New York, NY —
New Yorkers who usually feel like they're living in the capital of the world may think they're in political Siberia , during this presidential race. With New York firmly in Democrat John Kerry's corner, the two candidates hardly ever visit – unless they're here for a fundraiser. Today and tomorrow on Morning Edition we'll hear how politically active New Yorkers are getting involved beyond writing checks. In this report, WNYC's Beth Fertig joined some volunteers on a recent trip to a swing state.
This election year has been a frustrating experience for Ronnie Schotter.
SCHOTTER: Cause I'm like a pressure-cooker about to explode if Bush is re-elected , or elected as we say.
That's why Schotter and her friend Diane Silverman were spending their Saturday on a bus bound for Philadelphia .
SILVERMAN: Yeah, I think you're singing to the choir in New York . That most people you speak to it's a bubble everyone feels the same way and it's the rest of the country – it's basically educating people.
Silverman and Schotter are both professionals in their 50s. They were among 38 New Yorkers on this bus full of mostly retired women and union members. So far, most trips from New York to swing states have been organized by groups opposing President Bush. This one is for the anti-Bush group America Coming Together. The mission: to knock on doors and register voters.
SILVA: We're going to an area which is Port Richmond half of Bri d esburg
ACT organizer Candido Silva described the North Philadelphia neighborhood they'd been assigned to.
SILVA: They're working class families, working class - middle class families. You got lazy voters and that's what we're going to target.
Organizers split the New Yorkers into groups of two or three, handing them maps and a list of names culled from tax rolls and voter registration records. They were also given a script.
SCHOTTER: Hi. We're here from America Coming Together. And we're trying to conduct a voter contact program.
Schotter and Silverman stood on a porch in a low income neighborhood of single family homes.
SCHOTTER: Everybody's registered? WOMAN: Yes. SCHOTTER: OK great. SILVERMAN: Everybody 18 and over?
The first woman they approached was receptive.
SCHOTTER: And what are your concerns for the election? WOMAN: Kerry. SCHOTTER: ( L aughs) Excellent, we all agree.
The New Yorkers had to be careful about what they said. America Coming Together is a so-called 527 group. It can't coordinate with the Democratic Party or the Kerry campaign. But its volunteers can talk to voters about the issues and pass out fliers criticizing Bush's policies.
(KNOCKING)
Schotter and Silverman found a lot of households had already registered. They also discovered several abandoned homes.
SCHOTTER: Everyone has moved? KID: They don't live there, they don't live there, someone lives there though.
A few residents also said they didn't plan on voting.
WOMAN: Am I going to vote this year, are you asking? SCHOTTER: Yes! WOMAN: No, I'm not voting. SCHOTTER: You've got to vote! WOMAN: Cause I don't like Bush and I don't like Kerry. SCHOTTER: You've got to vote, what are you concerned about?
The woman excused herself to go care for a child. Afterward, Silverman said she was frustrated by not being able to persuade people to vote for Kerry.
SILVERMAN: I feel really restrained in terms of educating them. But I don't want to get the organization into trouble, I really don't know what my limits are. SCHOTTER: Just don't say anything about Kerry, just talk about the issues .
About a mile away, on a middle class street, two more New Yorkers were knocking on doors.
DONALD: Good afternoon sir .
Sixty-five year old Marlene Donald of the Bronx had been active in politics for more than half her life and had the air of a pro.
DONALD: Are you registered to vote sir? MAN: No. DONALD: Would you like to register to vote?
Eureka ! A 20 year old man who had never registered before. Donald and another woman, Christine Nedd, walked him through the forms.
DONALD: Fill out the area where it asks you're a citizen of the United States .
Tom Pelkowski was surprised to find out the women had come all the way from New York . He confessed there was a simple reason why he hadn't registered until now.
PELKOWSKI: Laziness. It's just being truthful.
Pelkowski was the first person Donald and Nedd had registered so far.
1-98) DONALD: I feel good. NEDD: I feel great! He's a young one. DONALD: We helped someone. NEDD: And he's never, never voted before. DONALD: We helped someone that wanted to but didn't know where to go. By this one person we have fulfilled a goal of getting at least one.
(CLAPPING) "Yeah New York!"
By day's end, ACT organizers said the New York group had registered 60 voters. There were also hundreds of other volunteers in Pennsylvania that day because of the state's October fourth registration deadline.
On the bus ride home, Ronnie Schotter and Diane Silverman were feeling more upbeat than earlier in the day. They had registered 8 new voters, including one Republican. As they sat down to eat, they said they had also reached many more.
SILVERMAN: What we did is, people who were registered we spoke to them about making sure they got out to the polls that day, and talking to their friends and neighbors and how important this election was. FERTIG: So did you feel like this was worth it? SCHOTTER: Yes. But not long enough. We wish we had started sooner.
New Yorkers of all political persuasions will have many more chances to go to swing states in the coming month. The Republicans and Democrats say they'll each be doing lots of get out the vote work in the run-up to the November election. For WNYC I'm Beth Fertig .
Tomorrow, WNYC takes a look at how thousands of lawyers from New York will be traveling to Ohio , Florida , and Pennsylvania to monitor polls on election day.
» More on Andrea Bernstein's report on New Yorker lawyers' involvement in swing states