Don’t Give Up! A Story From a Canvasser

The canvassing conversation began with the voter telling me she didn't plan to vote. It doesn't matter who's in office, she said. Both parties don't care about people like her, a 65-year-old who drives for DoorDash and Lyft to scrape by. She is an "O" (other/unaffiliated) voter living in an apartment near my neighborhood. It hurt to see her giving up.

I told her I sometimes get mad at Democrats, too. But overall, I believe if Democrats gain control of Congress and our state legislature, they're more likely to pursue policies that reduce economic hardship for people like us. We talked about utility costs, education, water and the heat.

She looked over the card with our three LD17 candidates and asked which one I planned to vote for. That scared me. I explained that each district elects one state senator and two state representatives. Vote for all three!

Then she looked over the Jo Mendoza card and asked if Jo would keep the $6,000 senior income tax exemption. That extra money really helped her. While I don't know Jo's exact position on that, I told her the tax bill mostly benefited billionaires, and I've heard candidates talk about making them pay their fair share.

After making me promise to tell the Mendoza campaign about the $6,000 exemption, she said she would vote for everyone on the cards I gave her.

That's why we canvass: to learn from voters, understand their concerns and confusion, and give them information they're unlikely to get anywhere else.

This is it, folks! The time is now to join a phone bank and a canvassing hub near you. Visit the LD17 Take Action Mobilize page https://www.mobilize.us/ld17democrats/ for opportunities, and check out the links below for LD17 Get Out the Vote locations.