Party volunteers kick into high gear

If the 2004 elections were a basketball game, campaign volunteers would be feeling the heat as the second half closes.

With candidate debates finished, state and national campaigns are relying on local volunteers to carry the weight until Nov. 2.

"It's a full-court press from now to Election Day," said senior Andrew Hogan, a member of UNC College Republicans. "It's getting down to the wire. It'll be a sprint to the end."

And local political machines are well aware. With one-stop voting already underway, volunteer stumping efforts have grown accordingly.

The Orange County Democratic Party office was bustling with activity Friday. One woman hoping to help with a phone bank was told to come back the following day - there was no more room to accommodate volunteers.

"Literally, I'm out of chairs. This is the biggest crowd (of volunteers) I've seen in here," said Paul Guthrie, a volunteer with the Democrats.

Volunteer Martha Miller also acknowledged the increased interest.

"It's gotten bigger and bigger and bigger," she said. "The walk-in rate climbed after the first debates."

Both Democratic and Republican campaign volunteers are encouraging locals to participate in one-stop voting. One-stop voting sites are located at Morehead Planetarium, Carrboro Town Hall and the Orange County Board of Elections building in Hillsborough.

"We're on a very narrow focus right now, making sure people can get to the polls," Guthrie said.

Senior P.J. Lusk volunteered Friday at a Democratic Party booth outside Morehead Planetarium.

"We try to do shifts," he said. "I worked earlier this week, too. I just come and go when I can."

Lusk said most of his efforts center on explaining the ballot to voters. "A couple of sections of the ballot are confusing," he said. He attributed much of the confusion to a state law that keeps the presidential vote off straight-ticket voting.

Lusk said one-stop voting has been successful, but he expects it to increase further. "I imagine the daily rate will pick up a little bit when it gets closer," he said.

Carolyn Thomas, director of the county board of elections, said almost 15,000 people had voted using one-stop sites as of Monday.

Democratic Party efforts to recruit volunteers began last November, said Nancy Parks, chairwoman of the organization's database project.

Parks said 50 people had signed up within a month. The Orange County Democratic Party now has almost 1,700 volunteers.

"I was stunned when 50 people showed up last December," Parks said. "There was a time when people were angry with us because we couldn't give them jobs. ... We were overwhelmed. When any organization grows that fast, you have problems."

She mentioned that she had received seven new sign-ups Friday after sending an e-mail to a volunteer listserv the night before.

"I couldn't stay home and just keep watching the news," Miller said. "There's so much negativity. I wanted to do something constructive."

The Democrats aren't the only group seeing activity. The Orange County Republican Party office in Hillsborough also is seeing a surge in volunteer efforts.

"We have a steady stream of people," said Volunteer Chairwoman Carrie Cote. "We're getting a lot of traffic."

Volunteers were busy Sunday night conducting a phone bank. They've also passed out Republican literature and given out signs from their office stockpile.

Volunteer Martha Jenkins said she is helping because she wants to make a difference in the state and nation. "If anybody strongly believes in a particular philosophy, (volunteering) is better than lip service," she said.

Republican volunteers are getting out and mobilizing, too. The College Republicans held a rally Friday afternoon in front of the Franklin Street post office.

Hogan and about 20 others held signs, passed out literature and talked with pedestrians during the rally.

"We've vamped up our involvement, absolutely," Hogan said.

Sophomore Jenny Stevens, a College Republicans volunteer, echoed Hogan's sentiment. "We're stepping up things in the next two weeks," she said.

Hogan said the county's Republican Party is helping the College Republicans sign up volunteers for President Bush's 72-Hour Task Force. "We're trying to get about 150 people to do the task force," Stevens said.

Stevens also said that even though Republicans are the minority party in Orange County, supporters have been enthusiastic. "There's a lot of people who get really excited to see Republicans in Chapel Hill," she said.

Regardless of which campaign they work for, Miller said, volunteers share a universal benefit.

"Whether you're voting for (Democratic candidate John) Kerry or Bush, it's nice to be around people who believe what you believe," she said. "There's a sense of community and camaraderie."

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.