Last weekend, 13 members of the UW’s Young Democrats (YD) traveled to Colorado to campaign for presidential candidate Barack Obama. Colorado was chosen because it is the closest swing state.

“They basically went to help win a blue state,” said Alex Lark, president of YD, who was not able to accompany the group.

After the YDs arrived in Colorado by plane early Friday morning, they were picked up by the Obama campaign and immediately set to work in Boulder, a predominantly Democratic city.

The goal was to encourage high voter turnout.

Some dispersed across the University of Colorado campus, managing polls and encouraging students to vote early.

“The Colorado students were all really impressed and excited we came,” said Tierney Cooke, a junior and student leader for the group. “There were lots of ‘You’re from Washington?’”

Other YD members phone banked at the Boulder headquarters. At the end of the day, they reconvened to create literature packets for precincts. At the headquarters, they met other out-of-state volunteers — some from Oregon, California and Texas.

On Saturday, the group canvassed, while others worked on visibility, passing out “Obama/Biden” stickers and hanging up posters.

After a group dinner, they returned to the Boulder headquarters for data entry. For every person talked to during phone banking or canvassing, there are forms to record things such as whether they’ve voted and if they’re supporting Obama. The group worked until late in the morning.

On Sunday, 10 members of the group canvassed in Littletown, a city south of Denver, while the remaining canvassed in Boulder.

For sophomore Quinn Majeski, campaigning in Littleton was one of the highlights of the trip.

“The political polarization of Littleton was a stark contrast to Seattle,” Majeski said.

During the weekend, there were some special opportunities. On Friday, the students met Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., nominee for the U.S. Senate in Colorado. On Saturday, Cooke was able to sit in on a live conference call with Obama, his campaign manager and others from headquarters nationwide. Getting off a plane in Springfield, Mo. for a rally, Obama discussed early voter turnout, the “final stretch” and keeping the work up, Cooke said.

“It was really, really cool to be a part of [it],” Cooke said.

After a long and busy weekend, students felt their work was productive and worthwhile.

“Our group accomplished an impressive amount, working an average of 14 hours a day,” Majeski said.

He was especially impressed by Colorado students, who were receptive, welcoming and dedicated — students waited in lines for two hours just to vote, he said.

Mara Hazeltine, UW YD communications director, felt confident because of the polls.

“But it’s definitely not time to sit on our rolls,” said Hazeltine, who wasn’t able to join the YDs in Colorado. “Polls don’t win elections; votes win elections. We really just need people to get out and vote.”

After experiencing and witnessing the Obama campaign’s work, the enthusiasm and dedication behind it, Cooke also felt confident about the presidential election.

“We’re going to win Tuesday,” he said.

Reach reporter Joy Yagi at news@dailyuw.com.