See the intro: Oh, what a feeling!
My day as a volunteer evolved from the time I called to express my interest right down to the last two hours before the polls closed. The Obama campaign was not just organized, but also agile. As needs changed or were fulfilled, the organizers quickly “re-prioritized”.
I volunteered all day on November 4th, election day. Afterwards, I wished I had done more! Never mind that the actual value I contributed in the big picture was probably quite small.
Iowa is where this campaign started, and we need to make sure we finish it here.
Check out this quick video of Barack’s trip here last week and then MAKE CALLS RIGHT NOW.
If you haven’t voted yet, you have until 9 PM to cast your ballot. Click here to find your polling location. If you are in line by 9 PM, you have the right to vote.
This is your last chance to take part in this historic election. Polls are open right now in Iowa until 9:00 p.m.
Find your polling place and vote now.
After you've voted, talk to your fellow Iowans.
Pick up the phone, go door-to-door, and help your neighbors get to the polls.
Find your nearest staging location and get involved.
One person can make the difference in this election and that person could be you.
Early this morning near 18th & Vine in Kansas City, MO a citizen of one of the wealthtiest nations in the world pushed a shopping cart containing all his worldly goods up the same steep hill he climbs each day after freshing up in a water fountain at a nearby park.
The man on the hill who lives his life on the street could detect on election day something special in the air...maybe the righteous wind. Believing in the power of one voice, and community organizing Obama volunteers were canvassing door-to-door even when there was no door, and so the man with the cart received an "Obama '08" sticker.
A moment passed as he studied the sticker. Then, without saying a word this American Patriot moved slowly to the front of his cart and balancing the overflowing cart against his hip, he paused then smiled slightly.
With great care and a look of reverence for what today represents, he carefully placed the OBAMA STICKER front and center on the plastic tarp that protected the contents of the cart.
In the early morning light on Election Day 2008, in a quiet Obama-inspired moment there was shared hope and belief in Barack Obama and in ourselves. A New Day is on the way.
"I am my sisters' keeper. I am my brothers' keeper."
One Voice...
One Love...I am grateful.
Now, let's get back out there and make this happen. The world is watching. We can do this!
Last night in Des Moines, Obama supporters held a Get Out the Vote Rally with special guests Governor Chet Culver, Senator Tom Harkin, Congressman Leonard Boswell, Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge and other elected officials.
Well over 100 people joined in the rally to get fired up before we start getting out the vote today and everyone was ready for the prospect of turning Iowa blue. If you’d like to join your local neighborhood team to help get Iowans to the polls, click here.
Here are a few details to help ensure that you have a smooth Election Day—and make sure to pass these on anyone you meet during your Get Out the Vote efforts .
Remember – if you have already voted early, we need your help Getting Out the Vote. Find your neighborhood get out the vote operation right now.
Are you not from Ohio and want to help the state go blue? ARE from Ohio and want to reach some fellow Buckeyes so you can be proud on Election Night? Then call Ohio voters now! Just click the button below:
Reaching out to still undecided voters one of the best things you can do right now, during this get-out-the-vote effort. Many of the people you call will already be supporters--they just need a reminder to go and vote! If you click the button above, you'll get directions and a list of people to call--the campaign makes everything very easy and unintimidating for you.
This movement has always been about neighbors talking to neighbors about what they see in Barack Obama, and it's going to end that way too--right now hundreds of thousands of people across the United States are organizing and going door to door and calling voters. Now is your final chance to get involved. Don't let this moment pass you by.
Call Ohio now. It's waiting to hear from you.
There is only one day left before we vote for a new President.
There is only one day left to make a difference in this election.
Today is the final day to vote early.
Today in Iowa, hundreds of volunteers will be knocking on doors, and making phone calls.
On November 5th, will you be wishing you had done more?
Find your neighborhood canvass, and help Get out the Vote.
Click here to find where to vote early today, and help get out the vote tomorrow!
Here in Iowa, hundreds of our supporters will be meeting at locations across the state to go out knocking on doors and talking with their neighbors about Barack and voting for the change we need.We need to reach out to tens of thousands of voters over the next two days to make sure they know their polling location, and we are going to need your help.
Click here to join your neighborhood team, and help us Get Out the Vote.
For a volunteer, sometimes canvassing and making phone calls can feel like a strange endeavor. Sometimes people have already made up their minds, or they're undecided but don't want to talk about politics. Why try to talk to people who might rather be left alone?
Because it all leads up to now. Because some people were undecided and curious; they just wanted to hear what someone else had to say. Because that conversation can plant a seed in someone's head. Because now the campaign knows who is on board and who isn't, and it's just a matter of getting out the vote. All the voters Barack needs have been identified--now it's just a matter of getting them to the polls. This video breaks down what Get-Out-the-Vote is all about, and how important it is:
Never been involved before? "Get out the vote" sound like something different or intimidating? Get-out-the-vote is actually even simpler than normal volunteering. All you have to do is remind people to vote! And make sure they have a way to the polls, and encourage them to vote early! As I said before, there's not much convincing--these voters have been identified as Barack supporters. Click HERE to sign up to help out in the last couple days.
Reminding voters, and driving from the office to the polls, and providing food and drink for other volunteers doesn't sound too hard, does it? Sign up now. Maybe you'll be treated to some Get-out-the-vote cookies, like these ones in the Mansfield office!
Do you want to say you were around when history happened? Or do you want to say you were a part of history?
