Just spoke with a candidate this morning who related the following anecdote:
When I knocked on doors for signatures, 1 out of every 8 people answered. People don’t like being bothered at home. The times have changed and I need to adapt.
One out of every eight?!? WOW.
I also spoke with someone in politics who noted to me “I have a video doorbell. I’m a lot more selective about who I answer the door for.”
No wonder Liz May has placed such a high bounty on signatures. In speaking with others, this has literally put a screeching halt to interpersonal interactions. If you’re running for office and still need to collect signatures, you’d better be out there now, because you might need a lot of extra time.
This is why I always tell candidates to start early. It could just as easily be a snowy spring versus a coronavirus.
But more importantly, think you’re going to be doing a lot of door to door this election? At least for the primary, think again.
I’d be interested to know who that candidate is. Anyone who is dumb enough to be knocking on doors right now is not somebody I would support. Of course people aren’t opening their doors to strangers right now.
The signatures for petitions have to come from somewhere. How else would you propose they get signatures?
Five friends — 10 signatures each. Or are there 50 of your own friends you can call to get a signature? Knocking on random doors isn’t the best idea right now.
Anyone who both qualifies for office and desires to run ought to be able to have their name placed on the ballot simply by informing the SOS’s office of their intent to run.
Wrong.
Why should Slackers and Non-Planners be rewarded? And why open the doors now to all those who chose NOT to run for office because of their lack of enthusiasm in meeting with constituents as signatures are gathered?
If the idea you suggest was enacted, it would be a slap in the face to conscientious candidates and would, further, reward the Lazies and the Procrastinators.
Bad idea.
1) Anyone who wants to run should be able to run.
2) Getting in the ballot should not be a reward; it should be considered a right.
3) Victory is achieved by getting elected.
Yes, anyone who wants to run should be able to, provided they meet the requirements: such as being a resident, being of the correct age, not being in jail, and getting enough people to sign and doing so in the correct timelines.
If all you need to do is say you want to run, there could be 10 or 20 people wanting to have their names on the ballot, most as a lark just to be able to say they ran. What a mess!
Yes, victory is achieved by getting elected, but you have to work hard to achieve that. Getting the 50 signatures, or whatever the number is, actually is the relatively easy part of campaigning. But don’t wait to the last days.