Friday, October 31, 2008

From Now Until Wednesday...

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

You won’t be hearing much from me in the following 4 days. I have pre-scheduled posts on the gubernatorial races, plus what it’s like to be inside the polls on Election Day, and a couple other little tidbits. HOWEVER, as of 2 pm this afternoon, when I oversee the installation of 13 new phone lines, it is all GOTV, all the time.

So, while I usually try to respond to comments as quickly as possible, it won’t happen until after the election. Also, no polls. (Sorry) They will return next Wednesday.
I’m going to give you a little update about where I’m going to be, and how you can follow me.


Lucky for all of us...

Matt, Oreo and Ed will be posting, so you won’t miss anything of import.

I, however, will miss them, and you!

Read more...

Welcome To My World

Here in my little world of 5 townships, we have a canvass location, and a separate phone bank location. They are about a mile apart. We'll be launching 4 canvass shifts a day each day. There will be lit drops and door knocks to houses we've already identified as Obama-voters to make sure everyone knows what times the polls are open, where the polls are, and answering questions anyone might have about the ballot. At the phone banks, we'll be making final persuasion calls to pre-identified undecided voters (don't get me started, yes, I know who they are), and GOTV calls to answer questions. The phone bank also serves as the place where we handle any fires that may need to be put out.


On Tuesday, we'll be launching cars for people who need rides, and collecting data from our people at the polls. We have emergency lawyers in place. So, if someone is canvassing, and they come across a voter who says "I'd like to vote, but my car won't start", our canvasser calls us, and we send a car. When we did voter registration, we told all the registrants that if they had a problem at the polls, to find someone draped in Obama gear. If there is a poll problem, the volunteer calls us, and we contact the County Legal Team, and a lawyer is dispatched to that polling place to mediate the dispute. The legal team itself will be driving from poll to poll to check out how things are going. Within the county, there are a few areas which we predict have the highest possibility of problems, and for those, there will be a lawyer on site all day.


Personally, I've been assigned to coordinate the phone bank Saturday through Monday. On Tuesday, I'll be at my local polls from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. While the polls don't open until 7, I'll be handing out coffee and donuts to the early line. Then, I vote. After, off to the phone bank, and then back to the polls to work the 2:30 – whenever shift checking people in, handing out ballots, and then counting the votes. (Posts on this scheduled already for Tuesday)


Starting later today, you can follow me on twitter. You can also follow Oreo on twitter, and if you follow HIM, you’ll get notified of all the DCW posts.

Twitter Information
: go to twitter and set up an account. Then, click on "Find People" in the upper right of the screen, and then use the "Search" tab. Use OreoDemConWatch for Oreo's feed and DocJessDCW for my feed. Then, if you're at your computer, you can leave your twitter feed open, and you'll read in real time what we're doing, when we do it. You can also access twitter from your Blackberry or iPhone. Oreo's favourite Blackberry application is tinytwitter, my favourite IPhone app is twitterforiphone. These are not text messages, so you don't pay to receive them, they're part of your internet phone package.


And before I go…remember to vote!
Call, email or text everyone you know who is a new voter, or a sometimes voter to remind them.
Call your local Obama office if you know someone who needs a ride, or other assistance, and they’ll handle it.


Stay with DemConWatch after the election for the best Transition and Inauguration coverage.