Relationships
Matter (or How to Win Ohio)

In the week before the 2004 election, I went out to Cincinnati with a friend to work on the Kerry campaign. We arrived at the campaign office to a flurry of activity, found someone to give us our marching orders, and we were off.

For the next six days, we knocked on doors of primarily empty houses. Occasionally, we'd get a retiree eager to chat or a door slammed in our face, but not often. Inexplicably, with the most important election of their lives only days away, people were still going about their business as usual.

In our travels we ran into other canvassers from MoveOn and ACT, also from out of state. Awesome, I thought. We've got this town COVERED!

Election day was rainy and cold, but there was hope. We had nine people stationed outside the precinct, ready to spring into action if someone needed a ride to the polls or a call to remind them to vote. The Republicans had a single operative outside.

Turns out their guy was a longtime resident of the neighborhood, churchgoer, involved in community affairs, someone who knew everyone and who everyone knew. As we were talking, voters were walking into the polling place, and their guy knew them all. "How's it going Joe?", "How's the Mrs.?",  "See you at church on Sunday?".

Towards the end of the day, we checked the numbers. 84% of the people in the precinct had turned out to vote. My friend commented how great it was -- higher turnout means Democrats win, or so went the conventional wisdom. Problem was, this was a 75%-25% Republican precinct.

We went back to the office. The place was still buzzing, but it was different this time. If you've ever seen footage of bees in slow motion, you know what I'm talking about. Instead of the well-choreographed dance it appears in normal speed, turns out bees are constantly crashing into each other, crashing into the hive, walking around in a daze. It's a miracle they get anything done at all.

And so it was at the office -- hundreds of campaign volunteers, mostly from out of state with no connection to the community, looking busy, trying to be useful. Lots of activity but not a lot of organization.

Reports started flooding in from around the state. Massive turnout, Democrats beat their targets in nearly every precinct, minority turnout was high, student turnout was so high they were waiting in line for hours. We were going to win this thing!

But that's not how it turned out. Yes, compared to previous elections, Democratic turnout was off the charts. But Republican turnout was even higher. Democrats had gone with a decentralized model, stressing numbers of boots on the ground, with layer upon layer of duplication between the party and groups like MoveOn and ACT. Republicans used an AMWAY model stressing personal relationships. With fewer troops, Republicans were able to reach a greater number of voters and turn them out to vote. Democrats simply got beaten on the ground.

The moral of this story? Relationships matter. A single organizer from the community is worth a dozen from out of state. 

So what to do with this information. If you're in a swing state and want to help, start by walking your block. Introduce yourself to your neighbors, make sure everyone who supports your candidate registers and is ready to vote on election day. Take personal responsibility for your neighborhood. No one will do a better job organizing your neighborhood than you. 

If you're not in a swing state, make a list of everyone you know who is in a swing state and make it your personal mission to call every single one of them, try to get them involved where they live. At a minimum, make sure they turn out to vote. No one will be more persuasive with your people.

Most importantly, whether you're in a swing state or not, make sure you and everyone you know is registered and motivated to vote. If we learned anything from 2000, it’s that every vote matters. Make some calls. Talk to your people. Get organized.

And remember, there's no time to waste. The election is five weeks away. Let's get to work!!!