The Importance of Voter Contact

Working with several campaigns and surveying voters recently I’m reminded of how important voter door to door contact is.

People today are bombarded with so many kinds of political messages that most voters just shut it all out and actually become uninvolved as voters. My family and I have abandoned our landline phone because of the number of solicitation calls we get daily. Anyone who knows us has our cell phone number and can reach us at any time. I get my mail out of the mailbox, pass the trashcan on my way into the house and immediately throw out anything that is not important.  Many of my friends and family are also developing the same habits and control measures for their lifestyles and convenience. Our marketing is in a clash right now with the old and the new. The old being printed material and the new is digital material.

While going door to door I’ve noticed that voters are so glad that someone has taken the time to learn about a few issues and cares enough to walk down the street, knock on a door and talk to them. In an age where emails and text messages seem to take precedence it’s reinforced for me the fact that nothing can replace the power of personal contact.

The person to person, face to face conversation can really humanize an issue and connect with a voter.  That personal conversation about local issues and concerns, from the cost of trash pick up, road construction and closings, to schools and taxes, can have a huge impact on a person’s decision to get involved in their community and get out to vote.  That single knock on their door builds a trust that many have lost and gives hope to the voter who may feel the issues we face today are out of their control and the powers that be aren’t listening. This connection can help them develop a more active role in local governance. Just as our founding fathers came from  differing walks of life — some being lawyers, farmers and laborers, it’s important to remember that we, too, have many varying  talents and when given the chance, can use them to better the lives of our friends, families, neighbors, communities and country.  The more involved we become and the more we help to get others involved and show that our opinions are important, the more the local structure grows and changes can be influenced and effected.

Let’s not forget that all politics is indeed local and reaching out to our communities on a personal level can help to mold our lives on a local, state and national level.