This Is What Democracy Looks Like

 

The title of this post is from my very favorite protest march rallying cry, when organizers with bullhorns chant THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE to the throngs of people assembled. Chokes me up every time.

On Saturday, democracy looked a lot like me and Jack sweatily knocking on doors to ask our neighbors to vote for the Harris/Walz ticket and Senator Tammy Baldwin. It was a really fun canvass because we had strong Democrats on our list along with the usual roster of friendly— but not always faithful— voters. 

That’s something to note if you have never canvassed before: you won’t be walking into any hostile situations— you are only knocking on your own’s party’s doors. Usually the people you are talking to haven’t voted in a while or maybe don’t always vote in midterms. Having strong Dems also on the list was a treat —so many excited voters instead of just polite but nonplussed people.

 Door knocking is more about getting out the vote, typically, than about changing hearts and minds. You just talk, drop some campaign literature, and leave. Remind people to make a plan to vote as you walk down their front path. Then you enter a few details into your canvassing app and knock on the next door. It’s a pleasant way to pass a lovely couple of hours.

I prefer a Saturday morning shift because a good chunk of your list will probably be at the grocery store or at a soccer game, and you can just leave a pamphlet under their welcome mat and move on. I like to be able to balance a few houses of conversations with a few houses of dropping and running, you know?

I had one super awkward encounter with a younger many who said he was not voting because the system is too corrupt and he wants to watch it burn. I was like Oh, I see. Do you think you’re persuadable on any issue? And he said no. Just flatly. NO. I said I like to talk to people because I am really committed to voting for a candidate who has a clear plan to make the country better, and he said MAYBE I WILL WRITE IN BERNIE.

Oh! And! I knocked on a door answered by a guy who looked familiar. I said I was with our neighborhood action group and asked him if he had a plan to vote, and he said in a really stilted manner, “I am looking forward to participating in the process.” I walked down his front path thinking those were some weird vibes, and then I clocked the state rep sign in his yard and realized HE WAS THE GUY ON THE SIGN. For a minute I felt bad for not recognizing him, but who recognizes their state rep on the street?

Honestly, I would not recognize my US Senator Tammy Baldwin if I bumped into her on the street or at the grocery store. That’s what’s so cool about volunteering during election season— you realize that politicians are just regular people who live in your communities and wear slacks with big white sneakers.

But of course I knew who she was when I met her at the action group’s headquarters, and she kicked off our canvass. SO COOL!