Beyond Chron Update from Gay Marriage Fight in Maine

I’m reluctantly leaving Maine today, after volunteering for the past week with the “No on 1” campaign – talking to voters about gay marriage in the most conservative part of the state. We have supporters everywhere, but in this region the challenge is to drive long distances to reach them – and we need more volunteers to reach everybody. Just last night, I drove two hours away to Washington County – where a terrific group of students at the University of Maine in Machias did a phonebank. I’ve spent a lot of time here on the road – exploring much of Downeast Maine to meet supporters, while listening to Christian radio to get clues about the opposition. Our priority for the region now is volunteer recruitment – turning supporters into activists. More volunteers means reaching more supporters and convincing them to vote early, but it also means more conversations with voters that touch hearts and minds. And while canvassing a precinct in Orono this weekend, I got a few. In my 13 years of volunteering on campaigns, I have never been in a place – with 21 days left to go – where we have identified enough supporters to win the election. And seldom in my memory have I seen the potential of a race like Maine’s Question 1 have such a national impact on a major issue. With turnout expected to be low, we have prioritized “early voting” – asking supporters to vote early, either by requesting an absentee ballot online or doing “in-person” early voting at their local town clerk’s office. And that has meant driving to remote places to get a feel for how voters live before we talk to them. In Ellsworth on Sunday night, I met nine volunteers at the Hancock County Democratic Headquarters to do “early vote” phonebanking to our supporters. Ellsworth is in part of the state that Mainers call “Downeast,” further away along the Atlantic Ocean from the Mid-Coast region – where the pace of life is slower. The crew of phonebankers knew many of the voters they were calling, so they gave me the call-sheet for Ellsworth (the largest town in the area) to make sure someone from “away” would have a better experience than some of the smaller towns. You can’t call voters in Deer Isle, they said, unless you live there. Full Story from Beyond Chron: http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=7440

Planning to marry your partner? Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook - just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you'll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We're also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.