New DUer Frogg wrote such an inspiring little piece about volunteering in North Carolina

[pnwmom]

that I asked permission to make it into an OP.

And the moral of the story may be: don't get discouraged -- volunteer. There's still plenty to do!

Thanks to Frogg and all our other volunteers!




By Frogg (5 posts)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=2571790

We live in a small mountain town in NC...close to Asheville which is very progressive but far enough away to be smack in the middle of what I imagined to be a little Trumpland. My 85 yr old mum and I voted early for Hillary last week and it was absolutely amazing. She could not believe that we were walking into a voting site and casting a vote for a woman. She said she never imagined that could happen in her lifetime. It was one of the most empowering experiences of both of our lives.

We have watched this election season with keen interest and are repulsed on a nightly basis at the Trump dump and his wee willy Trumpites. The delusion of this "cult"! It is a cult...all of the traditional brainwashing tactics, fear-mongering, paranoia, seperation measures are there. It is just frightening. I am watching family members, friends and loved ones being sucked into this cult and am powerless to do anything to intervene. It is a very powerless feeling. I had to do something...my solution...I volunteered to hand out Democratic candidate slates at the early voting poll site to try and assuage my feelings. The upshot of this? It was a fascinating window into who was and wasn't voting for the Dems. I had hoped that I would not be screamed or growled at by Trump voters and maybe I would actually get a few Dems coming by...I was shocked! About 65% of the folks streaming in wanted the Dem slates, not the Trump ones! Women, families, older folks, young ones. It was amazing! My belief in humanity is somewhat restored. If you are feeling sick and helpless to intervene with your loved ones, go and volunteer. You might be pleasantly surprised to find the demographic Trump is so sure he has indoctrinated into the cult may not just be a sure bet for him at all!

[oasis]

2. Great piece by DUer Frogg. Thanks, pnwmom for posting.

[pnwmom]

3. You're welcome, oasis! Thanks for reading!

[lark]

4. That jives with the exit reports in FL.

The stats were that 28% of the voters were Repugs who voted Dem. Hope they got this right and that there are some sane Repugs out there in the community. Trumpers and trumpettes are scary people because they are insane. Sadly, this includes my boss of 18 years and is a big part of why I'm probably going to be retiring early next year.

[bekkilyn]

5. I did the same exact thing in Central NC

And for many of the same reasons. First time I'd ever done it too. One difference is that my family is all part of this Republican cult too so I've had no one outside of the internet to share with or receive any support. I felt so alone and scared to discuss politics with anyone because I always am under the assumption that they are Republican until proven otherwise and I am tip-toeing around on eggshells lest I set someone off on an anti-Hillary, anti-liberal, anti-what-have-you rant. (It usually doesn't happen, but that's what comes from being in a family where I am the extreme minority.) So to go around wearing a pro-Hillary sticker and passing out slate cards to people in PUBLIC was definitely out of my comfort zone in many respects!

My community is probably more Republican based on demographics, but it's also fairly laid back. I haven't even seen a single yard sign since the primary (and even then there was only one for Bernie) and it's not because they are forbidden. I didn't expect my polling place to be one of the scary, confrontational ones, but I still really didn't know what to expect. I'll be back there for another 3-hour shift on election day though, so it will be interesting to see what happens then.

It's also been really great meeting people there with me who had similar views to mine for once!

I did spend some time talking to the Republican poll greeters and listening to various comments and it's both interesting and frustrating to hear various complaints and yet they have no idea that much of it originated with their own party. For example, we no longer have straight party voting in NC, and yet most of the complaints I heard about it were from Republicans or at least those taking the Republican slate. It's sad how so many have been deceived.

[pnwmom]

6. WELCOME to DU! I live in a blue state and I can only imagine how isolating it must feel

to be a liberal in an area where you are surrounded by Hillary haters.

Thank you so much for your efforts!

[Mira]

7. Just finished one of my stints in Winston-Salem

I too was pleasantly surprised at the overwhelming number of folks who gladly received the printout with the lineup of the Democratic candidates. Not a single person from the other side was rude, and there were, gratefully not many.
I beamed at many of the women coming out from the polling place and said: "All done? --- feels good, doesn't it" and I would get back a great and friendly smile and things like: "Now all we can do is wait" - "It's in God's hands. I'm going home and pray"........

My most amazing person was a woman, maybe close to 80, on crutches. Not well. She was not interested in anything from me. She said she had not yet decided, and would use the time waiting in line to make up her mind.
It was so hard to not let my eyes just roll out my head.

[pnwmom]

8. On crutches, all that effort to vote, and she was undecided?

Hmmm . . . I'm skeptical.

BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR WORK!

[yardwork]

9. I live in NC and am not surprised. Abortion may be her issue.

She probably always voted Republican up to now but can't quite stomach Trump.

[bathroommonkey76]

10. Good news out of the Asheville area

this election season:

Early voting way up: 44 percent cast ballots in Buncombe

More than 86,000 people have cast ballots in Buncombe County during early voting, far exceeding 2012 turnout during the same time frame. Early voting, which started Oct. 20, runs through 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The actual number of people who cast ballots in Buncombe is up from 69,317 people during the first two weeks of early voting in 2012, and the increase in voter turnout as a percentage of registered voters is up more than 20 percent from the same time frame in 2012.

"From everything we have, you guys are looking really good," said Patrick Gannon, public information officer for the N.C. State Board of Elections.

Among North Carolina's 100 counties, Buncombe is running in the middle of the pack in terms of turnout increase from 2012. It ranks No. 37. However, the counties that rank above Buncombe are less populous. Early voting has grown more in Buncombe than in the six larger counties.

http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2016/11/04/44-percent-voters-cast-ballots-buncombe/93234942/

[longship]

11. Well worth an R&K nt