service, and a few others depending on each person’s specific preferences and situations. For folks who wanted to vote in-person we’d close by handing them a reminder postcard (similar to the one at the start of this post but with Montgomery County information).
After spending about 90 minutes at the church, we headed to 2nd Street Market. There was another GOTV event happening there but Tiffany and I had decided to skip that one in favor of the one we were about to go to next. Our point of contact for the day, Jan, wanted to quickly check in on the GOTV event at 2nd Street Market so we tagged along. While she did that, Tiffany and I grabbed a quick bite at one of the stalls.
Next, we headed across the river to the House of Bread, a community kitchen serving hot meals. We were met with a relatively long line of people waiting outside. Many of them were homeless. We spoke with every single person in this line. It was a very humbling experience.
A number of folks asked us questions for which we had no answers: why should they vote? why should they believe that politicians—even local ones— would actually help them? could we tell them that politicians would keep their promises once elected? had any politicians even ever visited the House of Bread to learn of its constituents’ lives? It was heartbreaking to have these conversations and even as we felt helpless in the moment, we knew how we felt in those fleeting moments were how these folks felt every day, week after week, year after year in some cases.
Those who hadn’t completely lost their faith in the democratic process, we helped in our limited ways. Three hours later, at 2 PM, House of Bread closed their meal service. Emotionally exhausted, we looked down at our clipboards and, remarkably, this had been our most successful GOTV events so far —Tiffany and I had collected nine voter registration applications and a couple of absentee ballot applications. Jan had collected a few of each as well. We left, but with mixed feelings.
On our way back from Dayton we made a detour to Columbus to visit Tiffany’s college roommate and her family. It was good to see them all again, particularly in these COVID times. We sat in their backyard, with appropriate social distancing. A couple hours of conversation, coffee, and brownies later we got back on the road north. A couple more hours later, around 8 PM we were home, exhausted after a long but successful day visiting Dayton and back.
Slow Sunday
After a long Saturday, we had planned a fairly relaxing Sunday. We spent most of it catching up on house work, groceries, and spending time with Tiffany’s brother and dad.
The only GOTV event I had on my calendar was a Social Media Monitoring Training at 5 PM local time. Lasting about an hour, this training session turned out to be incredibly useful. Organized by Common Cause, the training covered misinformation and disinformation seen on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit. We learnt what— and what not—to do about it, relevant tools like Tweetdeck and CrowdTangle, and finally signed up for shifts in the coming week.
To my civic-minded friends: I highly encourage you to take this training. There is a LOT of bad information being spread on social media about the upcoming election, especially as we hit the home stretch. You can help monitor, fact-check, and remove such information from the comfort of your own homes. Trainings are every Sunday at 5 PM Eastern Time. Sign up for either the September 27 or the October 4 training session.
Manic Monday
Tiffany and I were grateful for the relatively relaxing Sunday because it marked the start of National Week of Voter Registration. Starting Monday we were going to be booked up pretty heavily at various GOTV events. In fact, Tiffany and I have time off from work this week just so we can do justice to this week’s GOTV events.
Monday started somewhat early for us. We were up at around 6:30 AM. Our first event was not actually a GOTV event per se but more just prep work for multiple GOTV events happening the following day. At 8 AM we showed up, along with three other volunteers, at a Summit County government building to pick up ninety traffic cones. Each cone weighed about ten pounds. We had to deliver these to nine libraries in the Akron Metro area, with each library getting ten cones. Along with the cones, each library would also be receiving a couple of GOTV signs and a bag full of registration forms and informational materials.
Tiffany and I drove separately. She took her dad’s SUV and I took ours. This allowed us to pick up and drop off forty cones to four libraries. All in all, this prep event went off very smoothly. I especially appreciated the opportunity to drive through various parts of Akron and get to know the neighborhoods a bit better.
After dropping off the cones we met back at home around 10 AM. We had a couple of hours of down time before heading out again.
Around noon we headed out for a second trip to Dayton. This time we were going to meet with a different set of volunteers and work at a GOTV voter registration and informational event at the Northwest branch of the Dayton Metro Library. We arrived right around 3 PM, the start time of the event. Our initial reaction was that of disappointment as we saw about half a dozen volunteers (including ourselves) but no prospective voters. But with four hours to go, we were optimistic things would turn around.
And sure enough, albeit in a slow trickle, we started meeting people as they would visit the library. The library was actually closed (temporarily) but I think this actually worked in our favor. In a trick of cognitive dissonance, people who’d just had their library plans scuttled would actually be quite willing to engage with us, likely to make the most of their otherwise fruitless visit.
Tiffany and I spoke with a handful of people, checked registrations for a few of them, and had a couple of them fill out absentee ballot request forms. Then we switched roles, moving to the street corners around the library to hold up signs directing people to our GOTV station in the library parking lot.
A couple hours later, having renewed our respect for advertising sign holders and their arm strength, we decided to pack it up. Around 6:45 PM we got in our car and got on the road back to Norton. Two quick stops— dinner and bio break— and about three hours later, we were back home, once again, exhausted from the day’s work. It was a good feeling and we both passed out (around an excited Seger) soon after we hit the bed.
Next Up
Today is actually National Voter Registration Day, which is the main day in this year’s National Week of Voter Registration. Today Tiffany and I will be volunteering at two GOTV events spanning five hours, one in the late morning and one in the evening. The morning event will be at the Akron-Summit County Library’s Odom Blvd. branch and the evening one will be at the Maple Valley branch. Both locations predominantly serve non-White and impoverished communities so we are grateful for the opportunity to volunteer at these locations.
There are no in-person events on our calendar for tomorrow but I’ll be putting my newly-acquired Social Media Monitoring skills to the test in an evening shift.
On Thursday I’ll most likely be volunteering at a GOTV event hosted by a local corner store in Cleveland. There’s an event at the same time at a job center in Dayton but, to be honest, I’m not sure I’m up for another six-hour roundtrip drive, this time all by myself.
On Friday afternoon, Tiffany and I will be back at the now-familiar Goodwill Outlet in Akron.
On late Saturday morning, we’ll be volunteering at an UUTheVote event in Akron in coordination with their community meal service.
And to round out the week, on Sunday around noon we’ll be volunteering at a GOTV event at the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, again in coordination with their community meal service.
