As we grow our movement, a crucial task is staffing all of our teams. Canvassers walk parades, the Speaker’s Bureau gives presentations, the Policy & Research team helps develop legislative priorities, etc. etc. There is so much to do! And the Onboarding Team is at the center of the action. 

When you sign up to volunteer for RCV MD, the Onboarding Team helps you become active. “We look for the people who want to volunteer.” says Sue Neumyer, the Onboarding Lead. “We’ll ask ‘What kind of stuff do you like to do? What would you like to do? What are you good at?’ And we place [volunteers] with the appropriate team, so that way we can make sure people are using their skills to the best of their ability to help the movement.”

Sue has worked at RCV MD for a year now. “I joined Rank Choice Voting Maryland last year because John Sanick recruited me at Baltimore Pride.” she says. “I actually first learned about [Ranked Choice Voting] from a YouTuber… He did a video on different voting systems and gerrymandering, and I watched that… back when I was like 16.” 

After John introduced Sue to our movement, she jumped right in. “I started off as the canvassing captain for Rockville, which means I was organizing canvassing events, finding places for us to canvas, getting the group together and going out and leading canvassing. And, you know, getting people signed up, all that jazz. Then it got cold and I hate the cold.” She laughs. “If we were in [an apocalypse] where the only safe place is where it's really cold… I would die. So I moved on to onboarding.”

But now that the weather is warmer, Sue is helping out with our canvassing efforts, which have redoubled this summer. Sue was at a number of Pride Parades, and she told me about her experience. “I like talking to people who are really, really excited about the movement. It's reassuring to see people, especially when you are out canvassing and somebody sees you in those t-shirts with the logo. And they say, ‘Yeah, Ranked Choice Voting! That's exactly what I want. That's exactly what we need!’ And they come up to you and they're so excited to see that we're getting it and they want to volunteer and they want to do all sorts of stuff.” 

“We got a ton of sign ups at [Annapolis Pride]. We worked in the parade and people were calling out to us from the streets… We were running all over the place talking to people and getting sign ups, so I kept getting stuck behind the emergency vehicles bringing up the back and had to jog to get back to our spot.” Due to our increased canvassing, Sue’s onboarding duties have also accelerated. “I like to help coordinate with [volunteers].”

“I'm really encouraged by the enthusiasm because people are so demoralized nowadays. We're not getting anything done because we are cutting off our nose to spite our face… We can agree on something, but as soon as you say you're one party or the other, ‘I can't work with you. I can't talk to you.’ So I think doing things that encourage more diversity and force people to have to work with each other is a benefit because I think it will help de-radicalize people.” 

Sue sees this diversity in real time at RCV MD. “I think being in this space that is not partisan where you can interact with people that you might not have in your life… is good. Like the exposure to people who have different mindsets than you do is good for you. And you don't have to agree with them… but it is a good experience to talk to them and meet them.”

I find that sentiment shared by everyone I meet in RCV MD. While we don’t agree on every issue, we all believe in Ranked Choice Voting and its benefits. “I think Ranked Choice Voting is much more fair.” Sue says. “It also adds more diversity into the political ecosystem, which I think is better for the health of our government.” 

My conversation with Sue renewed my excitement for the coming months of canvassing. With all the great work the outreach and onboarding teams are doing, the possibility of increasing RCV supporters and new active volunteers seems likely! I hope to meet some of you soon.