Chapter 8 Candidate Signature Drive on Tax Day

Every April 15th is the so-called "tax filing day" in the United States. Last year's tax form must be completed and sent to the tax bureau before this day; if there is too much to fill out, you must apply for an extension before then.Therefore, on this day every year, the post office will be full of people sending tax forms.On the one hand, the spirit of procrastination is shared by people from all over the world, and Americans are no exception. Many people always give priority to eating, drinking and having fun. The tax form is indeed a very troublesome thing. There are so many tax laws and regulations in the United States. If you accidentally fill in the wrong one, it’s fine if you suffer a loss. If the government suffers a loss—you just wait and see. With an outstanding reputation in the rivers and lakes, how can he be a person who has earned a false name?

Our Montgomery County Liberal Party thinks this day is a good opportunity to launch a ballot access petition.The so-called election signatures are due to the law that if the number of votes in the last election was less than a certain number, they must collect enough signatures in the next general election to allow their candidate's name to appear on the ballot paper. state, is requiring the signatures of 20,000 voting citizens.The Liberal Party is a small party, so naturally it cannot escape this disaster in every general election.To make matters worse, after the signatures are collected, the "enemies" (mainly the Republican Party, some of them are rich, high-spirited, and have the spirit of "harming others and benefiting themselves") will definitely come and criticize, trying to say that some signatures are invalid Yes, and it would be too late to collect signatures again at that time, so we must collect 30,000 signatures to ensure that we can repel the rampant invasion of the enemy.

This is a costly and laborious business.It is estimated that each signature costs about $3.There are indeed such companies in the United States that specialize in soliciting signatures. If we "outsource" this matter to them, it will cost at least $90,000.The Pennsylvania Liberals obviously can't afford the money.The headquarters of the Liberal Party in the United States has funds dedicated to signatures, but it can only be used to support backward areas. Pennsylvania is a relatively strong state of the Liberal Party, so there is no need to expect to get a penny from the National Liberal Party headquarters.For this reason, we had no choice but to do it ourselves, to have enough food and clothing, to contribute money to those who had money, to contribute powerfully, and to collect signatures everywhere.

I didn't decide to participate in this event until last night, and then I called Jim, the chairman of the Liberal Party of Montgomery County, and asked him to send me the computer file of the signature form, and I will print it out tomorrow.He told me that I can't print this and I have to get it from him.It was already past 10 o'clock in the evening, so I had no choice but to drive to his house in the rain and took three signature forms.It turned out that it was an official document issued by the state government, covering various positions ranging from presidential candidates to senators. The Liberal Party also found 21 activists and filled in their names.These people are not really running for these positions, just a formality so that our candidacy signature drive can be carried out.Of course, related troubles such as filling in forms and paying fees are still indispensable, so it took a lot of effort to mobilize everyone to "donate" a name.

I originally planned to go to the Puwang City Post Office next to my home, and Jim recommended a big post office to me.These two post offices are located at the junction of Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware counties, so Jim gave me three forms, because the signatures on one form must be from the same county.There can be 116 signatures on each sheet.Then I asked him some more questions: "Do I have to be a U.S. citizen to sign?" "yes." "If a person has already signed another party, can he still sign ours?" "I think so." Jim thought for a moment, then smiled. "I see no reason why it shouldn't be."

I have a question in my heart.But today's experience proved that I was completely overwhelmed, because these special circumstances did not happen at all. At noon, I set off from the company and arrived at the Puwang Post Office before 12:30.After all, since Election Day last year, I haven't done this kind of "begging on the street" for half a year, and I started to feel anxious again.After beating myself for a long time, I mustered up the courage to enter the post office with the signature form. Sure enough, there was a long line at the post office, so I stood in the aisle and saw a man come out after mailing his tax form, and I went up to him and said, "Can you sign our candidacy?" He looked at me strangely and said, "What is this for?" I was about to explain, when a staff member of the post office came up and said to me: "You are not allowed to carry out these activities here, this is the property of the post office, you You have to go outside, some distance away from the post office to carry out these activities.” I asked her, “How far do I need to be?” She said, “Go outside first, and I’ll explain it to you right away.” She drove me away. out.The person who was stopped by me just now has taken the opportunity to leave.

The bad thing is that this post office has two exits (I only harass the people who come out, because the people who go in are in a hurry and won't bother me).I weighed it up and thought that a certain exit would have a greater passenger flow, so I guarded that door.Soon another person came out, dressed like a professional woman, and probably came out during lunch time to post the form. As soon as I told her, she signed it readily. It was a success, and I felt a lot more relaxed.Looking at the glass door of the post office, I thought: When someone comes out, I pull the door for them and ask them to sign, the possibility of their rejection will be smaller; in addition, when someone comes in, I also pull the door for them, They will definitely make a good impression on me.This strategy is good, but I feel embarrassed, it seems to be too "begging".Then I remembered that when I was at the elderly center on Election Day last year, the Democratic Party’s campaign assistant opened the door for people. At that time, I really felt that she was overly enthusiastic, as if she must ask for something, but at the same time, I also felt that she was very considerate.In the end, I decided to talk about politics, don't talk about shame, and open the door for others.

