Two votes per precinct.

It’s a statistic that has haunted state Republican and Democratic leaders alike. In the 2000 Presidential election, the state of Iowa voted for Al Gore by a margin of little more than 4,000 votes, or two votes per precinct.

Now both parties, along with many concerned organizations, are working at a fevered pace to mobilize Iowa voters.

Several organizations, including Americans Coming Together and MoveOn Political Action Committee, have been actively canvassing the state, seeking swing voters and trying to get them to either turn out on election day or vote via absentee ballot.

“The most important thing with this program is just to get people out to vote,” said John McCormally, Iowa Democratic Party Communications Director.

McCormally said that by having more than 100 canvassers, the statewide program has produced good results, with more than 60,000 people in Iowa already signed up to vote in absentia.

One strategy is to go into areas that have a lot of registered voters, and leave no door unknocked, he said.

The goal is to increase the likelihood that inactive voters will make their voice heard. With more than a quarter million homes canvassed, McCormally believes that likelihood has greatly increased.

Another approach is to go into areas with highly competitive races, such as Iowa House District 45 race in the Ames area, and target inactive voters.

“We’re just trying to do what we need to do to win the state,” he said.

Canvassing is facilitated by the advent of handheld computers, which teams use to coordinate their routes. McCormally said this has helped make canvassing a lot easier, but with so many groups working to mobilize voters, they do field some complaints.

Some people can’t distinguish between groups, he said, and sometimes feel the same group keeps knocking on their door.

During previous elections, the Iowa Republicans depended almost exclusively on selective mailings and Election Day calling, but this year, they have began a focused voter canvassing operation as well.

Iowa Republican Party executive director Gentry Collins said about 50 canvassers are working in Iowa right now. With a strategy of concentrated canvassing, Collins said, an army of volunteers wasn’t necessary.

“We look at areas of high concentration of people who are registered Republicans or registered no party and who answered survey questions favorably,” he said.

Similar to Democratic strategies, the Republicans use canvassing to reach unlikely voters and encourage them to vote in absentia, but they don’t rely on it, he said. Traditionally, an overwhelming portion of Iowa Republican voters show up on Election Day to cast their ballots, which is reflected in 2000 election statistics.

Before the absentee ballots were counted in 2000, President Bush was winning the state by more than 7,000 votes. Collins said he believes the canvassing operation, in conjunction with prior strength at the polls, will help the Republicans win the state.

With an eye for both the local and national scope on politics, other groups have moved into Iowa to set up canvassing operations.

MoveOn PAC, the advocacy arm of the controversial Internet community best known for its “Bush in 30 Seconds” advertising campaign, began preparations to launch a nationwide canvassing campaign aimed at 10,000 key precincts to help swing the vote and defeat Bush.

Raiyan Syed, the Iowa field organizer for MoveOn PAC, said the program, which has been dubbed “Leave No Voter Behind,” has shown some promising results.

In his eyes, Iowa is one of the most important battleground states, since elections have been so close in the past.

“Besides two votes per precinct, we know the electorate is very divided,” he said. “Ultimately, it will be person to person that will decide the election.”

The organization is looking to spend more than $5 million on the effort over the course of the election to mobilize voters, he said.

Another group looking to motivate voters this fall is America Coming Together, a grassroots organization dedicated to promoting progressive candidates across the country.

Cara Harris, the ISU ACT coordinator, said one of the group’s goals this year is to motivate voters in hopes of advancing a progressive platform for the country.

With more than 1,000 employees and volunteers state-wide, ACT has been one of the most prominent organizations thus far, but have had some limitations as well. The group is classified as a 527 group, which means it can take in as many soft-money donations as it can, but has to report its expenditures to the Internal Revenue Service. The group is listed as one of the top three 527s right now, with a total income of $26.9 million. This status also prohibits them from working with any organized political party.

Harris said ACT hasn’t had to deal with many complaints concerning volunteers that have illegally coordinated with any political party.

“[The volunteers] have all been versed and understand what we cannot do,” she said. “We go out and try to do our jobs.”

However, independent groups such as ACT and MoveOn are able to coordinate campaigns, as was shown recently when the two groups joined forces to launch the “Vote for Change” musical tour, which will be making a stop in Ames later this fall.