BROOKFIELD, Wis., — When 22 students took a road trip to Wisconsin last Saturday, it wasn’t for a football game or for Halloween — it was to help the battleground state vote Democratic in November.
College Democrats and Women’s Coalition organized the two-hour bus ride to assist third-party organization America Coming Together with canvassing local neighborhoods, targeting undecided voters or likely voters for Sen. John Kerry, the Democratic nominee.
“Most student Democrats feel like their votes are not going to make a difference in Illinois,” said Meredith Buse, a Medill senior, activism cochairwoman of Women’s Coalition and a former Daily staffer. “(This) is an opportunity to make a difference in a swing state.”
Pairs of students knocked on doors and asked residents to name the issues most important to them. The canvassers then asked each resident which candidate was getting their vote.
If the residents were undecided, leaning toward Kerry or slightly leaning toward President Bush, the students left literature for the residents. Regardless of the residents’ replies, student canvassers recorded the responses.
Most students said that at about half of the homes they canvassed no one was home, and a majority of those who were home supported President Bush.
“I wasn’t out here to change people’s minds,” said Weinberg freshman Samantha Kirby. “It was more for data collection.”
America Coming Together will use the information gathered by canvassers to reach out to swing voters.
Those who said they are strong Kerry supporters will get a phone call on election day reminding them to vote.
Students said they met few undecided voters. When students did speak to an undecided voter, it was unlikely their visit would change minds, said Mike Schoengold, a Weinberg freshman, but students still found the work rewarding.
“Giving people literature and discussing the issues keeps people talking,” Schoengold said.
For Weinberg freshman Oliver Osinga the trip offered a chance to experience the much-discussed political climate of a key battleground state.
“I just want to get a feel of the political process,” Osinga said. “(I want) to humanize the numbers.”
America Coming Together is a not-for-profit organization. It cannot endorse a candidate, but can advocate progressive issues, said Nora Ranney, the group’s Wisconsin volunteer coordinator. It is considered a 527 organization, which means it cannot officially link itself to a specific campaign even though its views align with the Democratic platform, Ranney added.
“This is one of the better ways to spend 527 money,” said Tom McDonald, a Weinberg sophomore.
McDonald said the trip interacted with voters in a way negative TV ads never could.
It’s also a way to side step the campaign finance reform laws, Osinga said.
“The McCain-Feingold (Bill) was made so corporations and unions couldn’t give millions of dollars (to campaigns),” he said.
Some of the residents Schoengold, Osinga and other volunteers interacted with were apathetic to the politics, saying they “didn’t bother with elections.”
“What does that say about America?’ Schoengold said. “Other people are dying for the chance to vote and he doesn’t bother.”
NU College Republicans has scheduled a four-day trip to Michigan, another battleground state, the weekend before Election Day to work on behalf of the Bush campaign, according to Henry Bowles, a Medill junior and president of College Republicans.
Reach Ashima Singal at [email protected].
