A DU Challenge

[Le Taz Hot]

If we are ever going to remove Bush* from the White House AND take back the Senate and Congress, we need to register Democrats AND make sure they get out to vote on election day. This thread relates only to the former.

I challenge every regular DUer to make a committment -- and soon -- to engage in a MASSIVE voter registration drive in your area. I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with the procedure but for those of you who are new to the process, allow me to offer some suggestions.

1. Get a group of people together who are committed to voter registration. It doesn't have to be a large group, 5-6 people are sufficient but more is always desirable. If you can't find enough people, call your local Democratic Party office. If you don't have one, call the Chair of your local Democratic Central Committee. If you don't have one of those call your state party office and ask them for names and contact information for Democratic activists in your area.

2. Set a day of the week or month in which your group will commit itself to this project and BE CONSISTENT. An alternate way to do that is to commit to registering X amount of Democrats per week or month.

3. Venues. Try these: local universities, local events (especially holiday events), large malls, strip malls, individual stores, anywhere where people congregate. Most local papers list a "calendar" section. Look for opportunities there as there are usually many. Is there an available venue close to your local Unemployment office? How about Social Services offices? There is generally no fee required but if there is, it's usually nominal ($50.00 or less). If you don't have the fee, raise it from your local Democrat organizations. ALWAYS make advanced arrangements and, if possible, get it in writing. It's probable you'll receive a lot of "no's" before you recieve a "yes" but all it takes is one. Ideally, if you have enough people and enough venues, you can table at more than one venue at the same time.

4. Voter registration materials can be obtained through your local Elections Office or your Democratic Party Office (if you have one).

5. When you register a voter, peruse the completed form and make sure all information has been completed before you sign and date the receipt.

5. Once voters are regestered, hand deliver them to the elections office ASAP as most have a time limit between the voter registration date and when they need to be into the elections office -- sometimes as few as 3 days. If you are unable to deliver the completed voter registrations yourself, mail them THAT day. Postage is always paid.

We need to put our time where our mouths/posts are. Instead of spending countless hours with the inane "my candidate is better than your candidate" threads/posts -- get out and DO something -- otherwise you're no better than the people who don't vote then bitch about how they were screwed over by the "gummit."

[liberalnurse]

1. I really like your enthusiasm!

I really good idea for the DU folks. It is going to take our entire community to evict *scrub. I'm with you all the way.


Keep this kicked daily.

[Le Taz Hot]

2. Thanks for the kick, liberalnurse

I know this didn't have the allure and romance of "your candidate is a booty head" threads but maybe a few of the DUers who have been complaining about the low level of discourse around here can make a contribution in both this thread and the effort itself.

[liberalnurse]

3. We tend to get self absorbed

in our candidates and have lost focus on the primary issue......Things today are not like yester-year. We are in deep shit! *scrub is a dictator, crook, and maybe the role-model for Justin in Carnivale.

We can't be complacent today...... It's a political Armageddon.

[opihimoimoi]

4. Hey, If we don do it, who will?

We have no choice, the grass roots needs some Miricle Grow.

[Le Taz Hot]

5. Absorbtion in candidates is fine

but people have to be registered as Democrats before they can vote for whatever Democratic candidate -- and we're all going to need each other in the end.

What better way to help out your candidate AND the Democrats than registering people to vote?

Oh, Clark supporters!
Dean supporters!
Kerry supporters!
Gebhart supporters!
Edwards supporters!
Mosely-Braun supporters!
Sharpton supporters!
Kucinich supporters!
Lieberman supporter!

It's time to put your time/effort where your mouth is!

Btw, LN, I'm not arguing with you here, just trying to keep this kicked up for a few minutes.

[beyurslf]

7. Before you go to any public place or event

think about the people who will be there. Are they likely to be Democratic leaning? Walmart may be a busy place, but it may be smack in the middle of Republican country too. It is great to register new people, but if you get 150 R's and only 25 D's you didn't really accomplish what you wanted to.

If you are going to a general public place (walmart, for example) find out the voting trends of the area of that store. An example: west Wichita (KS) votes about 70% R so we wouldn't want to go there.

If you go to a specific event, think about the target audience of that event and whether it is something likely to attract D's.

Finally, think about your city/county/state. In San Francisco you can be less selective because you have a better chance of getting D's no matter where you go. In Wichita, we have to be careful. Almost 50% of KS voters are R's while only about 28% are D's. We have to target and select venues carefully and even then I have seen the registered numbers almost spilt evenly with D's and R's.

A trick is to look at the card and give it back to the person if they register R. You are under no obligation to take it. Explain how they can send it in and let them go with the card. If they are D, take the card and tell them you get it in for them. If you take the card you are required by law to turn it in.

[Le Taz Hot]

9. Good point

I did allude to it with the Unemployment Office/Social Services offices but didn't elaborate and should have.

One caveat with this: There will be times when you think an area may not contain likely Democrats but I've been surprised on a few occasions. Our local university is filled with Hitler Youth, er, I mean Republicans, but we actually did very well. We only registered one Republican but we converted two former Republicans to Democrats.

A note on Wal Mart as well. Remember, Wal Mart shoppers are discount shoppers and you have to ask yourself why are they there? Are they laid off? Are they receiving government aid? Is there dollar being stretched too thin even though the news tells them we're in an economic recovery?

I understand what you're saying, but sometimes we only THINK we can't reach potential Democrats, when we actually can. Democrat registration in rural areas is a REALLY good example of this. Others venues are more obvious and are, indeed, a complete waste of time.

[Le Taz Hot]

6. One last

pathetic kick.

:kick:

[Killarney]

8. Great idea!

[grannylib]

10. You are so right about this; we cannot afford to 'let someone else do it'

We as individuals all need to be involved in some way!
Don't forget high schools. There are always a few seniors who are 18 in time to vote in November; get your kid or your neighbor kid involved; talk to the school about acceptable ways of spreading the word; if you need to get a couple of students mobilized to do that, great! Students can often get credit as well for participating in civic responsibilities.
My 16-year-old is already involved in this effort in her charter school, and she won't be able to vote until 2008...

[mrsadm]

11. Another source of information and help

Look up your local League of Women Voters chapter; they are very experienced in organizing voter registration drives - although they are non-partisan - but perhaps you could join forces with them.
Start here to look for your local chapter:
http://www.lwv.org/

[Le Taz Hot]

12. Excellent idea!

Particularly for those who have never done this before or those who live in rural areas. Actually, it's a great idea for anyone. Thanks for the suggesion.

[Zomby Woof]

13. Kick

I am big on pushing voter registration. Thanks for the encouragement and motivation!

[G_j]

14. kick!!

:kick: :kick: