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Posts Tagged ‘Election Day’
Rock the Vote says candidates must do more
November 3rd, 2010
When you reach out to young people, they respond. Candidates must realize this and directly address the issues of the generation that will shape this country’s future.
That’s the message Rock the Vote delivered in its post-Election Day press release, which noted how candidates failed to build upon the enthusiasm from recent elections and reach out to young people.
“With high unemployment and rising personal – and national – debt, young Americans face real challenges and what they saw from candidates and outside interest groups was largely disconnected and irrelevant to their lives and concerns,” said Rock the Vote President Heather Smith. “It wasn’t just that campaigns didn’t pay enough attention to the generation that will shape our country’s future; what they did actively turned off people looking for solutions. The partisan bickering and negative ads targeted to older, angrier voters simply does not motivate youth participation.”
Rock the Vote found that in those precincts where they targeted young voters and engaged them in the political process, it made a significant difference. The organization had hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers making phone calls and knocking on doors right up until Election Day. Rock the Vote plans to continue its efforts to get campaigns to pay attention to young people through a combination of the best digital tools and field work.
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VOTE TODAY!
November 2nd, 2010
Election Day is finally here! If you have any questions on where to vote, how late polling locations are open, or what to bring, visit Rock the Vote’s Electionland or e-mail contact@voteagain2010.com. We’re here to help however we can!
Make your voice heard today. Get out to the polls now and vote again in 2010!
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Plan Ahead So Voters Aren’t Left Behind
October 29th, 2010
by Ruth Greenwood, Fair Elections Legal Network
Organizers can help voters ensure their ballots are counted by being aware of some simple State-by-State GOTV Tips that we at the Fair Elections Legal Network (FELN) have published for 12 states. For campus organizers we have 2 page tips for CO, FL, MO, NC, OH and PA. For organizations doing non-campus GOTV there are one page tips for 12 states.
These guides have information about:
- When and where early voting is occurring;
- Who is allowed to send in an absentee ballot;
- What time the polls are open on Election Day;
- What ID voters will need to present to poll workers; and
- What to do if voters have moved before Election Day
With some basic GOTV, early voting, and Election Day planning, organizers can help ensure that ballots cast are ballots counted!
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Young voters: A bigger threat than bears
October 27th, 2010
According to Comedy Central host Stephen Colbert, bears are one of the greatest threats to America.
A new video from Campus Progress, however, shows there’s an even bigger threat to Colbert Nation this election season: young voters.
This coming Saturday, October 30th from 12 – 3 p.m. EDT, more than 150,000 people are expected to descend on Washington DC’s National Mall for Colbert and Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear. Thousands in the crowd will be young people, including the bear in the video, showing that they are engaged and paying attention to the political process. As the bear says of young people, “Politicians ignore us at their own peril,” and the massive crowd will not be one politicians can ignore.
A Campus Progress blog post on the video further explains: “Bears may have the power to ransack your house and eat you, but they don’t have the power to vote for the leaders of the free world on Election Day.”
While the rally is sure to be one of the top stories of Halloween weekend, it’s getting to the polls that will truly make politicians attention. Join your generation in sending a message this Election Day. Be the threat and vote on November 2nd.
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A Panel Discussion with The League of Women Voters
October 26th, 2010
This Thursday, October 28 at 4 p.m., The League of Women Voters will be hosting a special panel discussion on young people and civic engagement in the Jack Morton Auditorium at George Washington University.
The discussion, called Beyond Election Day: Young People Getting Involved in Democracy, will be a chance to hear from a diverse panel of those who are plugged in to what’s happening on the ground with young voters before Election Day. Panelists include:
Elisabeth MacNamara, National President of The League of Women Voters
Monifa Bandele, Senior Programs and Outreach Manager, The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
Mark Hugo Lopez, Associate Director, Pew Hispanic Center
Matthew Segal, Executive Director, Student Association for Voter Empowerment
To RSVP for the event, click here, or e-mail ccota@lwv.org. The discussion will run from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and will be followed by a reception.
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November2nd.org engages young voters
October 19th, 2010
November2nd.org offers young people a destination to register to vote, pledge to vote, and hear what their peers are thinking before the important Election Day date. The site, powered by the League of Young Voters, features videos of young voters discussing their views on voting, and stories from young people working to engage their peers.
For example, in a recent post for the site, 18 year-old field organizer named Nicolette Ratcliffe describes both the challenges and the rewarding nature of her work. In her piece “Why I Organize,” Nicolette says, ” In the end it’s all worth it knowing you are in your community working to make a difference. You can change the world by changing your community, and changing you community starts with you! So please pledge to vote and get involved, trust me – it is so worth it.”
In addition to pledging to vote and receiving a reminder via e-mail, you can also sign up for a free postcard reminder that will include your polling location.
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Make Way for Early Voting
October 13th, 2010
By Sheri Carey, Campus Progress
November 2nd is the day that many will vote for federal, state, and local offices. However, for some, that ballot has already been cast. Early voting, in which a voter may cast a ballot at an elections office before Election Day, is underway across the United States. According to the National Association of Secretaries of State, 33 states plus the District of Columbia offer early voting in person, while others allow voters to file absentee ballots early.
Reports say that in this year’s primary elections nearly 6 million voters cast their ballots early, 50% more than in the 2006 primary. Early voting is helpful to students like me, the military, and others who will be traveling on Election Day because it allows us to still be able to cast our vote. One of the benefits of early voting is that this option makes it easier for people to vote by allowing them more time to complete ballots or go to the polls. Negative aspects to early voting deal mainly with mail-in ballots, such as fraud or ballots getting lost in the mail.
