This neighborhood is equal parts tough and gentle. Gang-looking young men, sipping jumbos on the grass under a shade tree, give strangers the bad eye. But almost every front porch carries well-worn chairs and a table for the sweetened tea. People here know each other and look out for their neighbors. A nosy reporter knocking on doors of elderly people is likely to rouse the neighbors.
Patterns emerge after a while.
Caraway's ballot collection agents didn't go after the Hispanics. They didn't try very hard with the elderly black people who are still sharp. But almost every elderly black voter I visited who showed any sign of fuzziness or confusion had a story to tell about giving up a ballot. There were other teams of vote collectors as well. The law is very loose on what campaigns can do with absentee ballots.