Campaigns Spend Millions to Influence Voters. This Works Better | Katie Paris | TED

Politics has an “ick” problem, with Americans overwhelmingly describing it negatively, yet the speaker argues the answer is not disengagement but making politics something people want to join. Drawing on her DC experience, she explains that message testing and perfect wording only sometimes worked, while energized suburban women organized locally and drove major 2018 results. She then shifted from DC operative to connecting with local organizers, finding women like Tara who wanted action but lacked a path. Through back-deck gatherings and friend-to-friend outreach, these networks built trust, increased voter turnout by five to seven percentage points, and continued working together on local issues after elections. Ultimately, she urges people to find their people, gather locally, and act collectively, combining care for the world with care for themselves.

• ▶ 0:20 Politics has an “ick” problem: Americans overwhelmingly describe it negatively, with only 2% using a positive word in a Pew survey.
• ▶ 1:05 Coping through news detoxes risks disengagement, allowing things to be done to people rather than for them.
• ▶ 1:27 The speaker proposes making politics something people actually want to be part of and will share what she has learned.
• ▶ 1:54 Her DC work centered on think tanks and message testing, assuming the right answer and perfect words would win, but it only sometimes barely worked.
• ▶ 2:44 In 2018, energized suburban women organized and drove major results, including 43 House seats lost versus a typical 26, with 40 of those suburban.
• ▶ 3:18 She missed organizing happening in her own backyard because she was still focused on DC calls, even as she became part of the demographic parties target.
• ▶ 3:37 After the election, Katie Paris sits on her closet floor, feels out of alignment, and decides she can no longer be a DC operative while wanting to find the women she has been thinking about.
• ▶ 3:58 She challenges DC's "real people" language, saying insiders do not truly know or listen to them, and she wants genuine connection instead.
• ▶ 4:12 She reaches out to Ohio local organizers, meets suburban women organizing in their neighborhoods, and is struck that these energized groups have known each other only months.
• ▶ 5:01 Tara is introduced as a single mom distressed by national division who wants to take action but doesn't know how.
• ▶ 5:16 The speaker hosts a back-deck gathering where women share personal struggles and begin opening up emotionally.
• ▶ 5:56 Tara commits to engagement, saying, “If this is politics, I’m all in.”
• ▶ 6:16 Women across Ohio and the country were organizing locally with real networks and trust that Washington lacked.
• ▶ 7:17 The effort organizes through existing personal relationships, mapping contacts and taking responsibility for their votes.
• ▶ 8:14 Social gatherings and shared practice help members have hard conversations and build the nerve campaigns cannot manufacture.
• ▶ 8:42 Friend-to-friend outreach increased voter turnout among contacted people by five to seven percentage points, far more than costly campaigns.
• ▶ 9:14 The same women continue working together after elections on issues like ICE, AI data centers, and school board book/pride flag bans, across political sides.
• ▶ 10:28 The speaker urges listeners to find their people, gather locally, and act together, saying collective action can combine caring for the world with caring for themselves.

• ▶ 0:04 Politics Has an “Ick” Problem (0:04 - 1:38) - The speaker names politics' "ick" problem and argues digital detoxes aren't enough.
• ▶ 1:42 Unlearning the DC Insider Playbook (1:42 - 3:35) - She leaves DC insider assumptions behind as 2018 suburban women organize and win.
• ▶ 3:37 Closet-Floor Reckoning and Finding Real People (3:37 - 4:52) - After the election, she seeks real people and connects with local organizers.
• ▶ 5:01 Tara and the Back-Deck Gathering (5:01 - 6:07) - Tara's story shows how personal experiences spark political awakening.
• ▶ 6:11 From One Backyard to a National Network (6:11 - 8:22) - Friendship-based organizing scales from one backyard to a national network.
• ▶ 8:25 Evidence of Impact and Ongoing Community Work (8:25 - 10:56) - The approach shows measurable impact and continues beyond Election Day.