Volunteers at VFE's canvass in South L.A. on July 11
For our 8th canvass, Vote for Equality headed to South L.A., to talk to voters in precincts that voted 50%-60% Yes on Prop 8. We recruited help from the Jordan/Rustin Coalition, an LGBT African American & allies organization, as well as Equality California, The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, Stonewall Young Democrats, Equal Roots Coalition and Love Honor Cherish for the canvass, where over 70 volunteers would knock on over 1,700 doors in and around Inglewood, California.
Thanks to Holy Faith Episcopal Church in Inglewood for donating space their for us to hold our canvass training! The training was led by VFE’s Syd Peterson and Regina Clemente, along with Equality California field organizer Milton Davis.
Volunteers learned how to effectively navigate conversations about marriage with voters on their doorsteps, both by watching our trainers roleplay talking to Yes on 8 voters, and by testing out our conversation questions themselves with experienced volunteer coaches in small groups.
Volunteers roleplay conversations with voters with experienced coaches.
We also help our canvassers work on their personal stories, whether that be coming out as LGBTQ, or as a straight ally. After the training, our volunteer canvassers went out in pairs, equipped with preset turf maps and lists of registered voters.
Check out the video that EQCA’s Mike Ai made in South L.A. on Saturday — it gives you an idea of the canvassing experience:
After canvassing, everyone came back to home base, to talk about the conversations we just had. This is probably the most important part of the day, when we share our experiences and hear what’s working in conversations that persuaded voters to rethink support for marriage equality.
During the canvass in South L.A., our volunteers had 500+ conversations with voters, and moved 27% of unsupportive/undecided folks to reconsider or support marriage equality.
Canvassers share their experiences talking to voters in the canvass debrief.
So far this year, our volunteer canvassers have knocked on more than 15,500 doors, and had over 3,300 conversations with voters. Through these conversations, we are learning what really works to move voters. They are the first steps of what will be ongoing discussions with persuadable Yes on 8 voters in the lead-up to the next ballot initiative — which could be in as few as 16 months!
Our next canvass will be in the Pasadena area on Saturday, Aug. 29.
We’ll also need help recruiting canvassers at phone banks and in person at community events, as well as with canvass materials preparation (turf-cutting, walk list & map making) and entering data on the conversations we’re having with voters.
