First Person: Hitting Chicago's Sidewalks for Democratic Voters

CHICAGO - Democrats in Chicago are pushing their voter rolls to mark absentee ballots in November's midterm elections, and weekend canvassing squads are part of the strategy.

On Saturday, I volunteered for one of the groups. Eleven of us showed up at the 49th Democrats Office (Greenleaf Avenue and North Clark Street in Rogers Park) early to canvass for Democratic votes. At the campaign office, donkeys are everywhere: Signs lined the glass windows with the names David Fang, Jan Schakowsky, Larry Sufferbin, Toni Preckwinkle, Heather Stean, Joe Moore and other local Democrats.

A stuffed Bill Clinton doll, with a saxophone in his arms, was buried underneath brochures and coffee cups. An "Organizing for America" with a Democrat logo on it stuck to the window near a stuffed mannequin body with a t-shirt that said, "I am an Obama precinct campaign." Jan Schakowsky yard signs were lined up by the doorway near a sign on the entrance door that said "I'm a yellow dog Democrat."

Around 10 a.m., our field manager, Terri, and her partner, Dave, explained how the three-hour event would work. With the election eight weeks away, Saturday's canvass goal was to encourage people to sign up for absentee ballots. According to Terri, the 49th ward votes for Democrats 95 percent of the time and their mission is to get at least 11,000 to 12,000 people to vote.

Clipboards were passed out to canvass volunteers. The information attached was the speech that canvass volunteers were to say when they walked to each assigned address. One volunteer questioned the reason why the goal was to encourage absentee ballots as opposed to early voting, and Terri explained that this was a way to get more people to the polls. This is also the first year that people would be able to sign up for absentee ballots without an explanation and documentation about why they couldn't physically come to the voting booths. The first day that absentee ballots would be accepted would be Sept. 23. The first day for early voting is Oct. 12.

While I'm not thrilled about the idea of absentee ballots vs. going to the polls on Election Day, I've voted in an election early twice. The problem I've found is when people vote early, the candidate may say or do something they're totally opposed to but it's too late to change your vote on Election Day. Also, a person who has requested an absentee ballot cannot vote in their polling place on Election Day.

The questions for the canvass volunteers focused on Ward 49 residents who would be voting in favor of Jan Schakowsky, Alexi Giannoulias and Gov. Pat Quinn. There was also a sign-up sheet to support Alderman Joe Moore running for re-election in 2011. The canvass representatives needed 140 signatures.

Canvass volunteer John Scott Ridgway, who is a Chicago blogger and poet, introduced himself to me and welcomed me to tag along with him. Terri was none too thrilled to have the press at the event so I was relieved that he approached me. Minus one other volunteer who was new to the process, all of the other volunteers left alone with one changing her mind about volunteering after she found out how much work was involved.

These volunteers really do work. Ridgway and I walked to seven apartments and three health rehabilitation centers from the 7500 block of Sheridan and back. Ridgway was turned away from every rehabilitation center because permission had to be requested from the activity board before he could speak directly with residents. Doorbells were answered with voicemails, no answers and one lady apologetically explaining she was too busy to talk.

What I admired about 48-year-old Ridgway was no matter how much rejection he got, he wiped his forehead with napkins and kept on trucking along in 83-degree humid weather. Ridgway, who was a door-to-door campaigner from the age of 18 to 25, volunteered for the first time since being in Chicago. Growing up in a political family, at the age of five, he also marched with Cesar Chavez. Like me, he thinks the Rod Blagojevich re-trial is a waste of money and he's indifferent about Blagojevich's brother Rob Blagojevich being released from a second trial.

My conversation with Ridgway was fascinating, and I left him inspired not only by his loyalty to encouraging people to vote but his contributions to local government. I went to the event not sure of what to expect and left two hours later with slightly sore feet and a wealth of information.