By Amanda Berger

My name is Amanda Berger and I first canvassed with Seed the Vote in Reno in 2022. I remember joining that canvass and being so impressed with STV’s relationship with the local staff and volunteers. As an older activist with decades of organizing experience, it was an unusual experience to be welcomed into such an intergenerational space where everyone felt important. After that weekend I found my political home for electoral work and have been volunteering with Seed the Vote ever since. 

My Journey with Deep Canvassing 

In 2024 I returned to Seed the Vote and volunteered for a month in Macomb County, Michigan, where we implemented a deep canvassing project with Michigan United Action geared toward longer conversations at the doors with undecided or uncommitted voters in a deep purple district. Engaging people at the doors with personal story exchanges, deep listening, and curiosity, I encountered hundreds of working-class voters across race and political affiliation who expressed their deep dissatisfaction and mistrust with our current political system. They also shared personal stories about the ways they were struggling with the cost of groceries, rent, and healthcare. 

In slow motion we watched in real time a county moving toward Trump. This was a wake-up call for the over 100 STV volunteers, many from the Bay Area. Macomb County prepared us for the disastrous result of the 2024 election. Our deep canvassing work not only transformed our conversations at the door but transformed our perspective on voters as well. We were humbled by that experience. 

Having worked for years at the Insight Garden Program in 10 California state prisons, I understand the nature of change and the potential for people to shed old beliefs and paradigms. I intuitively knew that Seed the Vote had stepped into an important pivot in their work. If we were to bring undecided voters over to more progressive candidates, we had to first establish trust at the door and really listen to what people were feeling and thinking, even when it seemed contradictory. Without this we would continue to practice old habits of lecturing, patronizing voters, and treating them as voter files rather than people with complex and important lives. 

Why Bakersfield 

In October 2024 and February 2026 I returned to Bakersfield with a team to test out our deep canvassing pilot project with the Dolores Huerta Action Fund and the Working Families Party. I was excited to work with a group in my home state and quickly learned the importance of CA-22. Led by Republican David Valadao, this district is home to the largest number of people on Medicaid in the United States — 67%. 

We were shocked to learn that many voters did not know their Republican congressman had voted for the Big Bad Bill. Through phone and door contact, we moved to phase one of our pilot: engaging voters in conversations about Valadao and hearing what they were experiencing in Bakersfield on a daily basis. This quickly became a witnessing exercise as people shared stories about ICE raids, fear of driving with darker-skinned family members who might be racially profiled, coming cuts to SNAP benefits, and of course the cost of groceries and rent. 

Why Spend a Month on a Primary? 

I’ll admit that the hundreds of conversations with voters in Bakersfield created a deep emotional investment in this district and in supporting a candidate who will really fight for them. Learning about Randy Villegas clinched it for me. With other Seed the Vote volunteers and staff, I returned every weekend in May to build trust at the doors, listen to people’s stories, and talk with them about this remarkable young candidate who takes no corporate donations, isn’t afraid to challenge the Democratic establishment, and supports Medicare for All. 

Coming back in May, I can see the progression of our efforts since October. When we go to the doors now people know who David Valadao is and they have heard of Randy Villegas through his ads on TV, YouTube and Social Media. They keep asking me, “ Isn’t he the guy who works in an Auto Body Shop”? Yes , “I reply and he is also a PHD who teaches at the local college, who supports medicare for all and takes no corporate money. He is the son of an immigrant family and he knows first hand what folks are going through.”

Motivating people to vote by listening to their stories:

Last week I met a woman named Rosie who greeted me with an insulin pump around her neck. I could see a deep purple hue around her ankles. While she seemed young, she did not look well. When I asked her how she was holding up in these times, she shared that she was 42, has type 1 diabetes and suffers from other health conditions that limit her ability to work. She shared that she had never voted before, opting out of a system that she felt would never help her. I shared that my nephew is on medicaid, gets disability benefits and is unable to work. His mom is retired and would be wiped out if he lost his benefits. We had common ground, and talked about what’s at stake in this election. 

Rosie is terrified that she could lose her benefits in 2027. Then what would she do? Having heard about Mexico passing healthcare for all, she asked me why we can’t do something like that here in the United States? She loved Randy’s position on healthcare for all, and the fact that he is a young, educated latino from the community made her feel excited to vote for him. After speaking together for a half hour, Rosie agreed to vote this year and promised to encourage her entire family. 

I also met an Uber Driver who is barely making it given the cost of gas (almost $7.00 a gallon). Recently, his healthcare premiums went up by  $180 a month. He and his wife have an 8-year-old son, so his wife has returned to work cleaning rooms in a local hotel. Of course, they keep her at minimum hours so she gets no benefits. He described feeling pushed to the edge financially and emotionally by this administration. By the end of the conversation, he was a strong Randy Villegas supporter, and was all in because of his support for healthcare. 

I stopped at an open garage for a voter on my list named Thomas–looking at him I could see he suffered from some sort of debilitating condition. When I asked how his family was holding up he shared that he has ALS and is also a student of history! We talked for quite a while about the state of things, his health issues  and this pervasive feeling that everything is crumbling around us. When I scolded him about Randy Villegas, he sheepishly said that he had just filled out his ballot and selected his Dem opponent BUT having talked through who Randy Villegas is, he would rip that ballot up and go and vote in person for Randy Villegas. He promised to also talk with his housemates to do the same.

Voters here shared that they hadn’t been reach out to this early ever before in previous election cycles, and they certainly didn’t experience the depth and breadth of the conversations our deep canvassing program led to. Seed the Vote provides a unique service for deep purple districts like this one, and we have an avalanche of data that prove how working class campaigns turnout working class voters. As a seasoned canvasser, working in primaries is new for me – but I keep coming back because of the movement we’re building here, and the power of an intergenerational, multiracial coalition. I’ll keep coming back.