obama1  

from the very beginning

 




 

FIELD OPS

 

ORGANIZE YOURSELVES AND BECOME THE SOLUTION!

It's up to us to use every bit of energy and enthusiasm that we have to help Barack Obama get elected and change the course of our nation. There's no later, and no tomorrow. Our moment is now.

Step 1: Organizational Meeting

Schedule your organizational meeting as soon as possible. You have to get moving as quickly as possible. There's no time to spare.

The best times to schedule organizational meetings are weekday evenings and weekends. Choose a location that is easily accessible and a comfortable environment to everyone in your community. Popular venues are local coffee shops, diners, and community centers. If you think your gathering may be large, you should contact the venue ahead of time to let them know that you will be coming with a group.

One of the keys to a successful meeting is promoting the event properly.

Here are a few things you can do to get the word out effectively:

Promote on My.BarackObama. Create an event on My.barackobama.com and post it to your local My.BarackObama group. Send out an email to the listservs of the groups you belong to on My.BarackObama. Write a blog post and post it to the group profile, announcing the details of your event. Message your friends on My.BarackObama to let them know that the event is coming up.

Promote in your community. Send invitations to the event to your personal email lists, neighborhood groups, community group lists, etc. Make a list of important friends, neighbors, or colleagues that you really want there and call to remind them of the event before it happens. Try posting flyers at your local coffee shop, grocery store or library to reach an even larger audience.

Don't be shy in trying to get the word out. The more people that know your event is happening, the more likely you'll get a sizable crowd.

Finally, make sure your local campaign field office knows about your event. You can find the office closest to you by visiting BarackObama.com and selecting your state.

Logistics
When the day of your event approaches, make sure you remind attendees that the event is coming up. Know how many people you'll be expecting and let your venue know if you think it may disrupt their normal business. Get to your event 15 minutes or half an hour before it's supposed to begin to set up before everyone arrives.
There are several things you'll want to make sure you bring:

Name tags to help attendees remember one another's name and feel comfortable introducing themselves.

Sign-in sheets so that you can keep your attendees informed of your group's actions in the coming weeks.

Issue flyers for anyone who is curious to know more about Barack's position on any particular topic.

Agenda
It's smart to begin your meeting five or ten minutes after the planned start time in order to give enough time for latecomers to get in. This also gives folks a few minutes to mingle and get acquainted. Once you have a critical mass, introduce yourself. Talk briefly about who you are and be sure to emphasize your personal reasons for supporting Barack Obama. Ask the other attendees to go around and introduce themselves as well.

Once everyone is familiar with everyone else, it's time to get organized. Discuss with the group how to complete Step 2.

Step 2: Building Your List of Supporters
The most important thing that you can do on behalf of this campaign is bring in new supporters. It's these people that you reach out to who will come out on Election Day and cast their vote to change America.
Your top priority in the coming weeks will be to engage voters, talk to them about what this campaign is about, and encourage them to commit to voting for Barack Obama.

Here are two of the most popular ways to reach out to potential voters:

Canvassing
Think of a canvass as a neighborhood walk. Canvasses happen when a group of people get together and go door-to-door to homes and apartments in a selected neighborhood to spread the message about Barack Obama.

The first thing you'll need to do is choose a neighborhood to canvass. Find the neighborhoods that have the most Democratic voters, because in the primary season, those are the neighborhoods where your message needs to be heard the most. (If you'd prefer to canvass your own neighborhood instead, that's okay too.)

All volunteer canvassers should have a map of the "turf," or part of the neighborhood, they will be walking that day. The goal should be to have every person knock on 50 doors. Be sure to print out or photocopy enough maps for everyone to have one and delegate out an appropriate amount of streets for each person. You can get maps of local neighborhoods online. Google Maps is an especially detailed, free resource. You can also get maps from your local Democratic party. They should have maps of neighborhoods organized by precinct.

The best days to canvass are Saturdays and Sundays. More people tend to be home on these days. Please make sure not to knock on any doors before 9:30 a.m. or after dark.

You'll need a few materials to coordinate your canvass:

Script

This is a basic guide of what's important for volunteers to say at the door.

