(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . 3 Voters and a Funeral: People I talked to Yesterday in Ohio [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-08-06 I still knock on doors. It’s really a young person’s game, but i still do it. You just learn so much by talking to voters in a place where they are incredibly comfortable. Most of our Ohio organizers are Clinton people. And i say that only because they wouldn’t have been exposed to this crazy organizer who still goes out and canvasses with the volunteers. But enough about me, let’s talk about 3 voters i talked to yesterday and the reasons they gave about voting against Issue 1. One of them actually got in his car and went down to vote (just to get off our GOTV list, he said!). Let’s just start with him. He told me he was voting for his daughters. He has two “of age” (his description, presumably over 18 or 21, depending on how he defined it) daughters and one of them told him that she would have to leave Ohio if Issue 1 passed. Like many voters, he was voting out of self-defense (or, at least, defense of his family). “I’d rather stand in line today than Tuesday.” That’s one prediction. But, somewhere, there’s a story. He wasn’t the name on my list; he just answered the door. And he was very talkative. He approved of Gov. DeWine, had no opinion about Joe Biden(!) and thought highly of Sen. Brown. “Not political,” though. Now, i’ve asked thousands of voters about their opinions of elected officials and believe me, the people who are not political generally don’t have firm opinions about them. In fact, we teach our volunteers that when voters start to hmmmm, we quickly respond, “this isn’t a test.” Jobs was his key concern right now. “I’m just glad I am still working.” He says he reads the economy is good right now, “but it just doesn’t feel like it.” But his daughter’s threat really struck him. “I don’t care if they move away, well, maybe I will care, but I don’t want them to have to flee.” “Have to flee.” That’s why i wrote down the conversation, because of that phrase. A father who didn’t want his daughters to feel like they don’t belong in the state where they grew up (i am assuming that). That’s a hell of a reason. He told me that he didn’t think Issue 1 would lose. “Ohio is a rock ribbed conservative state.” He looked sad. A father’s love for his daughter. Another mother mentioned her daughter, as well. “The meaning of this is just frightful. Women can’t even get good care when they are pregnant. Doctors are too scared!” She mentioned the Indiana doctor who gave a child an abortion “and they want to prosecute her! No wonder they are scared.” “What’s wrong with these people?” Maureen approved of Biden and Brown but didn’t have an opinion on DeWine she would share. She couldn’t think of a Top Issue and said, “don’t put me on the spot here.” She said they didn’t have a plan to vote yet, “we’ll decide that tomorrow or Monday.” But they would be voting as a family. They always do. When i said that she might be called because she opposed Issue 1 and advised her that if she told them she had a voting plan they wouldn’t call again she responded, “Good to know.” She scrolled through my iPad, though, perhaps to see if there was anything else about her. Not sure that anyone has taken my iPad out of my hands, though. Hope Springs from Field PAC has been knocking on doors in Ohio since May in a grassroots effort to prepare the 2024 Electoral Battleground in what has been called the First and Second Rounds of a traditional Five Round Canvass. For more than a month we have been asking voters about their intention to vote in this special election. We are canvassing Democrats and unaffiliated voters with a systematic approach that reminds them not only that Democrats care, but Democrats are determined to deliver the best government possible to all Americans. Obviously, we rely on grassroots support, so if you support field/grassroots organizing, voter registration (and follow-up) and our efforts to protect our voters, we would certainly appreciate your support. You may note that we are asking for financial support for our GOTV and Ballot Curing efforts in Ohio right now to defeat Issue 1: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hope4ohio Hope Springs from Field understands that volunteer to voter personal interactions are critical. Knocking on doors has repeatedly been found to be the most successful tactic to get voters to cast a ballot and that is the goal of what we do. I did find another lady who came to the door with a “Hell No” shirt. She had already voted and said she wasn’t taking the shirt off until Wednesday. I asked her if she had any poor responses to it, and she said “I’ve gotten a lot of thumbs up!” Proudly. Another Democratic woman i talked to explained to me that she was religious, but “they have gone too far!” I didn’t get the context here. She approved of the president and the senator, but did not approve of the job the governor was doing. She was very well informed, said she read the newspaper everyday, “especially the politics.” She said her Top Issue was Defending Democracy (not the exact words she used, but the way we’ve been defining it in these diaries), and Sore Losers. I asked her if she expected Issue 1 to be defeated and she looked at me like i was crazy. “Did you read my shirt?” Do you expect supporters to be sore losers? “Yes, I Do.” Gerrymandering, she told me, has really hurt regular voters. Hope Springs from Field volunteers have not been tracking voters we talk to who have already voted. But there have been a lot of them. 578,961 Ohioans have voted early. More voted on August 4th and 5th, but that data has not been released yet. And more will vote today, the last day of Early Voting. So where’s the funeral? Well, i really do feel positive about the results on Tuesday night. Trumpies in Ohio are predicting that Tuesday’s day-of vote will absolutely overwhelm whatever advantage opponents have from the Early Vote. But we are knocking on doors in the suburbs, not the cities, and suburban women are energized. Granted, we aren’t talking to supporters. But you don’t see that many “Yes” signs, we don’t talked to voters who are conflicted. Issue 1 opponents aren’t whispering their opposition. They are displaying it proudly. Unafraid. So it doesn’t feel like a close election. It feels like a race that will be called on Tuesday night. We really do need financial support to continue these operations, and you will notice that right now we are specifically asking for your donations to help defeat Issue 1 on the ground by turning out the vote in Ohio. If you are able to support our efforts to protect Democratic voters, especially in minority communities, expand the electorate, and believe in grassroots efforts to increase voter participation and election protection, please help: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/hope4ohio If you would rather send a check, you can follow that link for our mailing address, as well. Thank you for your support. This work depends on you! [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/6/2185558/-3-Voters-and-a-Funeral-People-I-talked-to-Yesterday-in-Ohio Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/