By Janet Beatty
The headquarters of the Madtown Os is bustling. The small building is loud and crowded with energetic volunteers full of excitement and questions for their canvassing shift. As we wait in line, the woman in front of me shares a bag of friendship bracelets her daughter made for the occasion, and I pick one which says “Vote for Harris”.
I have a fondness for this building, a former coffee shop. On the back wall there used to be a colorful soils map of Wisconsin which my father created many years ago. This shop was where my mother hung out with her friends after their Monday exercise class (it was perfectly acceptable to skip class and just meet for coffee). Mom and Tracy, the owner, became good friends.
I’m canvassing today in part for Mom, who would have been shocked at the Dobbs decision and dismayed at women’s loss of freedom over their bodies. Independence was her priority for herself and her four daughters. A couple of years before she died, she shared with me that her father, a pediatric obstetrician, used to perform abortions at the non-Catholic hospital in the town where they lived. He also would move patients from the Catholic hospital to the secular one for this procedure. Consider that he was helping women a hundred years ago, offering a service which is now illegal in many states.
Standing inside, I feel simultaneously nostalgic and eager to canvass for Kamala Harris and Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin’s Democratic senator. A friendly, knowledgeable, and organized group of volunteers shepherds us through the sign-in and training process. We are told to introduce ourselves as neighbors, which I can do as someone who went to the high school down the street, although my current neighborhood is a thousand miles away.
We learn that our goal is to encourage folks to vote early, as this frees up resources for campaigns and makes lines shorter for people with more limited time. We are to ask them about their plan to vote - when, where, and with whom to make sure they follow through.
Early voting has been brisk - canvassers say that they made new friends while they waited in line for an hour or two to vote. Others brought books or knitting to pass the time. If we meet someone who is undecided, we are to listen to their concerns and then provide information on how Kamala will address these issues.
With our questions answered, we head to our neighborhoods with a list and literature in hand. The list is on an app called MiniVAN. It’s easy to use and helpful in finding the homes to visit. My list has 35 people, and I only have three blocks to cover because so many in this neighborhood are Harris supporters.
Colorful leaves crunch under my shoes as I start my walk. Harris/Walz and Madam President signs are everywhere. The first people I encounter are a thoughtful couple looking for their neighbor’s lost gray poodle. After I’ve dropped literature at a few houses, they return with the dog, and I notice that they’re on my list. They say they will vote this afternoon at the nearby library. My success rate in speaking with people is over 50%, which is excellent on this beautiful warm fall Saturday. Everyone is polite, and the overwhelming majority are eager, determined, and highly motivated to vote for Kamala and Tammy. Several have just voted; others have tried to vote and were discouraged by the long line, but they assure me that they will return. One woman has a definite plan: when her son returns home on Tuesday, they are going to vote together. Another mother is also clear - she will vote as she always does on Election Day, to commemorate the event with her daughter.
I meet someone who says she went to school with Senator Tammy Baldwin, and when I say that one of my sisters did as well, it turns out that she and my sister saw each other at last summer’s high school reunion. I really am a neighbor.
Some folks are optimistic about Kamala’s chances, and they expect a landslide. Others are cautiously hopeful. Everyone thanks me for my efforts (except for one man who agrees without enthusiasm to pass the literature on to his wife who isn’t home). I express my sincere gratitude for their votes in return. At the last house, the woman at the door says her son isn’t home, but she doesn’t know how or even whether he’ll vote. She’s been trying to convince him to support Democrats for his sister’s sake, but he’s not yet convinced. I thank her for trying her best.
I feel energized by the enthusiasm and dedication not only of the organizers and volunteers, but by the voters I’ve met. Madisonians are an energetic bunch, and it shows not only at the University of Wisconsin Badger football games - where the fans’ jumping registers on the nearby geology department’s Richter scale - but also in their fierce determination to win Wisconsin for Democrats.
If my experience is any indication, these well-organized and dedicated folks will make it happen! I did not expect canvassing to be a heartwarming experience. But it is, and it moves me to tears as I consider the magnitude of this election.
It’s great to be home.