Literature
You're going to want to have some literature that your volunteers can distribute as they canvass. The campaign has prepared a library of flyers with lots of policy details. Use them to get your volunteers educated before heading out.

Supporter sign-ups.

This is the most important form you can provide. All volunteers going door-to-door should be equipped with a sign-up sheet. The goal of each conversation should be to bring one more supporter into the campaign. Once a person says they are likely to vote for Barack Obama in their primary, they should fill out basic information about themselves.

Once your canvass is over, there is nothing more important than reporting your results back to the campaign. It is absolutely essential that the campaign receive all of the information on new supporters. Someone from the canvassing group should be charged with entering all of this information on our site for new supporters.

Tabling and flyering
Obama '08 signs. If you don't have any of these, you can purchase them in bulk at the Obama Store.

Flyers

Whether you're tabling or flyering, you'll need to have some object to hand out to people that they can take with them.

Supporter sign-ups
The ultimate goal of any tabling or flyering event should be to collect information about supporters so that the campaign can stay in touch with them in the days leading up to your state's primary election. Print out several sheets and encourage supporters to fill in as much information as possible.

Just like for any neighborhood canvass that you may do, there's nothing more important than reporting your supporter information back to the campaign. Someone from your group should be charged with entering all of this information on our site for new supporters.

Step 3: Phonebank

There's no doubt that the most important thing you can do is bring new people into the campaign. As outlined in the previous tabs, canvassing and tabling are the best ways to do that. But not every day is made for canvassing. Bad weather can be quite a deterrent.

But that doesn't mean that there's nothing else to do. One of the most important things you can do to help Barack get elected is pick up the phone and call potential supporters from your own home.

The campaign has built an online phone banking tool that makes it extremely easy for you to call. All you have to do is log into My.BarackObama.com and find the "Peer Contact" section of your dashboard. Click on the campaign that is currently active, and you'll be able to get started calling immediately.

If members of your group have laptops and cell phones and someone has a wireless network set up in their home, then you can also have a phone banking party.

Follow the outlines on the next tab for the fundraising house party, but instead of making a financial request, ask people to pick up their phones and call on behalf of the campaign.

During Your Event
Welcome your guests and introduce them to others at your house party. Make sure every attendee signs in on your sign-in sheet.

Introduce yourself and share with the group why you decided to host this event and why you support Barack Obama. Why did you get involved with the campaign? Everyone has a unique story about how they got engaged, and your guests want to hear it directly from you. Your openness will help set the tone for the rest of the event. You'll also want to answer the question, Why is Barack Obama's candidacy important? Why does he need to win now?

For information on how Barack answers these questions, go to BarackObama.com. Many people who host house parties like to show a campaign video or DVD. You can have your guests gather around your computer to watch BarackTV, or you can download a video and make your own.

Supporter Cards and Contribution Forms
Before your group breaks up, pass around the supporter cards and contribution forms. It's important for the campaign to know more about our supporters, including their backgrounds and willingness to volunteer.

The best way for your party attendees to give is to donate online. Some people will want to contribute with cash or a check. For those that do, just make sure they fill out a contribution form with their donation.

Thank your guests for coming and make sure to gather the sign-in sheets, supporter cards, contribution forms and donations before your guests leave. You can mail them to:

Obama for America

Attn: New Media Action Center

233 N. Michigan Ave, Suite 1100

Chicago, IL 60601

You can also enter sign-in data online and supporter card data on line.

Step 4: Get Out the Vote - "GOTV"
Your efforts will be instrumental in building momentum in your area. However, to ensure Barack is the Democratic nominee we will need your help to get out the vote.

Be sure to get in touch with your local field office to stay up-to-date with the latest GOTV efforts in your area. The field office closest to you will be able to instruct you on how you can be the most effective in the critical last few days.

Consider traveling to a neighboring state to help GOTV. Learn more about traveling to a primary state and sign up to make a difference beyond your own community.

 

 

Look for email updates on the latest Voter Registration events in your area.

Voter Registration Basics

Location - If you don't want to worry about selecting a location, we can provide you with a good spot for registering voters.  If you're feeling a little more independent, feel free to set up shop somewhere where you can find unregistered voters.  Try to think of a place with plenty of pedestrian foot traffic and with plenty of folks who may need to update their registrations. 