However, this goodwill died before it could bear fruit.I just opened the first door and was explaining to people when the post office worker came out again: "This is still the property of the post office, you will block the road here. You have to go to the parking lot." I I asked again: "How far do you want me to be from this building?" She said: "Beyond the white line in the parking lot." Naturally, the "customer" I just pulled also took the opportunity to slip away. I had no choice but to retreat to the parking lot.The advantage is that it is close to another exit, and I can go back and forth between the two exits.The disadvantage is that there are cars coming and going here, and the wind is very strong. I need to maneuver between the vehicles while preventing the hard-won fruits of victory from being blown away by the wind.

In general, about one-third to one-half of people are willing to sign.Of course, the degree of refreshment varies.Some people barely listen to my explanation and sign with a flick of a pen.Some people want to find out what I am doing, then I will tell him : We just hope to collect enough signatures so that Pennsylvanians can have one more choice in the general election. Just because you sign here does not mean that you have to agree with our proposition or have to vote for us when the time comes.Some people will continue to ask: who are you?After I reported the name of the Liberal Party (in fact, this word is very prominently printed on the watch, but most people have no time to read it carefully), some people will understand, and some people will continue to ask: What is your stand?Then I explain: we advocate that the government should be as small as possible, and taxes should be replaced by service fees; we think the current tax reporting system is ridiculous, we pay a lot of taxes, but the government can't even handle simple things like tax collection, We also need to fill out tax forms like fools every April, and those taxes can be thrown into the water to make a fuss... Naturally, this rhetoric can resonate with many people.

Generally speaking, however, each of the above steps will also cause some people to refuse.For example, as soon as someone heard the signature, they said: "I have never participated in politics." The poisonous snake shrank back as if it had bitten a bite, and immediately refused sternly, and said more politely: "I'm sorry, my position does not allow me to sign this name." Others shook their heads and left after hearing my explanation. Probably think this idea is too unrealistic. In fact, the main point of signing for the election is not that the signers agree with the Liberal Party's proposition, but that the signers are happy to see as many choices as possible on the ballot.As one young man signed his signature, "That's what democracy is about." Similarly, another man signed his signature this afternoon, saying, "I'm a Republican, but I support your presence on the ballot. superior."

