In Frenzied Georgia Canvassing, No Door Goes Un-Knocked

By Susan Chira, The New York Times

Canvassers talk to Rickie L. Thomas outside of his home in East Point.

Voters say they have been deluged as never before as Georgia’s bitterly fought, closely contested governor’s race comes to a close. In the last days before Tuesday’s election, both parties dispatched an army of volunteers to door-knock, phone bank, text, recruit friends and post on social media.

They deployed celebrities and influencers: For Ms. [Stacy] Abrams, the Democrat who is trying to become the first black woman to be elected governor of any state, there were Oprah Winfrey, former President Barack Obama and the stars of “Queen Sugar,” a TV show featuring black families running a sugar cane farm. Vice President Pence and President Trump showed up for the Republican nominee, Brian Kemp.

For Ms. Abrams to win in a state where Republicans have dominated public office for 16 years, and where the electorate is 70 percent white, she must enlist every possible vote from African-Americans in the rural as well as urban areas of Georgia; the still-small but rapidly-growing ranks of Latinos and Asian-Americans; and enough white voters to tip the balance.

Starting from the Cascade roller skating rink in Southwest Atlanta on Saturday, nearly 200 Care in Action canvassers fanned out across the city, armed with lists of voters who had not yet cast their ballots. Assata Aminifaa, 33, who worked cleaning buildings, caring for children and helping tend to her sick parents, has been with Care in Action full time since August, canvassing six days a week.

“I wanted to put my hands and my feet in, get busy being part of making history,” she said. Electing Ms. Abrams, she said, would show her 9-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son “there’s nothing you can’t do.”

Read full article here

Read more Breaking News here

View more galleries from ABHM here