Staff Spotlight: National Field Director Kellen Arno
The ticket for President and Vice President nominated by the Americans Elect Delegates will be on the ballot in all 50 states on Election Day 2012. It’s up to our field team to make that happen (no pressure or anything!) by collecting petition signatures state by state.
Kellen Arno, AE national field director, is currently leading our effort in the state of California. In this inaugural AE Staff Spotlight, Kellen explains what’s involved.
AE: What is the mission in California?
KA: We are collecting signatures to reserve a place on the ballot for Americans Elect in November 2012, so that our ticket will be able to compete against the Democrats, Republicans and several other political parties in the state of California.
AE: How exactly can Americans Elect get onto the ballot?
KA: In California, there are two ways to do it. You can collect voter registration affidavits equal to 1% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, which is roughly 100,000. The other method, which we are using, is to collect signatures on a petition. Those signatures have to be equal to 10% of the total votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, or a little over 1 million.
AE: Why choose the 1 million signature method?
KA: One of the core beliefs of Americans Elect is welcoming Americans from all political parties and ideologies. Because we are not a traditional third party or political part of any sort, we don’t want to ask people to leave their parties. Instead, we believe that the more people who are able to participate in Americans Elect, from as diverse backgrounds as possible, ultimately makes our democracy and our country stronger.
We believe that collecting the signatures of over 1 million Californians reflects a powerful display of support for Americans Elect. We are actually going to collect more signatures than it would take to propose an amendment to the California Constitution!
AE: How many signatures will you collect?
KA: The goal is to provide enough signatures to the state so that we have room for some signatures to be declared invalid. There are numerous reasons why a signature would be declared invalid, such as missing information, illegibility, or the most frequent reason, the signer not being registered to vote at the address he or she provided. So we are collecting more signatures than actually required, giving us an insurance pad, so to speak.
AE: Who is collecting the signatures?
KA: We have regional field managers in all major urban areas who are managing a team of over 800 signature-gatherers, also known as circulators. They do several trainings every day for anyone who is interested in gathering signatures. Many of the signature-gatherers are full-time professional circulators who have worked prior campaigns. A lot of them have some interest in politics. We also have a lot of people who are first-timers, who have never done this before – college students and college-aged people. A handful of circulators simply had heard of Americans Elect and this was the way they wanted to get involved.
AE: What is a typical day like for a signature-gatherer?
KA: The circulators set their own hours. They focus on high-traffic times in high-traffic locations. For example, some go to college campuses, gas stations, and shopping centers, others go to door to door. Our signature-gatherers face many challenges, so having the flexibility to find the location and the hours that work for them is very important to their success. Recently, the entire state saw record rainfall for several days, which made getting people to stop at the usual place and time far more difficult. Our circulators adjusted quickly, though, and found new locations and hours that worked and we actually saw our daily average go up!
AE: How do the circulators get signatures?
KA: The circulators provide a quick “elevator pitch” to get people interested, such as that their signature will help create a better way to choose a president and help get them more choices on ballot. That’s important here in California because the state has a great tradition of active ballot participation and direct democracy through the initiative process. It’s also important because California is often left out of the national presidential primary process. Giving people an opportunity to have their voice heard when picking candidates is a very powerful message.
All of the signature-gatherers have been given information to present to the public. Most have signs now, and we have laminated cards answering frequently asked questions to give people an idea about what Americans Elect is, along with contact information.
AE: What happens after the signatures are collected?
KA: We make sure everything is filled out correctly and there is no information missing. We have a California voter file, which we use to check against the signatures to make sure they are valid. We will then turn the signatures over to all 58 counties in California.
AE: Why are you involved in this effort?
KA: I’ve been active in direct democracy for a long time, helping people have their voices heard through the ballot. I think this is an excellent opportunity to show democracy at work. I’m proud to work with Americans Elect, which I think will provide an excellent tool to help solve the large problems facing our country. What we’re doing is trying to lay the foundation for that. Opening the ballots and making a space for Americans Elect to compete on the national level is really powerful.
