The Little Phone Bank That Could

How callers joined an Illinois phone bank, reached out and touched -- everyone

By Marci Adelston-Schafer

As phone bankers, we are used to attending Zoom calls for big campaigns or national organizations. These usually get many dialers because they have money to back them. Such phone banks are often active many times per week with upwards of 50 callers at each session. 

But candidates running for down ballot races may not even know how to run a Zoom phone bank. That’s where our Rockin’ Zoom Phone Banking parties come in.

To tell you the truth, I was not a fan of phone banking. Canvassing is where I have always preferred to put my energy. But in 2020, the pandemic kept Champaign County Democrats from knocking on doors. Because we needed to talk to voters remotely, phone banking seemed like a good idea.

At the time, I was not experienced with phone banks. I just showed up and took instructions. I preferred phone bank parties, in-person events rather than simply obtaining a link and calling on my own. In a group setting, I felt more energized. Since we could not be in the same room during the pandemic, I recruited volunteers to meet on Zoom.

Since I live in Central Illinois, phone banking for local down ballot candidates, I sent out word that, if a campaign could give us a link to a phone bank, their phone bank would be included. Once 3-4 candidates gave us Open VPBs (virtual phone banks), we recruited small groups of volunteers for Rockin’ Zoom Phone Bank Parties.

At the beginning of each, we trained volunteers, then posted all VPB links in the chat. This let volunteers phone bank for 2-3 different candidates, 20-30 minutes each. At the end of each session, we debriefed for 15 minutes to promote camaraderie. We did not have many volunteers, but local campaigns that would not have thought about having phone banks had a shot of speaking to voters during the pandemic.

Fast forward to 2021 when I was in a leadership role with Indivisible Illinois. On the eve of the January 6 uprising at the Capitol, Mary Miller, newly elected GOP Congresswoman from Illinois, told a DC crowd, “Hitler was right when he said, ‘If you have the youth, you have the future.’” Quoting Hitler is probably not the best way to start your Congressional career but it sure got us busy.

The Indivisible National organizer for Illinois decided to phone bank in IL-15, telling Miller’s constituents about her speech, and asking them to call her office, asking her to resign. When ten of us got on Zoom and did just that, I was amazed at how many voters wanted Miller’s office phone number. After that, I knew that Indivisible Illinois could really do something with phone banking.

Throughout 2021, we expanded, calling into different Republican Congressional districts asking voters to tell their representatives to back certain bills. By 2022, with all Rockin’ Zoom Phone Bank Parties now run by Indivisible Illinois, we figured we could add any Democratic campaign, no matter how far down the ballot, from anywhere, as long as they could create an Open VPB. This opened up possibilities for candidates without big operations. For those mid-term elections, we phone banked for 11 candidates from county boards up to Congress and the State Supreme Court. We did not have a lot of phone bankers, from 4-25 on a Zoom at a time. But we had a core group of 8-10 who would show up consistently. I started calling us, “The Little Phone Bank That Could.” 

Indivisible Illinois is currently organizing Rockin’ Zoom Phone Bank Parties on Saturdays (for campaigns using VPBs) and Sundays for campaigns using Scale To Win dialers. Recruiting volunteers is still the biggest hurdle, but we have learned two lessons. 1) Campaigns need to be pushed to encourage volunteers and interns to participate, and 2) when other groups co-host, they can also recruit volunteers. 

We would love other groups to be involved with Indivisible Illinois phone banks and/or for you to create your own. Even if you live in a red state, or the red area of a state, you can do this!!

Marci Adelston-Schafer is a member of the Indivisible Illinois Executive Board, the Indivisible Illinois Phone Bank Lead, co-chair of the Champaign County Democrats' Voter Registration and Education Committee, and organizes the collaborative GOTV campaign for the Champaign County Democrats

---