Last weekend, my family and I decided to canvass for the Democrats in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. I went with my dad and my mom went with a family friend. We traveled to Pennsylvania by bus with a group of approximately 150 people organized by the Montclair Democrats.
Upon arriving in Pennsylvania, we went to a local Harris-Walz campaign office where we received our canvassing assignments. Each pair of canvassers was given a list of houses to visit. My dad and I received two lists totaling about 30 houses. Because this canvassing was focused on voter turnout, the people on our lists were mostly registered Democrats, with a few independent voters who had previously indicated support for Harris-Walz.
East Stroudsburg is an exurb of Philadelphia and is much more sparsely populated than suburbs like the one where we live. The area has leaned Democratic but has a vocal and sizable Republican community, adding tension to the political atmosphere.
At first, the canvassing was quite uncomfortable. The area we were assigned to was completely new to us. It also is generally uncomfortable to knock on strangers’ doors, though we got more used to it as the day went on. To add to our discomfort, we had an unfortunate encounter with an unleashed dog and were barked at by many more, even at houses where nobody was home.
While I had many interesting encounters with voters throughout the day, two stood out. First, we visited a house where three brothers, all registered Democrats, lived. They weren’t home, but we did speak with their father. He explained that he is a lifelong Republican, but is voting for Kamala Harris. He disagreed with many of Harris’s policies but was angered by Trump’s significant moral faults. It was heartening to meet a voter willing to cross party lines.
That was eye-opening, but it was not even the most surprising part of our day. We met an undecided voter who seemed almost completely tuned out of the race. She seemed to know next to nothing about the candidates, which shocked me, especially because she lives in a competitive state both campaigns have been flooding with political ads.
Overall, I felt proud to be involved in a cause I strongly believe in and to be open to new experiences. In the next major election, I would be happy to do it again.
