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Knock, Knock!It's Christopher Beam, taking readers' questions about the most effective kinds of political volunteering.

Posted Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008, at 1:56 PM ET

(Continued from page 1)

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Houston: I think that knocking on doors might be good in some cases. I once had the candidate herself come to my door, and needless to say, I did vote for her. Also, I am going to volunteer for my candidate at a call center on the weekend before the election. Do you think that calling closer to the election is better than doing it earlier?

Christopher Beam: I don't. By the week of the election, most people have already decided who they're voting for. That doesn't mean you can't make a difference. But you're more likely to change someone's mind now. Plus, close to election day, they'll be getting inundated with calls. So you'll have more competition.

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Biloxi, Miss.: What are the requirements for being an election observer? Do you have to be a lawyer? I've heard the campaigns are seeking people to volunteer as observers and would prefer lawyers. What does the observer do, how much does it help to be a lawyer, and what do they do when something shady goes on at a polling place?

Christopher Beam: Each campaign is allowed to have an election observer at every polling place. (Independent observers from voting rights organizations, oddly, are not allowed.) The campaigns prefer lawyers because they 1) probably know state election law better, and 2) have more authority to challenge ballot tampering. Each state's election law is different, so it can be confusing to discuss them all at once. But one by one, they're pretty easy to understand. I'm afraid it's too late to get a law degree between now and Election Day, but you should still volunteer.

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Knocking on Doors: I live in New Hampshire. During primary season, we are inundated with volunteers calling, knocking on doors, stopping us on the street, etc. This past year, Sen. Clinton's campaign arranged for busloads of volunteers to come to New Hampshire from New York to knock on doors. It was cold, and more than a few of them were bundled up in their New York Yankees hats and sweatshirts, prompting the average New Hampshire voter to wonder—do they want us to vote for her or not? This is Red Sox Nation!

Christopher Beam: Fools! This is door-knocking 101. Try and establish a connection with the resident, whether it's you both live in the same neighborhood, both have kids, both work at a union, whatever. The corollary: Don't say or wear anything that's going to tick them off. Clinton should have known better—after all, she was the one who hedged and said that in a Yankees-Cubs match-up, she'd have to "alternate sides."

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Grand Rapids, Mich.: Hi. I was wondering what we know about the origins and uses of the names in the Obama campaign's "neighbor-to-neighbor" database. After spending hours knocking on doors with these lists, I don't think I've persuaded one person—all I've done is cleaned up the list of people who have died, moved or are already firm McCain supporters. And then of course, I found the pre-existing Obama supporters. I live in a tony suburb; turnout is high. So why is it really worth my time to identify these voters? I guess that's what I want to know.

Christopher Beam: Hate to say it, but updating the database is a big part of door-knocking. It's the best way for campaigns to keep tabs on who's leaning which way.

But in a tony neighborhood like yours, it's probably pointless. People are already well-informed, and, I'm guessing, opinionated. Your time would be better spent in less-decided areas of the state. You might think about phone banking instead, or calling up people you know and getting them to volunteer with you in neighborhoods more likely to swing the election—ie, not Grand Rapids.

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Columbia, Md.: Another option for voters in red or blue states is to commute to nearby purple states to knock on doors (obviously this is more practical in small states!). There are regular carpools and convoys of Maryland Democrats driving up to Pennsylvania to knock on doors for Obama (and I assume Maryland Republicans have similar groups), or individuals can contact campaign offices in nearby undecided states to volunteer.

Christopher Beam: Make the exodus! Face-to-face campaigning is much more effective than over-the-phone, not to mention a lot more fun. The only danger—make sure you don't look like a carpetbagger. (See above example about Red Sox/Yankees.) People respond best to their peers. If you're a NYC liberal trying to persuade rural PA voters that Obama's gun control record really isn't so bad, you might do more harm than good.

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Evanston, Ill.: What should one do, given that the election is now a forgone conclusion? Will the media ever admit the race is over?

Christopher Beam: David Plouffe, is that you?

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Australian in America: I'm an Australian living in America, and when I first moved here I was surprised to find out how many people don't vote, and how much money is spent trying to "get out the vote." Back home, voting is compulsory. The election is held on a Saturday and you get fined if you don't show up and cast a ballot. My question: As much as I long to, I can't vote here. It makes me crazy to think of people wasting their voice by forgetting or not bothering to vote. What's the best way I can motivate/remind eligible voters to vote, without annoying them? (For what it's worth, my efforts the past couple of months have been directed at reminding my friends to register and to apply for their absentee ballots. I have a new baby, so spending Election Day holding a sign probably is not an option.) And, um, has voting always been noncompulsory here?

Christopher Beam: Dear Aussie in America—I hate to say it, but ... stay away. Depending where exactly you were planning to volunteer, you might actually dissuade voters. Probably not in Massachusetts or California, but swing counties of swing states like nothing less than to be told what to do by someone they probably think is British. Case in point, in 2004 the Guardian (the British paper) asked its readers to write to Ohio residents and tell them to vote for Kerry. It was a disaster. Many Ohioans wrote back in words unpublishable in a family newspaper.