Don't Call Me, I'll Call You

Last Tuesday evening, the night of the New Hampshire Primary, I called my sister. She's home from college on winter break and staying at my parents' house. "Hang on," she said mid-call, "someone's on the other line." She returned a minute later. "It was Hillary's people again," she said. "That's the third time they've called today."

I laughed but wasn't all that surprised. I had done a little volunteering for one of the candidates, and while knocking on doors (or "canvassing," in campaign-speak) and calling strangers isn't really my thing, I had made a few calls of my own and knew how much these campaign workers depended on phone calls to help their candidate. Plus, I wasn't jaded from receiving phone calls myself.

While most voters received dozens of calls a week leading up to Election Day, I didn't receive a single one, and for one specific reason -- I live in a cellphone-only household. And though 95% of the time I am grateful to not be badgered by telemarketers or (pretend I didn't say this) researchers, I almost would have liked someone to say, "Hey, who are you voting for?"

I'd decided on my candidate pretty early in the Primary season. I'm not one to aggressively debate politics, but I feel strongly about certain issues, and, if a campaign worker had called me, I would have had no problem proudly declaring, "I'm voting for Candidate X!"

Additionally, there's a certain camaraderie that forms when you find out someone else supports the same candidate you do. I'd find myself smiling at a car sporting my candidate's bumper sticker, or at an old lady wearing my candidate's pin on her coat lapel. It's this strange way of connecting with total strangers -- something that says, "Hey, I agree with you!"

I don't think getting phone calls would have affected my vote, but I do think all those little things (phone calls, yard signs, etc.) tend to add up. For example: if I was deciding between two candidates, and I got calls from only one of them expressing interest in my vote, maybe that would sway me. If I was thinking my candidate didn't have enough support to make him viable, but then I saw five yard signs on my street supporting him, I might change my mind.

From a research standpoint, I'm not sure how much cellphone-only households are affecting polling accuracy. We know that around 16% of American households are now cellphone-only, and that number is only growing. But I don't think that's a factor in why the polls were so off in calling the New Hampshire election.

So, do I appreciate the privacy I get from not having a landline phone? Absolutely. Do I still want to feel valued as a potential voter? Yes!

What do you think? Did you (or would you) proudly declare your stance when you got phone calls -- or did you just want them all to shut up?