According to a recent LessWrong post, an effective altruism-focused researcher has shifted their view on US electoral politics after volunteering on a New York congressional campaign. They now argue electoral work may be among the highest-impact areas for AI safety. Here's the mechanism: roughly two percent of open-seat primary elections come down to one hundred votes or less. In-person canvassing—talking directly to voters—can persuade approximately one-third of a vote per hour when done well. The author details their experience on Alex Bores's NY-12 campaign, sharing examples where ten-minute conversations shifted voters' support from ten percent to sixty percent likelihood. For those in the effective altruism community skeptical of electoral politics' relevance, this represents a notable endorsement of ground-game volunteering as high-leverage work.

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