Registering Voters is Thrilling!

[goclark]

I strongly urge everyone to volunteer, if only for an few hours, to register voters for the election of our life time.

Here are just some of my memories from today...

Two brand new voters who will be 18 in October.

Two Republicans,white males, who came to the table to change their party to Democrat. One said,"Even though I can vote for Kerry in this election ,as a Republican, I want to vote as a DEMOCRAT!"

We registered about six people who didn't know that they needed to re register because they changed their address.

We registered 59 people in about 6 hours! Many were heard to say,
" We have got to get that idiot out of office, I am voting because I like Kerry, I have never bothered to vote before but I will this time etc." " They wanted lots of stickers and yard signs. They are invigorated!

Talked to one young African American, not on parole yet. He said that he wished that he could vote but it will be another 3-4 years before he is paroled. Offered words of encouragement and asked him if he had friends that were off parole. He said," Yes but their needle is stuck on stupid." I had never heard that expression but I told him, with sincerity," I can tell that your needle is not stuck on anything but success." He gave me a hug and said,"Thanks for believing in me!"

When November 2nd gets here, I will always remember the people I was privileged to meet, the dedicated Democrats who have devoted hundreds of hours to Get Out The Vote and the golden opportunity to make a difference in the lives of my fellow Americans.

God Bless JK and JE
and
God Bless America:dem:

[NMDemDist2]

1. i registered an 80 year old man today who just moved from IL

he was so grateful he "met the eligibility requirements" to vote against Bush :bounce:

he thought he had to live here a year before he could register, I set him straight FAST! LOL

[goclark]

2. Thank goodness you were there for him at that moment

It was just meant to be!

[NMDemDist2]

9. truly it was "kismet" he just happened to walk outside as I was looking

for an address on his street and asked him for directions... He says "I just moved here, but glad to see the Kerry people here."

I said "Do you need to register?" and the rest is history LOL

[faithnotgreed]

13. you have the best stories - they help each one of us too!

thank you

[NMDemDist2]

16. my pleasure I assure you

:bounce:

[goclark]

15. Kismet is the perfect word for it

I can't count the times each day that I register when I think...
" Wow! I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and so did the new voter!"

Kismet stories are wonderful:dem:

[DarienComp]

3. Nice

I've been having a simliar experience doing phone-banking. Gonna try to do some canvassing in PA next week.

Just out of curiosity, what state are you in?

[goclark]

8. California nt

[Sparkly]

4. How can people get started?

Are you doing it through the Kerry campaign, or ACT, some other GOTV group, local board...?

[cally]

6. Find the local Democratic Party or call the state party

In California, you can just pick up registration forms. Get a clipboard and make a sign saying "Register To Vote" for the back of the clipboard. Walk around where crowds gather and register voters.

[NMDemDist2]

7. any of those work, but I am staying focused with the Kerry campaign

myself.

call your local Dem office and they will give you volunteer opportunities to man registration tables

[goclark]

11. We contacted our local Democratic Party Office

And we also attended a fantastic class given by the Democratic Party.
We learned the rules for registering, the way to talk to potential voters and they encouraged us to study the issues.

It is important to do all of the above.

One more thing that has worked for us. Try to get two or three others to work with you. If you can vary those people in race ,gender and age it attracts people to you.

Everyone loves to see a young face that cares enough to Get Out The Vote. Seniors and others love seeing my Mom, 85 years, with a button that lights up and says," Kick Bush Out The Door In 04!"

One thing that is a big plus for Democrats is that we truly "look like America." I have registered at a table with our rainbow of ages, genders and colors.

On the other side of the courtyard will be a table of mean looking old republicans - no zip, no zing! Democrats have style and heart,we need to wear those traits with honor.

However you do it, just do it NOW. EVERY VOTE COUNTS!!:dem:

[cally]

5. LA is so important

Turnout in LA is often lower than the statewide average. We need to GOTV there. I enjoy registering voters also. Thanks for volunteering.

[murielm99]

10. I worked at our county headquarters today.

I handed out literature to TWO teachers whom I have personally converted to vote for Kerry. They have always voted repuke in the past.

I am tabling tomorrow at a town festival. I hope to register some voters there, too.

