An impressive GOTV effort is going on down there. We were sent to a satellite office in the general area we were covering in northern Indy. A lot of people buzzing in and out, people bringing in food in preperation for a long couple of days. Another section where they were training about 12 people for canvassing. Another group of tables where they were handing out assignments. We were actually sent to a... ummm.... sub-satellite office which was someone's home so they could hit each region on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis. When we got there, there, the lady said that they only had two canvassing packets left for that section and gave us one. We were primarily going early voting efforts -- letting people know that the Indiana early voting offices were still open, where they were and making sure they knew of their regular Nov 4th polling location in case they weren't early voting.
Of course, our particular neighborhood was in the suburban region in northern Indianapolis where the wealthier Republican neighborhoods lie. McCain signs a-plenty! A few initial "You're wasting your times" later, we hit our first gentleman who was in fact planning to vote for Obama and wanted to early vote yet. After him came a few others and we started seeing more Obama signs. I'll say that, although some people were a bit curt, we didn't encounter any open hostility. The places we were doing were probably the toughest neighborhoods to win over in the Indianapolis area and a place where each vote would definately count. Judging from the maps in the canvassing offices, the Obama effort is hitting those neighborhoods hard and no stone is going unturned. After completing our packet, we headed back to the house and were greeted with a free home-cooked meal and some chit-chat with the local staffers. Flea managed to pick up some Obama swag to make her feel better about not owning a t-shirt like me. Someone came in and reported that the satellite early voting office (there's a lot of satellite stuff going on because the main offices are swamped) currently had a line of about 300 people waiting to vote; almost entirely Obama supporters. It was getting late and they already had lawyers there to ensure that everyone who was in line by 7:00pm was afforded their chance to cast a ballot as required by law.
I have no idea if Obama will take Indiana. Like I said, we were in the hardest neighborhoods of Indianapolis and it was about 3:1 in both McCain signs and front door rejections. But if he loses Indiana, it won't be for a lack of effort from the Obama campaign and its volunteers. If he wins it, I'll definately know why.
As a final cap to the day and cosmic reward for my efforts, I came home to this e-mail:
The Democratic Party wrote:
Thank you for signing up to receive a ticket for the Election Night event at Hutchinson Field in Grant Park, Chicago.
Your ticket will be emailed to you on Monday, November 3rd, between 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Each ticket is personalized for the ticket holder and is non-transferable.
You must print your ticket and bring it with you to the event. Each ticket is valid for you and one guest.
Thanks,
The Democratic Party
Your ticket will be emailed to you on Monday, November 3rd, between 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Each ticket is personalized for the ticket holder and is non-transferable.
You must print your ticket and bring it with you to the event. Each ticket is valid for you and one guest.
Thanks,
The Democratic Party
Edited, Nov 2nd 2008 11:04pm by Jophiel