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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is 
published every Thursday during the 
spring and summer terms by students 
at the University of Michigan. One copy 
is available free of charge to all readers. 
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2

Thursday, June 29, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NEWS

Washtenaw County Democrats organize 
to promote communication, voter turnout

Event was intended 
to steer Democrats 

toward more 

effective canvassing

By JENNIFER MEER

Summer Managing News Editor

About 40 Washtenaw County 

residents gathered Sunday afternoon 
at the Washtenaw County Learning 
Resource Center for an event titled 
Mobilizing 
for 
Michigan: 
2017 

Listening Tour Launch. The event, 
led by the Precinct Organizing 
Committee 
of 
the 
Washtenaw 

County Democratic Party, aimed 
to organize residents from county 
precincts to canvass effectively 
and communicate better with local 
Democratic voters.

Catherine Daligga, a vice chair for 

the Precinct Organizing Committee, 
said the event is meant to encourage 
community members to listen to 
their neighbors, act upon their 
concerns and volunteer to canvass 
locally.

“Our objective today is to start 

grouping people geographically so 
that we can use a team approach to 

talk to people in the neighborhoods, 
listen to what people have to say 
about their reactions to the 2016 
election and start to serve as a 
reliable conduit of information back 
and forth from the people in the 
community to elected officials and 
to the Democratic Party, and vice 
versa,” she said.

She 
noted 
in 
recent 
years, 

canvassing and reaching voters 
has been based on Big Data 
and 
technology 
instead 
of 

communication.

“To do it, it’s a relatively novel 

approach in some ways, because 
we’ve been relying on Big Data for 
a while, but the personal touch 
is indispensable,” she said. “The 
politics is based on relationships. If 
we foster good relationships, then 
we’ll be stronger.”

The Listening Tour itself will 

consist of acquiring 65,000 contacts 
— Democratic voters in Washtenaw 
County — by the end of 2017, by way 
of volunteers who will canvass and 
reach out to their communities.

Daligga opened the event and 

explained 
the 
importance 
of 

precinct-based organizing, as well 
as the plans for the Listening Tour. 
She said Washtenaw County needs 
to improve their voter turnout.

“We’ve done remarkably well in 

the county for keeping our turnout 
better than it has been in some 
places, and yet it’s still true that our 
turnout is not as good as it could 
be and we still have a noticeable 
fall-off in the non-presidential 
elections,” she said. “To this end, 
precinct organizing is the key.”

Precincts refer to the smallest 

political units in the American 
electoral system, and they are 
represented 
by 
one 
or 
more 

precinct delegates. These delegates 
serve as a primary link between 
residents and their party, and 
according to Daligga, a strong 
precinct organization generally 
corresponds to a much better voter 
turnout.

Daligga 
emphasized 
the 

importance 
of 
community 

relations to be fostered by the 
Listening Tour.

“Over and over and over again, 

study after study shows that the 
most effective way to mobilize 
voters is to talk to people, and to 
talk to people face to face, not on 
the phone, not online, not through 
emails — it’s remarkable,” she said.

Daligga noted Hillary Clinton 

lost the 2016 election in Michigan 
by 2.2 votes per precinct. She said 
the Democratic Party has failed 
to organize people and has only 
served in the context of specific 
political parties.

“The party has existed really as 

an adjunct in many ways to political 

parties,” she said. “It’s had the loss 
of an independent existence in 
terms of organizing people. That’s 
what we’re here for today.”

Daligga noted 2017 is not nearly 

as intense in terms of political 
campaigning as are presidential 
election years, and so it should 
serve as an opportunity to regroup 
and improve upon the situation the 
party found itself in last year.

With regard to reaching 65,000 

residents, Daligga said the number 
may seem staggering, but it is 
definitely possible.

“The closer we get to that goal, 

the more we grow the number of 
people that are willing to take on 
a few people to talk to, the farther 
ahead we have ever been,” she said. 
“Our objective is to aim to recruit 
people to go talk to their neighbors, 
serve as a community liaison and 
resource, and socialize — get to 
know each other.”

She emphasized the importance 

of not just asking people for money 
and votes but really listening to 
their concerns and transforming 
those concerns into actions.

Washtenaw 
County 
resident 

John Erdevig also addressed the 
group, speaking on his experience 
as a canvasser. He noted the 
importance of asking people to 
refer their neighbors and friends to 
gain a stable foundation of voters.

 
 
 
 
 COURTESY OF JENNIFER MEER

Catherine Daligga, vice chair for the Precinct Organizing Committee of Washtenaw 
County Democratic Party, speaks at the Mobilizing for Michigan event at the 
Washtenaw County Learning Resource Center. 

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

