Wednesday, October 13, 2004
GOTV: What Can Be Done? Well...
Claudine Zap - workingforchange.com
10.12.04 - A lawyer in New York City who just moved to a new house sleeps on an air mattress. Instead of shopping for beds, she spends her weekends being bussed into Pennsylvania to go door to door asking residents to vote for John Kerry for president. Even when she has the door slammed in her face, she’s not disheartened. She keeps going back.
A principle of a San Francisco architecture firm gets in her car every weekend and makes the long drive to the California-Nevada border, where, instead of relaxing at her vacation home on Lake Tahoe, she’s been heading to trailer parks in Reno to register voters.
This is what people are doing with a presidential election less than a month away who live in San Francisco or New York City, far from the battleground states. With voter registration deadlines fast approaching, what more can be done?
…What does this mean? If you're not a lawyer, you're a phone call away from one. You stand or sit 50 feet from the polling station and watch for voter intimidation, hand out information on voters' rights, call attention to disenfranchised voters and generally add a grace note of oversight for a 12-hour long day where a handful of votes could make a difference in places like New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona.
Did you know that if you're standing in line when the polls close that you are still allowed to vote? Neither do many voters who could be turned away. That's what the poll monitors are for. The national number to call if you experience any problems at the polls on Election Day is toll free: 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
…Getting out the vote and registering voters is no longer enough. As we saw in the election fiasco of 2000, a few uncounted votes or a few thousand voters turned away can be the difference between a national victory or not. This time, we'll be ready.
To find out more about volunteering on Election Day, go to ElectionProtectionVolunteer.org.