We will win this thing. Grass roots politics rules!

[goclark]

12. Grass roots at its core

Because we keep up with the latest issues that is all the more reason why DU posters need to be out with the people.

We are the politic junkies! We are passionate about this election so we need to get to the grass roots!

Let's roll out and make a difference...

:dem:

[donco6]

14. A teacher voting Republican is like . . .

. . . a gay man voting Republican. Can you imagine???

Oh, wait, there are those Log Cabin people. . .

[RevolutionStartsNow]

17. Yep, it makes you feel like a participant

It's a great great experience, I recommend it everyone!

I always think that I may be responsible for those people's votes, because maybe they wouldn't have gotten around to registering if I hadn't helped them.

It's also great just to connect with other like-minded people.

Deadlines for voter registration are coming up quick, everyone should commit to doing this for at least one shift if they can! Call your local Dem HQ, they will set you up, it's so easy. Don't forget to sign the form and give people their receipt!

[nicktom]

18. I am out here in north Orange County

I have only seen only a few Kerry signs/bumper stickers etc. but zero Bush signs/bumper stickers. I'm in Anaheim, traditionally pretty republican, it would be great to feel a Kerry presence here.

I am pretty sure this state will go for JFK. If he has a campaign headquarters in my area I am not aware of it.

Perhaps CA is already off of the table this election, but in my judgment there are a lot of people that probably will not even vote. They pay no attention and have no idea of the trouble they and their children are in for if * gets another term. It's scary.

[goclark]

19. I have met some Orange County Voluteers

at Kerry Meet Ups.

They were really involved in grass roots efforts and having lots of success.

Do a search for the California Democratic Party office in Los Angeles. They can put you in touch with people in your area.

Good luck! It would be fabulous if we can get more Democrats in OC!

[Piperay]

20. They showed this 100 year old woman

on the news who had never voted and damned if she wasn't registering repig and going to vote for chimp ... made me want to :puke: :puke: :puke: The woman said she had never voted before cause her whole family was Democrats and she didn't have the guts to vote differently. Now that she is the only one left she can go ahead and go repig, she doesn't seem very bright...obviously. :silly:

[annabanana]

21. I saw that too..

They propped that poor old lady up, stuck a b/c poster next to her, put words in her mouth and patted each other on the back

disGUSTing

[goclark]

22. They wanted to get the Senior Women's Votes

What we are seeing when we register voters is not on the TV.
But I am invigorated by the SPIRIT of the REAL people - the Democrats.

Kerry/Edwards '04

[wildeyed]

23. It is wonderful to be on the front lines of democracy.

Here is another registration story.

A young woman, maybe 22 walked past my table with her grandmother. She says, "Grandma, you need to vote this year, we need to get you registered." Grandma says, "No, I don't mess with that voting stuff." At this point the security guard steps in front of the door, would not meet the woman's eyes, but would not let her enter, either. She sighs and registers. Granddaughter assured me she would make sure her grandmother voted this year, too, that we need a change.

[GRLMGC]

24. I volunteered today

I was registering voters at a gay pride festival. It was pretty interesting to see the reactions of people. Some people can't be bothered to vote which is way disappointing. Others weren't so excited w/ Kerry which was equally disappointing. However others were happy to register and that was pretty cool. This one lady came up to us and said she was a Republican because she wasn't a socialist or some crap like that but that she hated Bush. She said she probably wasn't going to vote so I was happy with that. Later, she felt the need to explain her position to one of the other volunteers. She said she was hurt because she was gay the Bush administration didn't see her as human. That kinda made me sad. There was this other fool with his wife and kid. i asked him if he was registered to vote and he said something like "I'm a Republican, its good". Whatever. So later he passed by again and I heard him saying to his wife "The Democrats have a booth, why don't the Republicans". Wow, what a dumbfuck! Oh yeah, because the Repugs are sooooo gay friendly! There were some other dumbasses but they weren't really that interesting. Other than that, it was pretty fun.

[goclark]

25. Fantastic! We are on a roll

I registered again today. We have registered 110 this weekend!

I am glad to know that the Repubs didn't have a booth there. Those
at the Festival should know that we really care about their issues!

Keep up the great work!

[Demi_Babe]

26. Thank for sharing