In late April 2024, I received an email from East County Rising (ECR), a local Portland, Oregon area social justice organization. They were hiring field organizers, also known as canvassers, to knock on doors to urge voters to support their endorsed candidates for the May 21st Oregon primary election. I worked for ECR from September to November 2022 for the midterm elections. With my alarm about the state of U.S. democracy, I was eager to knock on doors again to engage with voters to urge them to vote and be involved with the democracy process.
I knew that canvassing was not going to be easy. On April 2, 2024, I published a blog, “For Climate Action, be kind to people knocking at your door.” I enjoy canvassing to be outside on beautiful days, meeting new people in my community, having conversations with voters about candidates and issues that I care about, encouraging people to vote, and friendly cats. The hellish part of canvassing is cold rainy days, people slamming doors in my face, people showing distain in voting and the democratic process, and hostile dogs charging at me. It is not for the faint of heart to be a canvasser.
ECR had a slate of candidates it endorsed for the May 21st primary, such as Eddy Morales for Congressional District seat 03, Willy Chotzen for Oregon House District 46, Hoa Nguyen for Oregon House District 48, and a ballot measure 26-247 for more funding for the Gresham Police and Fire Departments. I canvassed full time around 5 days a week, for these candidates plus others endorsed by ECR.
The most searing memories from this experience were two young women that I knocked on their doors, one in Gresham and the other in southeast Portland. They felt very uncomfortable that an older man (me) knocked on their door, knowing their full name and address. I tried to assure them that I am an ally organizing to achieve many of their values such as equal pay, a woman’s right to reproductive healthcare, safety from assault and violence, and ending gender discrimination. However, they were not buying it. No matter how I wanted to convince them that I cared about their issues and wanted to hear their concerns, my message was not breaking through to them. It is always gut wrenching for me to reach out to people, especially young women, who did not want to trust me.
The woman in southeast Portland told me that I sucked as a canvasser. She was displeased that I mispronounced her name. As I struggled to say her name correctly, I showed her the spelling of her name on my canvassing voter phone app. She was very mistrustful that I had her name and address. I gently tried to explain to her that voter registration is public information, but not how a person votes. She became angrier upon hearing this. She retorted, “Maybe I should cancel my voter registration.”
No matter how I tried to apologize for initially mispronouncing her name or any bad first impressions, it did not lessen her hostility towards me. Both occasions with these young women from Portland and Gresham felt crushing for me. I have always wanted to get along well people, and I am eager for people to like me. It is very sad as a canvasser that some people I encounter knocking at their doors will never like me. That is the heartbreaking part of canvassing.
Fortunately, like all the previous times I canvassed in 2022 and 2018, I encountered people that were kind, thanked me for my canvassing, engaged in wonderful conversations with me, and I had some friendly cats!
Canvassing is like a knife’s edge. It can be either top of the world fulfilling or completely demoralizing. By the time of the May 21st primary election, I was ready for a vacation. I dislike canvassing on election day because most people already voted by this point. Most people who have not voted by this point are simply not interested in voting. I have known fellow canvassers who did have some success getting people to vote at the last minute on election day, but I have not experienced those moments yet.
The May 21st election day turned out to be brutal. It rained hard that day. I got soaked, despite all my attempts to stay dry using a poncho, layers of clothes, etc. I had some homeowners scream at me when I tried to approach them about voting. After I left the campaign literature at one door of someone who didn’t answer, she wadded up the information and thew it at me.
My breaking point was around 2 pm that afternoon. It was pounding rain, and I was walking around in a low-income mobile home trailer park knocking on doors. I used the overhead awnings to try to stay dry, update the canvassing information on my phone, and try to get the campaign literature out of the plastic bags without getting the materials wet. I knocked on the door of a young 20 something Latino man. When he first answered the door, I had the impression he did not speak much English, so I tried to communicate with him with a language translation app on my phone. I struggled to use the app quickly and effectively. Finally, he said in exasperation, “What do you want?”
I responded, “Today is the last day for voting. I am really hoping that you will get a chance to vote today. Did you get your ballot?”
He snarled, “I don’t plan on voting.”
I replied, “Wow! This is an important election. We are voting on police and fire department services so they can respond more quickly when you need them.”
He snapped, “I don’t give a shit! The only reason I am still allowing you to be by my door is because it is raining so hard.”
At this point, I had no interest left in canvassing for this election. I left this man, departed the trailer park, got in my car, and drove home. I then texted my boss Billy to say that I was finished canvassing that day. I reached my limit with the heavy rain, cold weather, and the nasty interactions I received from interacting with people. Billy and I agreed that I could do text banking up until the end of my shift around 5 pm. I received the information to call potential voters, and I texted folks on my iPad. I received some negative text responses not to text them anymore or more information on the Safer Gresham Police and Fire Ballot measure. I answered the text questions to the best of my knowledge, but two people who texted me back were not happy with my information I relayed about the ballot measure.
The negative responses via text were such a breeze compared to the cold rainy weather and hostile interaction I faced earlier that day. It felt soothing to text bank in warm comfortable clothes in my cozy home, in contrast to the pouring rain a few hours earlier. I finally wrapped up the text banking at 7 pm, one hour before voters had to submit their ballots to a designated drop off. Oregon is one of 8 states, as well as Washington, D.C, that allow all elections to be conducted entirely by mail. Oregon voters can submit ballots in the mail on election day if they are postmarked by that day. Or they can slide their ballots inside a secured designated drop box by 8 pm on election day.
Most elections I like to attend the election victory parties. For this primary election, I just wanted to stay home and dry with a big cup of hot chocolate to hang with my wife Tanya. The good news is that the legislative candidates I canvassed for in competitive districts, such as legislative candidates Willy Chotzen and Hoa Nguyen won their primary races. Even more, the Gresham Safer Police and Fire Department funding measure passed! My supervisor with ECR was very happy with all my canvassing efforts. He felt like all my door knocking made a difference with that local ballot measure winning.
When I was growing up, my dad used to advise me: “Don’t ever get a job where you have to work with the general public!”
Knocking on doors to urge voters to support candidates and ballot measures is very tough. On my worst days canvassing, I laugh thinking maybe this was a case of ‘Father knows best.’ On the other hand, our climate and democracy feel too threatened for me to stay home and not engage with people, even the folks I encounter that hate what I am doing.
At the end of the day on May 21st, I was exhausted, sad, traumatized from some of these nasty voter interactions from canvassing for the 2024 Oregon election primaries. I was desperate need of a vacation to get my mind off the last two months. Just a day later, my wife and I left for a four-day trip to southern Oregon to go snowshoeing at Crater Lake National Park. I was so glad my canvassing was finished for the spring. Yet, I felt proud I made a small difference for our democracy, planet, and for climate action!
