Shreya Srinivasan: Campaign Coordinator
During the fall 2024 semester, Shreya Srinivasan worked with the Minnesota DFL as a campaign coordinator. In order to get out the vote and connect with voters, Shreya went door knocking and high-traffic canvassing.
Educational interaction
As a campaign coordinator, Shreya's primary responsibility was talking to people around the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus: getting them engaged, asking about their voting plan, making sure they knew where to vote, what issues they care about, and whether they knew all the candidates on the ballot and the issues they stood for. Shreya described these conversations as "educational interaction[s]." They not only helped potential voters make the best choice based on the matters important to them but also to inform them on how to vote and why their vote counts.
To further get out the vote, Shreya and other fellows went on bus tour rallies where they walked to the polls, made sure people had a place to vote, and assisted with early voting. They also hosted events, including a vice presidential debate watch party with Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, to increase awareness of the candidates and the issues they stood for.
High stakes
Minnesota is known for being the state with the highest voter turnout and civic engagement—a trend the DFL hoped to maintain. To learn more about how to get out as many votes as possible, Shreya and her colleagues had phone calls and meetings with their candidates on the local ballot, Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The pressure for high voter turnout and high traffic canvassing in Minnesota was even greater this election because the national campaign team was funding Minnesota as a battleground state to ensure voters were engaged. Each week, Shreya had a minimum number of doors to knock, phone calls to make, and absentee ballots and voter registrations to collect. "I'd have to make sure I'm actively going out to make sure I hit those numbers," she said.
Taking time to reflect
In the busyness of each week, it was difficult for Shreya to find time to self-reflect on the work she was doing and the people she was impacting. The weekly journals assigned in POL 3080: Internship in Politics or Government, however, helped Shreya find that time.
"Working on the weekly journals made me think back about the week and some of the conversations I had and the real impact I had. It's easy when weeks are so busy and there's so much work to do to just gloss over things and not reflect on the important things you're doing. Even if they're small, they could have a big impact on one person."
There was one conversation, in particular, that stood out to Shreya that she likely wouldn't have thought back to had it not been for the weekly journal. In this conversation, the voter wanted to learn more about politics and where they could find more nonpartisan news sources. The weekly journal for POL 3080 helped Shreya reflect on their engaging conversation and the impact she had on the voter.
Key takeaways
As a campaign coordinator, it was important for Shreya to not only learn how to communicate, but to personally engage with voters. It was critical to ask about their beliefs, core values, and the topics that interest & engage them in an election. "If you can find common ground and listen to what they're saying, you're going to get so much farther in terms of getting voters to turn out to the polls," she reflected. "Even if people care about the same issues as you, unless you engage with them and tell them why it's important to actually go vote, they don't."
After working on this election's campaign, Shreya hopes to continue this work in the future. Not only did she learn a lot from those she worked with and do work important to her, she also felt beneficial to the country by helping out in such a key election.
Take the chance
Despite the positive impact this experience had on Shreya, it was not her initial plan to work as a campaign coordinator. Rather, she applied for a position in Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's office. Shreya ended up getting a call from the MN DFL offering her a job after the Omar campaign referred her to the DFL program.
As a result, Shreya recommends applying for different jobs in politics, regardless of if it is what you are initially interested in. By going for a variety of positions, you might get referred to another program or discover a new interest. No matter what, it will have an impact on your future career and push you in the right direction.
