Nick Merino isn’t old enough to vote, but his efforts in this year’s election may have more of an impact than any single ballot he could cast.

The 11-year-old Bellevue resident, a student at Sacred Heart Parish School, is working the phones on behalf of Democratic candidates Christine Gregoire and Darcy Burner.

“I know more people at the campaign offices than my dad,” he said.

That’s saying a lot considering how active Nick’s father, Don Merino, has been with the Democratic camp. He’s a precinct committee officer for the party.

Nick has been a constant tag-along with his dad, who canvassed local neighborhoods, worked phone banks, and caucused for presidential hopeful Barack Obama this year.

The young Democrat has refused to remain a spectator. He eventually started begging his parents to let him work the phone banks.

Nick has now surveyed more than 60 potential voters, offering each of them a yard sign to promote their candidates of choice – assuming they’re from his favorite party.

His success rate is similar to what you’d expect with a door-to-door missionary.

“You get a lot of refusals,” he said. “What you find is that a lot of people don’t want to talk about it.”

Another roadblock is Nick’s age, which tends to raise questions from those on the receiving end of his calls.

“I prefer not to tell them how old I am,” he said. “I usually say I’m 22, and if they say I don’t sound 22, I tell them it’s the phone.”

No one said politics is an honest business.

Nick has made a hobby out of collecting signatures from politicians at an age when most boys prefer autographed footballs. He also watches all the political talk shows and memorizes presidential trivia for fun.

The Merino family has a penchant for campaign involvement that leads back to Nick’s grandfather, who took the youngster to a Democratic fundraiser in Cape Cod last summer.

Nick met with former presidential candidate Michael Dukakis and his wife at the event.

“I really enjoyed going,” he said. “I thought it was one of the greatest things in the world.”

Nick has been just as active with mock elections as he is with the real deal. He’s responsible for getting classmates to register for a simulated vote at his middle school this month.

All this passion for politics makes you wonder what he’ll be doing doing when the election season is over.

“I’m afraid he’ll get depressed after November 4th,” said Nick’s mother, Kim Merino. “We’ll have to get him a puppy or something.”

Nick may have appeared at your doorstep on Halloween dressed as Joe the Plumber. He was there for candy that time instead of canvassing.