With a warm, inviting smile beaming from beneath her ribbon-strewn straw hat, Gail Oesterling has manned the one-stop early voting site at the Main Library in Newton every day since voting began on April 17.  She offers each person a friendly hello and asks if they would like information about the Democratic candidates on the party’s primary ballot.

Oesterling has been involved with the Democratic Party since she cast her first ballot for John F. Kennedy at the age of 21. She still has her JFK button at home along with a hankerchief that reads, “It stops with Truman.”

There are hundreds more volunteers, many with the same dedication and drive as Oesterling, all working to support their party’s slate of primary candidates.

“I just firmly believe you need to give back to the community,” she said. “You have a sense of satisfaction doing something rather than sitting home and watching TV.”

She’s also teaching her three grandchildren, Eric, Samuel and Isaac, by example.

“When you show them you do it, it’s better than just talking about it,” she said.

The candidates and political parties rely on volunteers like Oesterling to be the driving force behind the campaigns.

“Politics are build on volunteers and campaigning is built on volunteers,” First Vice Chair of the Catawba County Democrats Jane Johnson said. “They bring the excitement, the energy and expertise.”

She said personality is important for good volunteers.  Johnson said they have to be personable with good people skills that are able to express ideas in non-confrontational ways.

For Oesterling, it’s a simply hello that breaks the ice before asking if they want information about the Democratic candidates.

Both parties are doing more than supporting individual candidates though.  Catawba County Democrats are working on distributing information about all the local democratic candidates and distributing sample Democratic ballots. Canupp said his party is putting up signs for judges who lean on the conservative side and encouraging all the Republicans to make sure they vote.

Johnson and Canupp each said their parties had a couple hundred volunteers working for their party through one of the campaigns.  

With campaign offices for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the democrats have the chance to work with a presidential campaign.

“This is the only opportunity to look at the presidential election locally,” Johnson said.  “We’ve never had that before.”

The Democrats have members working for every one of its party’s candidates from the presidential candidates to Steve Ivester and Daniel Johnson who are running for the 10th District seat on the U.S. House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, Republican volunteers are helping support candidates like Sen. Austin Allran, who is running for another term in the N.C. Senate in District 42 and his challenger, Catawba County Board of Commissioners Chair Kitty Barnes.  

The volunteers post political signs along the road, hand out flyers and talk with people on the streets about the candidates they support.

Johnson pointed out that the candidates themselves are volunteers as well, both in running for office and once they get elected.

Commissioner Barbara Beatty volunteered some of her time Friday afternoon to talk with voters at the Newton Library. She is running for reelection against incumbent commissioner Dan Hunsucker, Jack Beach and Phillip Parlier in the primary.

Canupp said presidential election years are always good about bringing out lots of volunteers and party support.

“I expect a record year for volunteers and voter turnout for Republicans in Catawba County,” Canupp said.