Oregon's Spookiest Election Activity Goes National

Caitlin Baggott

"The best way on the best day!"

In an election year haunted by some truly ghoulish antics, here's a quick feel-good, and a reason to be proud of Oregon.

Legend has it that "Trick or Vote" was spawned by an imaginative Bus Project volunteer over beers and kabobs back in 2004. This year, Oregon's spookiest election activity has become America’s largest non-partisan get-out-the-vote effort. (You can join in the fun -- deets after the jump.)

Trick or Vote volunteers are putting their best (masked) faces forward to scare away 2010’s negative politics with a bit of silliness and a lot of grassroots effectiveness. 90 cities across the nation. 200,000 doors. Bi-partisan student efforts and non-partisan neighborhood efforts. (Now ain't that sweet as candy?)

The Portland event will draw over 800 volunteers for an action-packed get-out-the-vote effort that YOU can join. The local event is co-hosted by a coven of sinister sidekicks: 1000 Friends of Oregon, BTA, APANO, The Mother PAC, NARAL, OSA, Sierra Student Coalition, Urban League, VOE, CIO, and Stand for Children.

Are you infected with volunteerism? Join the zombies!

• What: Trick or Vote Halloween Canvass & Monster’s Ball featuring the Lifesavas
• When: Sunday, October 31st, 2010 – Canvass times 2:30 or 4:30pm, Trick or Voe Monster’s Ball at 7pm
• Where: The Wonder Ballroom, 128 NE Russell St, Portland, OR
• Cost: Monster’s Ball – FREE for volunteers, $15 for the public. *First time volunteer? Don't be spooked: Training provided!

Spooky statistics show that knocking on doors is the best way to increase voter turnout (8-12%, according to Yale). Any grade schooler can tell you that there is one day a year that people not only expect a knock on their door, but also greet it with candy: Halloween, which just happens to fall a few days before the election.

On top of it all, Trick or Vote is giving thousands of young people their first taste of civic engagement. A fifth of Trick or Vote volunteers surveyed in 2008 responded that it was their first political volunteer experience, and that was just days before the historic 2008 Presidential election. By tapping into the familiarity of Halloween, Trick or Vote gives young people an easy entry into civic participation.

Trick or Vote is an effort of the Bus Project Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to finding innovative ways of engaging the next generation in what we call “hands-on democracy.”

To participate in this year’s Trick or Vote, please visit trickorvote.org/portland. Contact Mollie Ruskin at 503-233-3018 or [email protected].

By Caitlin Baggott Oct. 27, 2010 Posted in Video.