I see that an independent panel is going to release a
report today that calls for electoral reform to increase the integrity of the voting system. If Jimmy Carter thinks photo I.D.'s for voters are a good idea, I will try to keep an open mind about them. I am a great believer in same-day registration, however, so I hope this option will also spread across the nation as the "streamlining" measures proposed by the panel are implemented. Here's a story that explains my position.
This was originally an e-mail to a friend who had coordinated rides to the polls for the Kerry campaign in a town in New Hampshire during the GOTV effort. I believe that N.H. is one of two states that allows same-day registration for new voters.
Hi Charlie -
I wanted to send a note to say how proud I am of the work you did for Kerry in N.H. I wonder how long it will be before you and I will be saying, "Well, they can't blame us! We did our part to get that jerk out of the White House!"
.
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At about 6:30, someone came up to me with a slip of paper for a voter needing a ride to the polls. They asked me if I wanted the job, and I said yes, even though I always avoided those tasks on past campaigns. I headed off to find K. J.
K turned out to be about 23, African American, the single mother of a pre-school boy, and she lives about two blocks away from the polling place. It took us awhile to find the polling place because my ward captain at the headquarters had given me faulty directions, but I realized even before we located the school gymnasium that served Ward 3 that K didn't need a ride. What she wanted was a Kerry-supporting mentor who would be with her as she registered and voted for the first time in her life.
When she got in the car, she nervously told me all the forms of i.d. and proof of address that she had with her, and asked if I thought they would give her a hard time. When we got to the polling place, she said she wouldn't go in unless I could be in the room with her. I told her I wouldn't move from the door until they let her vote. As she filled out the paperwork, I think she got more and more relaxed. I gave her nods and smiles and "thumbs up" signs, as she periodically looked my way. I took a seat on a bank of folding chairs that already included two young lawyers there to observe that procedures were followed fairly (they wore buttons proclaiming their role).
For the 20 or 30 minutes that we were there, K was the only person of color in that bustling room (other than one of the young lawyers, who appeared to be of South Asian heritage). I wonder what it would feel like to come from a family without a tradition of voting, to be in a strange town (she said she lived in N.Y. during the last presidential election), and to worry that someone might intimidate you at the polls because of your skin color or your youthfulness. No wonder she called for a ride. I was so proud I could be helpful to her!
After she cast her ballot, she had all kinds of questions for me - she wanted to know if it would be o.k. that she had darkened the oval to cast her ballot for the straight Democratic ticket, but had also marked next to John Kerry's name. I told her that the ballots are always checked for the voter's intent, and that her intent would be quite clear based on what she was describing to me.
She wondered whether it was a problem that she had left the school board ballot blank - she said she hadn't been following the issues and didn't feel qualified to make a choice in that race, although maybe she would as her son reached school age. I told her that a lot of people vote only in presidential elections, but encouraged her to be more active in upcoming elections.
She wanted to know how she would know when the next election is, and how it would be different from this time - would she go to the same place to check in?
She was so energized by what she had just done, and so was I. It was so cool to see the democratic process through the eyes of someone new, who was passionate about supporting John Kerry but had to screw up every ounce of her courage to make herself get to the polls before they closed. I made a point of telling her that it was an honor for me to be part of the birth of a new voter, and that it had made my day to be her chauffeur to the polls that evening. (It also convinced me of the enormous value of allowing same-day registration to encourage people to participate.)
Earlier in the day, on one of my trips to your office on Eagle Street, I had picked up a couple of stickers that I thought I might give to my nieces. They had the outline of a pumpkin, and said, "Someone who loves me VOTES!" I realized that these would probably have more meaning for K and her son than they ever would to my nieces. I was glad to have something to give to her as a souvenir of her first vote.
I wanted to share that with you, since you didn't get to meet the people for whom you were arranging rides that day. You done good, Charlie.