The Righteous Indignation Project

Voter Registraion - Sample Schedule and Key Points

Sample Event Schedule and Key Training Points

Sample Schedule

2pm - Arrival at ACORN Office, food

2:15pm - Welcome, the importance over elections in promoting social justice and environmental responsibility, welcome to interfaith groups

2:20pm - Relationship building in small, interfaith groups, answering the questions:

• "What brought you here, and how does your religious tradition influence your interest and/or involvement in the 2008 election?" (3 minutes each)
• "What was your first experience with voting."  (1 minute each, if time)

2:50pm - Training by ACORN, including instructions, canvass mindset, racial awareness mindset, and role play.  (See below)

3:15pm - Interfaith teams of 2 head out with turf maps to Dorchester and Roxbury

5:15pm - Groups return to ACORN Office for wrap up.  This includes:

• Report back to ACORN (privately, to avoid competition)
• Facilitator calling on 5 people to share stories
• Announcement of 3-4 follow up opportunities
• Filling out of plus/delta evaluation form, with included check boxes to designate interest in various follow up opportunities,
• Final announcement of numbers.

5:35pm - Optional dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Key Canvass Training Points

• Importance of voter registration in low income areas
• Overview of the process - we will register people and have them fill out volunteer interest cards, then ACORN will follow up with them
• Guidance on diversity issues - how to enter the community not as saviors, but as solidarity partners.
• Split into interfaith groups, and hand out the clip boards, so that people can look at the raps during the training.
• Canvassing mindset
  • You are on a mission to find the people ready to sign up, or who just need a little convincing. If there are people who aren't interested or aren't home, don't feel bad. Just keep going.
  • Numbers - You will likely knock on e.g. 20 doors, with 80 people home, and find 2 people who need to register. So know the odds and stay positive, and wish everyone a great day.
• Voter registration instructions, i.e. which things to fill out, what things to double check, going over the responses if people say they aren't interested or have questions
• Set a goal (one that is low enough that we can be pretty sure to meet it)
• Role play in groups of 3 teams (each interfaith), to ensure that the teams get to know each other and that the role play groups are interfaith.
• Q and A