Early voting trends are also shifting the focus of political campaigns, forcing campaigns and advocacy groups to target voters earlier, although, not all states allow people to vote early. This could be seen as unfair because it could give other states a better opportunity to turn out more voters. However, there are some that question why governments have even implemented early voting strategies, saying that early voting has no effect on voter turnout. They wonder whether the additional costs to government are worth the negligible increase in participation. This could be why not all states participate in early voting.
Nonetheless, it seems that the 2010 early voting total will set a record in some states such as Iowa and Texas. I am thankful for early voting because without it I would not have to opportunity to cast my vote. So whether you are voting early or voting on November 2nd, just make sure you vote again in 2010!
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It’s not too late! Register to vote now!
October 4th, 2010
By Brian J. Siebel, Legal Director, Fair Elections Legal Network
Today is Monday October 4, 2010. That day is important because it is the deadline in a host of states for first-time voters to register for the November 2nd election. If you are an eligible voter living in one of these states and have not registered to vote, you need to fill out the federal voter registration form or your state’s form, and deliver it by hand to election officials on MONDAY!
However, the good news is that Monday is NOT the deadline for many voters.
In some states, you only need to have your voter registration form postmarked by the deadline, rather than having it delivered to election officials. So, if you can’t get to an election office by the end of the day, at least get to a post office that will date stamp your registration application with the day’s date.
In more states, the voter registration deadline is not 30 days before Election Day, but 29, 28, 25, 24, 22, 21, 20, 15, 14, or 10 days before the election, or the fourth Tuesday, fourth Saturday, fifth Monday, fourth Wednesday, or second Friday before Election Day. In a few states, you can register and vote on the same day during early voting prior to Election Day, and in several more states, you can even register to vote on Election Day itself.
Sound confusing? Of course it is. Confusion is an unfortunate byproduct of having 50 states set their own election laws, overlain by an undeveloped set of federal election laws. But, on the bright side, some of these rules provide an opportunity after today for people to register and vote.
Another confusing factor is that these voter registration deadlines typically apply only if you have never been registered to vote in the state where you currently live and intend to vote. If you have been registered in the state, but have moved, a different set of rules apply.
Anyone who has moved to a location covered by the same precinct where they were registered to vote before can update their registration up through Election Day and vote. The same protections apply in most states for voters who have moved within the same county. And many states even protect voters who have moved to a different county within the state – allowing them to update their registrations up through Election Day.
However, some states do not protect these intra-county or inter-county movers, and treat them like first-time voters who need to re-register by the general voter registration deadline. If you have moved, you need to check your state rules and update your registration in time so that you can vote. The Brennan Center has a detailed guide for movers with state-specific information. You will also need to make sure you know where to vote, as it varies from state-to-state whether you need to go to your old precinct or your new one when updating your registration and voting.
Another point of confusion is that not all types of voters are treated alike. If you are a college student, you can register to vote either where you have come from, or where you are going to college. So, if you were registered to vote at home, and miss the deadline to register where you are going to school, you can at least vote absentee where you came from. If you registered to vote at school in 2008, as millions did, and still live in the same state, then you will need to check your state’s rules for movers and update your registration to vote this November.
Homeowners who have been forced from their foreclosed homes can also remain registered to vote at their old address until they establish a new permanent residence in a number of states, including California. That’s a very helpful rule, since there have been nearly a million home foreclosures in California in the last 18 months. The Fair Elections Legal Network has produced state-specific guides to help foreclosed homeowners navigate voter registration rules in high-foreclosure states.
Military and overseas voters also have their own set of rules.
Some states provide a grace period to people who have moved just prior to the election, allowing them to remain registered and vote where they used to live. If you plan to move in October within the state or to a new state, please check the appropriate state rules to see what you need to do to vote. If you need to vote where you used to live, it may be easier to vote an absentee ballot than traveling back to your old precinct.
At the end of the day, the best advice we can offer is to make sure you are registered to vote, and then to follow through and vote. You can register to vote through Rock the Vote’s website wherever you live, and their Electionland website helps answer questions. FELN’s resources page also has links to all the state election websites. If you can vote early, which you can in many states, we encourage you to, because it helps identify problems before Election Day that can often be corrected.
Please get out there, register, and vote!
Glenn Beck says Colbert rally will “activate youth”
September 24th, 2010
Earlier this week, Glenn Beck raised some flags over the highly anticipated dueling rallies from Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert and John Stewart. Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity” and Colbert’s “March to Keep Fear Alive” have been in the headlines since their competing announcements last week. This week on his radio show, Beck said the Comedy Central stars are holding the rallies to “activate the youth vote” and “get the youth to go out and vote.” It’s easy to see why one of Colbert’s favorite targets would say so. The rallies are taking place on Saturday, October 30th, just around the corner from Election Day on Tuesday, November 2nd, and have already garnered over 200,000 likely guests between the rallies’ various Facebook event pages. Colbert’s main concern, however, is who told Beck about his sinister “youth activation” plan?
See his response to Beck on the Colbert Report below (from about 1:18 to 3:15 of the clip). Then make sure you’re ready and registered to vote so that you can get ready to get “activated”. You can register right now by clicking the “Register to Vote” button on this page and see a complete list of voter registration deadlines here.
| The Colbert Report | Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| In Poor Taste – Mark Shriver | ||||
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