Two other more inspiring scenes: a middle-aged man, after hearing that I am a Liberal, said happily, "Great, I am planning to vote Liberal this year." Republicans are not satisfied.Of course I was very happy and presented him with a copy of the Liberal Party promotional materials.After he signed, he shook hands with me warmly and said goodbye.It feels like the underground party and organization have joined together, and I feel that the whole world is at ease. There is also an old man walking out of the post office with a cane. I explained to him from the very beginning to the end. The balance of payments is completely out of balance.I said this is to restrain the power of the government and prevent it from spending money indiscriminately.Naturally, no one can convince anyone in the end of this kind of debate. Both sides say thank you and say goodbye, and I will pull others.The man signed the name very readily. After signing, I turned around, only to find that the old man stood behind me again and said, "I thought about it, I should still sign this name for you." Generally speaking, people here are very polite, and most of those who don't sign say they don't have time, and often add a sentence of "thank you".The most polite was a young mother with a small child who came over quietly with her head bowed. After I explained our activities to her, she shook her head and said, "But I really appreciate your willingness to give me this Opportunity." She spoke slowly, enunciating the multiple syllables of each word. Only once, when three young people came out, I just went up to greet them and opened my mouth, and one of them simply said: "No!" Then he snickered with his companions, probably because he thought it was cool.I just shrugged and smiled self-deprecatingly. My own principle is: I don't stop the people who go in, only the people who come out, and if the people who come out are talking on their cell phones, I won't stop them either.Americans are more worried about privacy issues. Several people asked when they signed: "If I leave my address here, I won't receive anything?" For the state government, we will never send you any promotional materials (what I didn't tell them is that this party is too poor and few people to send you anything without money). Another time, after looking at the watch, a lady found that she needed to leave her address, so she said bluntly: "I don't sign, I don't trust you people." If you are surprised, because everyone has always said that I have a simple and honest face and a simple expression."You don't trust me?" I said, a little bit grievously. As she got into the car, she said, "I would never give my information to political organizations!" When it was almost 1:30, I went home for lunch, and at 4:00, I went back to the Puwang City Post Office. At 5:5, I felt that things here were almost over, so I drove to the big post office recommended by Jim yesterday.It was in Chestershire, but only a 10-minute drive away.When I went there, I found that it was indeed a big post office, and the ostentation was different: there was a police car with lights on at the entrance and exit, and a policeman and a staff member of the post office were standing there, collecting tax forms for passing vehicles, exempting them from paying taxes. Trouble at the post office.Of course, the premise is that your stamp must have been posted.Otherwise, you still have to go to the post office.They usually open until 9:30 in the evening. Today is a special day, and they open until 12 midnight.I went in to pay my respects, and sure enough, the line was much longer than that of the Puwang Post Office. This post office has only one exit, but the aisle at the door has two directions, so I had to choose another station.On average, the people here are a little less polite than the people in Puwang City. It may be a common problem that people are rude when the place is big.For example, a middle-aged white woman raised her eyebrows when she heard the name of the Liberal Party: "No way!" Another man saw me approaching and said loudly: "Don't bother me, I'm already annoying enough !”—I don’t know how much money he has been squeezed out by the IRS this year. Of course, most people are still very polite.What is more interesting is an old man of Asian descent (by the way, if the politics is not correct, of all the Asian descendants today, there are about 10 people, only one Asian girl who seems to be born in the United States has signed, and the others are older and obviously People who have the temperament of the motherland are all unwilling to sign. It’s not because they may not have citizenship, but they refused when I proposed it.) After I explained to him why the Liberal Party chose to carry out activities today, he said excitedly : "Replacing taxes with service charges won't work!—Should the rich and the poor charge the same service charges?" I said: "We don't benefit the rich, we just think Say, we pay too much tax and are paid by the government abused. ’ He was still agitated and said, ‘That’s not right!A millionaire should not pay the same service fee as a poor person! ’ I had no choice but to give up arguing with him and say, ‘You’re right.But we're not asking you to agree with the Liberal Party, we're just asking Pennsylvania to have one more choice when it comes time to vote in November. He said: "Let you get on the ballot?"Don't think about it!I don't sign! "Go away excitedly. Another white old man, after I explained, said to me: "What do you people want to do? Do you know that the US Constitution strictly restricts the activities of political parties?" What are you doing signing for this election?He continued: "Do you want to make the United States like those countries in Europe? Do you have dozens of small parties and fight all day long to make you happy?" I said no, we just want to appear on the ballot, ourselves I also know that the world of the two major parties cannot be broken.He shook his head and got into his car.After a while, he rolled down the window again and called me over.I thought he had changed his mind and went over happily. He said, "Do you have the signature form of the Communist Party? If you want it, I will sign it." I said, "Unfortunately, I don't. I didn't know that you supported the Communist Party. He said: "Then you bring the Communist Party's form next year, and I will definitely sign it. You must create 85 small parties to undermine each other and paralyze the entire government!" Only then did I understand that he was running on me. There are of course good situations.After a woman found out that I was a Liberal, she immediately said: "I have to sign this name. My son and daughter are both registered Liberals." Another man, after signing, asked me: "If you had to choose between the Democrats and the Republicans, which one would you choose?" I replied, "Personally, I would choose the Democrats. But I know there are many Liberals who would choose the Republicans, but in general We disagree with Democrats and Republicans, and that’s why I’m here today.” He smiled and said, “Yes. I don’t agree with either party.” I said quickly: “ Then please vote Liberal!" He said, "I will!" By 7 o'clock, I had collected a total of 60 signatures, which was almost the same. The weather was getting colder and I was getting hungry, so I went back.On the way, I did my own calculations. It took me a total of 3 hours to collect signatures. On average, I collected 20 signatures per hour, and each one took 3 minutes.During these 3 minutes, about 1 and a half minutes were spent waiting, half a minute was rejected, and 1 minute was explained and signed.The efficiency is not bad.However, if one signature takes 3 minutes, then 30,000 signatures will take 90,000 minutes, or 1,500 hours.Even if 150 volunteers can be recruited throughout Pennsylvania, each volunteer will spend an average of 10 hours.There is a long way to go. It is a pity that more than a dozen people have already agreed to sign, but it turns out that they do not live in the three counties of Meng, Che, and Te, so they have to give up.In addition, I think that if the Liberal Party has more money, it will be much easier to make an "anti-tax" placard and invite others to sign it. What's more interesting is that I actually met an acquaintance at the post office, who was a Chinese in the company.Fortunately, the last time she came to my house for a party, she saw the big Liberal Party sign I put up in the house, so she wasn't too surprised, but she still explained to her for a while what I was doing.Unfortunately, she has a green card but is a non-citizen, so she cannot sign it for me.From this point of view, the work of other volunteers should be easier than mine, because they can probably collect dozens of signatures just around them.