Obama Gear - Feel free to sport your Obama gear loud and proud. We want people to know that Obama is energizing communities across the country.  In California, it is legal for voter registration drives to be conducted by partisan organizations. But remember, you will be representing the campaign so be respectful of all members of the community.

Tables - Tables can be a nice way to encourage passers-by to stop and register, but don't worry if you haven't had time to acquire a table for this event.  A friendly smile and a stack of voter registration forms are all you need to register voters.  Stand outside of a grocery store or walk along Melrose avenue speaking to anyone you can.

Who Can Register? - In California, you must be a California resident and US citizen and at least 18 years of age by the time of the next election.  Felons who are no longer on parole MAY register to vote.  Remember, just because someone is already registered doesn't necessarily mean they don't need to fill out a registration card!  Every time you move you have to re-register.  If someone wants to change their political party, they need to re-register.  Voters who change their name need to re-register as well.

Registration Forms - When filling out these registration forms keep in mind the following:

  • Read through your voter registration forms before you begin.  For the most part they are straightforward, but you should have at least a passing familiarity with them before handing them out.
  • Forms must be complete.  Do not leave any boxes empty unless instructed to do so on the form.
  • Be sure to get the applicant's phone number on the card.  Cards will be reviewed for completion. If there is a problem, the team checking need to able to contact registrants with incomplete forms.
  • If the applicant has been issued a California driver's license (even if it is no longer valid) they must give their driver's license number on the form.  Only in the event that the applicant has never been issued a CA driver's license should you use the applicant's social security number.
  • If an applicant asks to take the form home, please encourage them to give you the form.  Tell them that we will double check to make sure that the information is complete and that we will save them a trip to the post office.  Do whatever you can to get the form filled out in front of you since these registrations only count towards our total if we get the forms back. 
  • If someone requests a form but does not wish to return it to you for any reason, you must give them a form.


FAQS
When is the last day I may register to vote for an election?
Registration closes for purposes of voting on the 15th day before the election.

Who can register to vote?
Any U.S. citizen may register to vote if he or she is or will be at least 18 years old by election day, a resident of California, has not been legally judged mentally incompetent to do so, and is not imprisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony.

If I do not provide my driver’s license number, can I still register to vote?
Federal and state law require you to provide an identification number. If you have a driver’s license or state identification card, you must provide the number.  If you have neither, you must provide the last four digits of your Social Security Number. If you have none of these forms of identification, a unique identifier will
be assigned to you. But if you do have one of these documents and the elections official is able to locate it, the number will be applied to your voter registration record.

I have just moved. Do I need to re-register?
Yes. The voter rolls should always have the address where you currently live.

I want to change political parties. Do I need to re-register?
 Yes. Be certain to complete Box 10 of the voter registration form with your previous registration information.

I did not vote in the last election. Do I need to re-register?
No. In general, you are registered for as long as you live at the same address, and you should continue to receive election materials in the mail.

I will be 18 years old on Election Day, but after the registration deadline. May I register to vote?
Yes, since you will be 18 years of age on or before the election date.

If a person does not vote in a primary election, will he or she be able to vote in the following November general election?
Yes.

I have moved. May I change my address over the phone?
No. You should notify the elections official by mail.

I just moved next door (or to another apartment in the same building). Do I need to re-register?
You should re-register whenever you change your residence address.

I am away at school. Do I use my college or my parents’ address?
 You may use whichever one you consider to be your domicile, but not both.

I am on parole for a felony. May I register to vote?
No. You may register when your parole period is completed.

My husband is out of town but needs to register. May I sign him up?
No. He must sign the card himself, under penalty of perjury. He can complete the voter registration card and mail it from wherever he is. He may also apply for a registration form via the Internet at the Secretary of State’s website.

If I register to vote will I be called for jury duty?
Jury duty lists are compiled from a variety of sources, including Department of Motor Vehicles records and voter registration lists.

NOTE:
Always be sure to complete Box 10 of the voter registration card if you have ever been previously registered to vote.