I'm a native Gettysburgian (PA), and am back home from Chicago for the next few weeks, helping out with the Adams County for Obama group. Our highest priority right now is getting people who want to vote for Obama registered as democrats. Right now, there are voter registration drives going on at Gettysburg College, at the local campus of the Harrisburg Area Community College, by phone (we have a list of registered indys), by personal appeals, and by canvassing. Tonight we are having our first meeting with a paid Obama staffer -- hopefully, he will help get us even better organized than we already are.
I wanted to use this diary as a sort-of clearinghouse on PA registration issues. Hopefully, you will find it useful in some way. If you do, consider rec-ing it up so that the larger community can make an impact today on the PA primary.
First, if you do not live in PA, you should call anyone you know in PA (including your kids, if they go to college in PA), see if they might want to support Obama, and then make sure they are registered as a democrat. If they aren't yet registered democratic, they need to do so by MARCH 24TH, at the latest. Probably the easiest way to register is through pa.barackobama.com. Voter registration forms can also be found at your local DMV, or wherever the elections office is in your county. Ours is in our courthouse.
After you have called all of your acquaintances, you can make phone calls into PA through the Obama website, here.
If you live in PA, we need all the help we can get over the next few weeks, registering new voters. To get linked in with volunteer efforts already underway, set up an account at my.barackobama.com, and look for groups in your area. Ours is called "Adams County for Obama." Right next door, there is a "York County for Obama" group. If a group in your area doesn't yet exist, start one yourself. Also, here are the locations of Obama's offices in PA. Finally, if you are having trouble finding volunteer opportunities, you can just call the Obama office in Philadelphia: 215-564-2010.
If you live in PA and are on Facebook, consider joining this newly formed group: "I'm voting for Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania Primary on April 22nd."
Finally, if you live in PA and have a little extra time, consider putting up some fliers in your community. Today I made an "I WANT YOU" flier that you all should feel free to use.
You can also find "PA for Obama" posters here.
Ok. Let's get out there and move PA towards Obama. Regardless of whether he wins here in April, getting new voters registered will help our chances in the fall, and beyond. PA has a lot of republican representatives: by registering new voters, we can start making it much harder for them to get re-elected in the future.
Let's turn PA into a boutique state!
Update: If you are in the southestern part of the state, you should go out and see Michelle Obama tomorrow in Ablington and Villanova! Info about her events can be found on the Obama website. Thanks to Mother of Zeus for the heads up.