Neither Sun, Nor Rain, Nor Nasty Dogs...

     If anybody's looking for me on a Saturday afternoon in September, October, or the beginning of November, I'll be out pounding the sidewalks of Gahanna, Ohio, clipboard and pen in hand,

​...canvassing for Hillary.
         I'm part of the GOTV (Get Out The Vote) for Ohio Together, which is the name of Hillary's Ohio campaign (and then there's the twitter hub for all things Hillary in Ohio with the awesome tag:  #OHHILLYes).

      As a GOTV-er I walk through Gahanna neighborhoods, knocking on doors of registered Democrats to find out if they're  on board for Hillary and the other candidates on the Democratic ticket; to make sure they're still registered; and to strongly encourage everyone to vote early. I also try to recruit volunteers.  And I leave literature with undecided voters and on door steps (that's called "dropping the lit").  ​

     A day of canvassing starts with a meet-up at a designated spot, maybe the house of a Hillary volunteer or outside the library, where our energetic and hard-working young Field Organizer, Katharine,

​...assigns us our neighborhood, gives us our packet, as our list of addresses is called, and a map, and pairs us up with a partner for the day.

 Super-nice Ohio State Senate candidate Michael Johnston joined us for canvassing a couple of Saturdays ago.

        My canvassing partner Roxanne and me with Katharine,  ready to get to work.     

 Volunteers  receiving  our marching orders last Saturday at our meet-up place outside the Gahanna Library,

​...where we fortified ourselves for the task ahead with yummy snacks.

     After receiving our packets, partners, and instructions for the day, we head out to our assigned neighborhood and start knocking on doors,

..in pleasant weather, sweltering late summer heat, or rain.

    To get the optimum efficiency my partners and I generally opt to divide our packets between us, each covering a half of the area by ourselves rather than both of us staying on the same street.  We're expected to get our packet finished in three hours, though it generally takes me longer to get my half done.  After they've answered my questions people often have a few of their own, or just  want to talk for a bit.
      Even though I'm walking alone, I've never felt afraid canvassing here in Gahanna; people are generally nice whether we're on the same political side or not.  
       There was one exception, however, a middle-aged lady in an affluent neighborhood who, as soon as I said, "Hi, my name is Patti, I'm a volunteer with the Hillary campaign, and I was wondering if..."  shouted "NO!" and slammed the door in my face but not before letting out two of the biggest, angriest, barking-est beagle dogs - okay, they were only beagles, but they were big! and mad! - who chased me down the driveway and continued barking at me as I hurried down the block.
     They must have been hard-core Trump beagles.