Two Granite Staters knock doors for a cause, meeting voters face-to-face

Concord residents Joanne Casino and Dave Cawley haven’t had a quiet weekend since July. They’re two of the nearly 125 volunteers from Kent Street Coalition who have been out knocking doors, urging their neighbors to vote on Nov. 5. 

Kent Street is an all-volunteer, grassroots advocacy group working to defend democracy, that was founded in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election in 2016. Their team of canvassers knocked on almost 800 doors in Pembroke last weekend alone.

Cawley and Casino have been going door-to-door, doing three shifts a day from morning until sunset every weekend to talk to voters about the issues. They said they’ve also been highlighting the importance of voting all the way down the ballot. 

“The 400 state reps make really key decisions about the nature of life in New Hampshire. And these folks make a hundred dollars a year,” said Cawley, who has been involved with Kent Street since its inception. “So our volunteers are the ones who have been continuing [to go door-to-door] and say, ‘Hey, you really should vote for [a particular candidate] because if reproductive freedom is a statewide issue, we’ve got to make sure that we control the legislature.” 

Currently, New Hampshire has a Republican trifecta that just this year passed several bills curtailing reproductive freedom and public education funding—issues that Granite Staters care about across party lines, Cawley said. 

“I mean property tax reform is an issue that Republicans care about as much as Democrats,” Cawley said. “And at some level, reproductive freedom is an issue that at least women care about across both parties.” 

Each weekend’s canvassing event takes many days to plan—and includes training and recruiting new volunteers, finding meeting spots, sending out logistical information to all volunteers, and handing out literature that canvassers use to engage with voters. 

Kent Street’s not alone in their efforts to amplify the voices of everyday Granite Staters. Many other organizations in New Hampshire have been amping up efforts to get out the vote on Nov. 5. 

Among them is the Progressive Turnout Project—the largest voter contact organization in the country. In New Hampshire, the PTP has launched canvassing efforts ranging from phone-banking and raising signs to door-knocking and GOTV events throughout multiple towns in the state. 

During the 2022 election cycle, the PTP knocked on 22,500 doors in the state to mobilize voters. 

This year, they’ve also published a slate of endorsements—like  gubernatorial candidate Joyce Craig, Congressman Chris Pappas, Maggie Goodlander, and more than 50 others. 

It takes volunteers like Cawley and Casino to bring those efforts to the finishing line. 

Cawley is convinced that in this era of misinformation and shrinking news outlets, canvassing is the only effective way to educate voters about grassroots issues. 

“If there aren’t people like us on the ground, there won’t be anybody in the House to vote against an abortion ban that starts with a fetal heartbeat,” Cawley said, noting that the New Hampshire House is controlled by Republicans by a razor-thin majority of just three seats. “I think canvassing is one of the few seemingly effective tools for down ballot candidates [to get elected].”

With just a few days left until Nov. 5, Cawley and Casino already have plans for the post-Election Day weekend.

Rest and celebrate, they both said. 

“I want to put my feet up, pet my dog, and watch nonsense TV,” Casino said.