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Friday, May 21, 2004
Where Should You Volunteer?
Posted by DavidNYCI recently had an interesting discussion with a reader (via e-mail) who wanted advice on where she should move in order to make the biggest impact in the presidential election as a volunteer. I imagine that this question might be of interest to other folks who are considering moving & devoting their time to helping the Democrats. Anyhow, my suggestion was pretty straightforward: Pick one of the closest and most important swing states (eg, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, etc.) and head there.
As it turns out, a diarist at DailyKos has actually tried to quantify this question - ie, where can your volunteering deliver the most bang for the buck. Based on a metric (explained in the post) that he/she calls the "vote multiplier," globecanvas determined that New Mexico is the best place to go, followed by IA, OR, WI and NH, in that order.
Of course, the methodology is far from perfect. It relies heavily on the author's predicted margins of victory and also doesn't take down-ticket races into account. But globecanvas acknowledges that this list is just a starting point for discussion - and an interesting one at that, I think.
On a related note, I would advise anyone who is considering moving to a new state & volunteering to consider the culture of the place you want to move to. As many of you may recall, there were reports that at least some Iowans grew to resent the "invasion" of (over-)zealous young volunteers during the primary campaign. So naturally, you might find it easier to fit in in some places rather than others - and you'll probably be able to do more good (and be happier, to boot) in a place where you're more comfortable.
(Via a commenter at MyDD.)
Posted at 12:15 AM in Activism | Technorati
Comments
One very small data point. At Yale, there is an organization called something like 2004ward, dedicated to W.'s defeat. They are sending college kids to work in contested states during the summer. I know of two guys who are part of this. They both are being sent to Seattle for the summer.
Posted by: Paul C at May 21, 2004 12:06 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
V good question. Here are a few other ideas to add to the discussion:
http://www.hiphopsummitactionnetwork.org/content/main.aspx?pageid=1
http://www.lcveducation.org/news/newsmain.cfm
http://www.2004ward.com/home.html (as mentioned above)
http://www.swingstatesummerbreak.org/
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/law/impact/index.html
hope this helps folks find a place to "get involved."
Take care
Posted by: Bob Whitson at May 22, 2004 11:40 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
ANYONE OUT THERE WHO CAN DIRECT ME TO A SPECIFIC CONTACT IN THE MIAMA AREA RE VOLUNTERING FOR ELECTION 2004!!!!!? (Searched & all I'm finding is analysis.)
I need a phone number, email address, real address, anything to contact folks organizing down there.
I HAVE CAR (with room for one more), TIME, EXPERTISE (PROFESSIONAL SOCIOLOGIST & JOURNALIST), SPEAK SPANISH, VISIT CUBA REGULARLY & HAVE FAMILY IN MIAMI OUTSKIRTS. I also am connected with UU Service Committee and am contact for other folks here (Provincetown, Ma) interested in volunteering in FL, but we can't get started. Please help. Thanks.
Posted by: Eileen Kennedy at June 18, 2004 12:48 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
Anyone with specific information about working in New Mexico not far from Alburquerque (I have lodgings in Alburq)let me know and/or plug me into specific organizations that are using volunteers in and out of State. Thank you Sara
Posted by: Sara DeWitt at July 11, 2004 10:44 PM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment
What about Colorado?
Posted by: jamie at October 13, 2004 10:49 AM | Permalink | Edit Comment | Delete Comment