I have that anxious feeling in my stomach. I am both working hard on this campaign - phone calls and phone calls - and sometimes just sitting still, terrified almost.
I keep one thought in my mind as we move forward. It's a favorite childhood book, The Little Train that Could, reminding,"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can." This time, however, its "Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can."
In my childhood life, the story of a circus that couldn't come to town seemed tragic. As an adult, with children of her own, I feel the circus came, stayed too long, and turned into a nightmare. We are on cusp of historic change. This election will define the story, the narrative, of my country's future, the one my children will inherit as their ordinary real life. Will this country embrace a bleak, rigid, fundamentalist and restrictive view of human freedom and potential that regulates our poulation into two stark categories of good and bad? Or will we choose a riskier, open, flexible and expansive view of human freedom and potential that integrates our population into a complex fabric that is one America?
No one of us can make this decision for our country. We can however choose to work on behalf of our choice - and let the couarge and passion of our conviction be a light that others can follow.
Call. Knock on doors. Donate if you can. Call. Support and encourage other voters. Most importantly, VOTE! "I think we can, I think we can, I think we can . . . "
We have events going on all over the state tomorrow, and all 60+ of our Campaign for Change offices will be buzzing with activity - why not stop in to see what's going on? Whatever amount of time you're able to spend will make a difference on Election Day. This election is so important, for Michigan and for our future, so don't just sit on the sidelines!
Sunday, November 2nd, 2008 2:45pm Phone Bank with Lieutenant Governor John D. CherryAcross from Campaign for Change Office7 North SaginawPontiac, MI 4:00pm Canvass Kick-Off with Former Governor Jim Blanchard, Wayne County Sherriff Warren EvansCampaign for Change Office Headquarters2875 W. Grand BlvdDetroit, MI 4:00 pm Canvass Kick-Off with Michigan AFL-CIO President Mark Gaffney15031 Michigan AvenueE. Dearborn, MI 4:00pm Canvass Kick-Off with Governor Wayne State Paul Massaron, State Board of Education Vice President John AustinCWA Local 400917233 W. Ten Mile RoadSouthfield, MI4:00 pm Canvass Kick-Off with Lieutenant Governor John D. Cherry, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer Flint Campaign for Change Office 877 E. 5th Ave. Flint, MI 48503
4:00 pm Canvass Kick-Off with Michigan Change To Win President Phil ThompsonIBEW Local 6655205 S. Pennsylvania Ave.Lansing, MI 4:45 pm Phone Bank with Wayne State Governor Paul Massaron, State Board of Education Vice President John AustinSouthfield Campaign for Change Office18284 W. Ten Mile RoadSouthfield, MI 5:15pm Meet and Greet with Lieutenant Governor John D. CherrySaginaw Campaign for Change Office122 N. Michigan Ave.Saginaw, MI 48602 5:30 pm Bay City Democrats GOTV Dinner with Lt. Governor John D. Cherry, Congressman Bart Stupak, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark BrewerUAW Local 362 Hall4427 Wilder RoadBay City, MI
The Iowa state director, Jackie Norris, just sent out this email asking for your help to Get Out the Vote. Please consider getting involved in this final push in Iowa-- we won't be able to turn Iowa blue without your help.
Zach -- With only 3 days left until Election Day, we have a choice. We can get to work right now making sure that Iowa's pivotal electoral votes go to Barack Obama. Or we can sit back, relax, and risk facing four more years of the same failed Bush-McCain economic policies. I don't think it's a hard decision. Now is the time to help get out the vote in Iowa. The next 72 hours are our chance to make change a reality. Take a moment right now to sign up and help get out the vote. Iowa voters need to know where and when to vote. This campaign began 21 months ago here in Iowa, and if it wasn't for Iowa, the campaign wouldn't be here today. We'd like to extend our thanks for the effort supporters like you have devoted to Barack. We've asked a lot of you during this historic race, and your efforts have made success possible -- but we're not there yet. In these final, crucial days, letting up is simply not an option. This is our chance for a brighter future. Can you give a few hours or an afternoon to Barack to help get out the vote? http://iowa.barackobama.com/november Thanks for everything you're doing, Jackie Jackie Norris Iowa State Director Obama for America
One of our best and most inspirational supporters here in Iowa is Lavery. He’s 82 and comes in everyday to make phone calls for at least 3-4 hours. And the only reason he leaves the office is because his oxygen tank runs low. He’s signed up to volunteer for everyday of GOTV and well as all day on Election Day--- and he will bring extra oxygen tanks so he can stay all day.
How are you helping to get out the vote?
We asked him what was inspiring him to get involved in this election:
“Barack is young, intelligent, with new ideas. I saw him in Le Claire Park and something told me this is the man I should vote for.I cannot keep supporting him financially so I needed another way to do it. I am 82 and retired. I have done everything I have wanted to do in life. This campaign has given me new purpose in life. Also, I can tell people I worked for the President.”
“Barack is young, intelligent, with new ideas. I saw him in Le Claire Park and something told me this is the man I should vote for.
I cannot keep supporting him financially so I needed another way to do it. I am 82 and retired. I have done everything I have wanted to do in life. This campaign has given me new purpose in life. Also, I can tell people I worked for the President.”
There are hundreds of inspiring stories and leaders across the state working for the change we need. Over the next four days, we are going to be knocking on doors, making phone calls, and helping Iowans find out where they can vote on Tuesday. Sign up now to help Get Out the Vote.
