Terry Sharples, Tweed Heads
The battle is on: pre-polling will start next week for our 2 July federal election, the Bill or Malcom show.
Most probably more than a third of voters will vote before polling day.
Many of these pre-pollers don’t care about politics; however they do decide elections.
I have dealt with such voters at the front line more than a few times and I can tell you that you only get one very limited chance to get a how to vote card into their hands and your point in their minds, as they quickly walk past into that polling booth.
It’s no easy task and the hardest work I know. Because you have to be resh and on your toes for every single one of them, from 9am to 5pm and on the last few days from 9am to 9pm.
The human contact is critical.
I much admired Mr 100% campaigners at the last state election in Tweed in this regard.
Whose troopers were well dressed in non-conformal apparel and polity approached voters with the line ‘do you wish to vote for you know who?’ A real ice breaker that got many into a conversation and that a winner.
Whilst Labor’s Apaches were running about talking loudly to each other most of the time with red t-shirts on waving placards over their heads (on that occasion about electricity power line in Sydney) which left me the impression the ALP was great, had already won it, and do you want to vote for Russia.
Lessons learned this time around I imagine, Justine?