Ever wonder what it’s like to be on the other end of that phone line during election season?

(January 28, 2008) Hear the audio version

If your phone is ringing a bit more frequently this week before the California primary, well, I’m sorry. No, I have nothing to do with those annoying, intrusive, is-anyone-on-the-other-end-of-the-phone-line? automated political phone calls. I am, though, proud to be an old-fashioned campaign volunteer who makes hundreds of telephone calls a week to identify supporters and get them to vote. It’s a tough job, but if I don’t want the campaign I’m working for to resort to those ridiculous robocalls, I’d better get on the phone myself.

I’ve been calling voters in California, Iowa and Nevada from my kitchen since early December. I became used to Iowans hanging up on me somewhere in the middle of, “Hi, my name is Debbie Duncan and I’m a volunteer for the-” I don’t take it personally. Only about 15 percent even answer the phone (Nevadans more readily than Iowans or Californians, whatever that means). I usually get an answering machine. That’s fine. I don’t want to bother you if you don’t care to talk to me. If you do answer and don’t want to hear my pitch, a simple “No, thank you,” or “I’d rather not talk politics on the telephone” will get me to mark “Refused” on my computer screen, and keep at least one campaign from calling you again. My 17-year-old daughter calls from the campaign office where the caller ID is the name of the candidate. Someone she called answered the phone with another candidate’s name. That got the message across – efficiently and with humor.

But what really keeps me punching those telephone numbers is finding that occasional golden needle – a voter who wants to hear why I’m supporting my candidate and not another, or who has been waiting to be asked to volunteer, or who just has a question and an open mind. I made friends with a mom in Iowa whose son was recently injured in Iraq. I helped another woman answer a question she was debating with her husband when I called – and then they both promised to support my candidate. I spoke to a native of Trinidad who thanked me for looking up her caucus location. These are citizens who, like me and I hope most listeners, want to participate in the democratic process at its most basic level. And that’s a good thing.