In his bid for reëlection, rookie Republican Representative Roger Chase takes a soft pass on the opportunity to grab the good knockers of District 22:
As the election season comes to a close, I would like voters to know that I greatly appreciate your vote for re-election. I will not be doing door-to-door visits to your home. I respect your right to privacy for you and your family. This is your quiet time and the last thing you need is me beating at your door. Please contact me at any time to visit about any concerns you may have with State Government [Roger Chase, print ad, Payday Shopper, received by DFP 2018.10.14].
Rep. Chase invites voters to contact him at any time, but I’m curious: did he include any contact information out on the edges of the ad that got cut off in the photo sent to me by my Beadle County reader? If not, how are District 22 voters to reach Chase, by beating at his door and invading his privacy?
Someone appears to misinformed Chase about the nature of door-to-door canvassing. One need not and should not “beat” at any door. I find a simple knock usually does the job. Many houses I visit also have these newfangled widgemacallits at the door: you press a little button (some of them glow!), and the people inside hear a pleasant little chime that usually makes them get up and come see see who’s on the porch.
But Chase’s poor composition aside, I’m curious: is there something to be said for not pestering voters at home? How many people want candidates to knock on their doors? If you like such home visits, how long do you want candidates to hang around and chat? How do you feel about candidates (and their canvassers) collecting information about you at your door? What impact will Chase’s disdain for canvassing have on his race?
Rep. Chase is in one of the few districts where Democrats fielded just one challenger for two House seats: hard-charging Democrat Tyler Volesky is fighting to take either Chase’s or Rep. Bob Glanzer’s seat.
Does Chase feel he has it bagged, doesn’t need to work for his constituents’ votes? Could it be that he’s taking the citizens of SD District 22 for granted?
I’ve never seen a candidate try to turn laziness into a virtue, but leave it to Republicans in the Trump era to give this a try. Up is down. Black is white. My sloth works to your benefit. Watch for more GOPs to emulate this if it works.
The counter to this is, “Tyler Volesky. Working hard for your vote.”
Nice pun, Debbo.
This Just In … Within just a short few years SIRi/Alexa will be answering the door. SIRi won’t be rude but SIRi won’t spend your money, either. (Sorry, Kirby salesman.) Now, when you authorize SIRi to vote for you or SIRi determines you’re an idiot and changes your vote, we’ll need to have a discussion. ツ
Of course, if you knock on a door and someone opens it, you might have to talk to theem and answer a question or two.
Technology already makes it much harder to get hold of anyone on the phone. Put Siri on door duty, and we may never talk to our neighbors, at least not our unexpectedly visiting neighbors.
So what if Siri becomes caller ID at the door? What if candidates no longer have access to people at the door? How best are we candidates to speak directly to the voters?
Easy. The residents can monitor visually and listen to who ever is talking to their electronic butler at the door. And, the residents can review any pitch a salesperson leaves on the device. If a candidate asks the butler if the resident is available, the residents may or may not come to the door. Giving a homeowner more control of their space will be popular, I’ll predict. As to your last question, you’ll find a way. My home space is about me. I have no other obligations.
I agree with you, Debbo. Actually, I was laughing the whole time when I was reading the post card. It is somehow convincing that people need respect for their privacy but at least make a phone call. The best advise, canvass just like anyone else who is serious about representing us.
“My home space is about me”—isn’t that the same thing Chase is saying to justify not knocking on any doors?
Not really. Giving a citizen the opportunity and choice to talk to you is normal canvassing. Not wanting to even try is just lazy.
So we can keep going to the doors, and citizens can keep choosing to answer the knock and talk or not. But as we slide into ever more call- and knock-screening, at what point does canvassing become less valuable than investing the same energy in direct mail, simply paying the post office to leave our calling cards in every mailbox and putting our energy into something other than walking around town? Canvassing only has value if it results in face-to-face contact, right? What percentage of canvass contact attempts have to result in actual contact to make canvassing worth the effort? 50%? 20%?
Canvassing has already become less valuable than mailers, tv ads, social media ads. *note – keep in mind that SD is consistently 15 years behind and consistently on the wrong side of history
~ Most Campaign Outreach Has Zero Effect on Voters
A new paper finds that direct mail, door-to-door canvassing, and television ads almost never change people’s minds. What does this mean for American democracy?
Emma Green: So, is political campaigning useless?
Joshua Kalla: The short answer is ‘no.’ There are lots of things that campaigning can accomplish. Two decades of research on voter registration and hundreds of field experiments show really cost-effective ways to increase turnout in the base.
But on persuasion, yes, we find that on average, there are very small effects.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/09/campaigns-direct-mail-zero-effect/541485/