Much has been written about how best to support a candidate of your choice. There are as many ways as there are candidates. All probably work equally well if done properly. Since Motorcycle Rights Organizations always suffer a shortage of funds, we will deal here with personal involvement.
Your prior contact with the candidates has given you a choice as to whom you will support in the election and why. (This Association does not tell members how to vote but we do make recommendations based on past performance or information gathered). Personal involvement in a campaign is better and receives more notice, from a candidate or their staff, than a cash donation. Others may disagree and I won't argue with their views. This Association began on the assumption, a rider becoming educated in the process and getting personally involved can make a difference. This theory has been proven to be correct. Flyers are picked up at the campaign headquarters at a designated time and passed out on the street, in shopping malls or anywhere not prohibited by law. You may volunteer as often or as sparingly as you wish. Once or twice a week about 2 hours per day is generally sufficient.
Stuffing envelopes is the best way to become familiar with other campaign workers, the candidate and their staff. You will meet with other workers to collate, fold and put campaign material into envelopes to be mailed later. This task gets your candidates message out and allows you time to interact with others who could be helpful to our cause in the legislative session. This is the perfect job for someone not adept at going out and talking to strangers but can be group friendly. The next form of service in a campaign is working on phone banks. For this task you will show up at a designated time and location which will have several phones installed. You will be given a list of names to call and to convince the person with whom you speak to not only vote but to vote for your candidate. 2-3 hours per evening, twice a week is considered sufficient but if you can give more time, do so. For this assignment you must have a strong clear voice and have no problem speaking with strangers. As a phone solicitor you won't have as much time to interact with other workers but your services won't go unnoticed.
Putting up yard signs is the tried and true method of involvement in a campaign. Again you can do as much or as little as you choose. You will need a crew and a pickup for this job and it is normally done on weekends. If you choose to do the standard job, you will pick up assembled signs at a predesignated location. You will be given a list of specific area to cover and a list of addresses where the occupants have agreed to allow signs to be erected. It doesn't hurt if you can provide extra locations for this project. You will generally spend most of the day saturday and possibly sunday afternoons on this assignment. You will travel to each location and speak with the occupant if possible. Identify yourself and verify their willingness to allow the signs to be posted. Place the sign(s) in the location of their choice and move on to the next location.
If you have the time and manpower and really want to get involved you can run the entire sign campaign. If this much involvement is possible it will really be beneficial to you in the future. Signs will be picked up unassembled and you will not only distribute them but assemble them as well. If your interest runs in this direction we will be more than happy to train you and your crew as to the best methods possible to conduct this very important undertaking. As you move on to Step 5 you will see why this is so important). This is the ultimate in volunteer duty. By accepting this much responsibility you show yourself as willing to go the extra mile. You also are freeing up other workers and cash to be used by the candidate elsewhere.
The campaign is over and election day has arrived.
Put your right foot forward one more time and take Step 4.
