Tennesseans Answer Call For Campaign Volunteers — Sometimes By Phoning Voters In Other States

East Nashville’s Allyn Gibson is a full-time mom and sits on the board of a charter school. But once a week, she steps away from those responsibilities to take on another task — helping Hillary Clinton win in November.

That means opening her home for an evening of phone banking. They’re often calling North Carolina, where the race between Clinton and Donald Trump is considerably closer.

“I don’t want Election Day to come and me not have done all I can to help Hillary win,” she says. “It’s important that people in states that maybe we won’t get the results we want reach out to those that possibly could.”

Tennessee is not considered a battleground state this year, but it’s still getting a look from the presidential campaigns.

Tennesseans are being called on to help win over voters in other places.

The Clinton campaign has opened three field offices in Tennessee and says it’s signed up hundreds of volunteers.

A Hillary for America spokeswoman confirms they’re often calling people in battleground states. But she adds volunteers are also contacting Tennesseans to come help out — not just in this race, but in future elections. They hope these recruits will be a base for Democrats to build on, even if Clinton does go on to lose Tennessee.

Donald Trump is also recruiting volunteers, including Tennesseans. Like the Clinton campaign, its focus is on battleground states — specifically Florida, Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania. These states could swing the election.

But the Trump campaign has released few specifics. A top official in Tennessee did not respond to our questions regarding the Republican nominee’s volunteer effort here.