Don't Vote
According to Project Vote.
If households with less than $25,000 in annual income voted at the same rate as those with incomes above $100,000, there would be 7 million more voters on Election Day. Millions of low income and minority voters are being denied opportunities to register to vote by state agencies.
In most industrialized counties it is the government's responsibility to register voters and it is considered a civic responsibility to vote. In Australia you can be fined if you don't. Across the Nation community organizations are stepping up and registering low income, minority, immigrant and young people wherever they can find them.
Here in Washington State one powerful grass-roots community group called Washington Community Action was registering voters at Wal-Mart in Renton today and a local radio station interviewed them.
Below is a partial transcript of a segment that aired tonight nationwide on Free Speech Radio News KBCS.FM/91.3 thanks to Joshua Welter of Washington CAN www.washingtoncan.org - community organizer responsible for civic engagement and health care and a friend of mine.
Here in Washington State from Sept. 24-Oct. 1, the # of voters ages 18-24 made up 23% of the total increase in registered voters statewide! 10:13 AM October 02, 2008 f
One interesting thing is that it appears to include an interview with a woman named "Sara' who's kids go to the same school as Sara Palin's do and she is livid about the rape kit charges they used to have to pay.
Narration: "ARE YOU REGISTERED LADY? YOU ALL REGISTERED AT YOUR CURRENT ADDRESS? GOOD. GOOD. HAPPY VOTING." Elaine Agoot stands outside a Wal Mart in Renton,Washington, a suburb of Seattle, with a clipboard of voter registration forms and a mountain of enthusiasm. "YOU GOTTA SAY FUN LITTLE THINGS CAUSE IT GETS PEOPLE EXCITED. THEY'RE LIKE SMILING. THEY'RE REMEMBERING YOU AND THEY REGISTER TO VOTE." It's the week before the October 4th deadline for mail-in and online voter registration. Agoot and Meaghan Walsh, field organizers with Washington Community Action Network, a local nonprofit, are at Wal Mart to register low-income and minority citizens.
Meaghan Walsh: "WE'RE FIGHTING FOR HEALTH CARE REFORM. WE'RE FIGHTING FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM AND THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT THEY WANT TO SEE INTO THE POLLS." Washington Community Action Network, like other community organizations nationwide, has been targeting people traditionally under represented in the electorate. They may be making assumptions about the income level of those who shop at Wal Mart, but there's no denying the diverse population and high volume of people on this weekday afternoon. About two-thirds are African-American or immigrants. On average Agoot and Walsh register one in 15. Since early September their organization has registered about 5,000.
Scott Novakowski, Policy Analyst at Demos, a national public policy center, says that in most Western democracies, the responsibility of registering citizens rests on the government. "THE US IS REALLY THE ONLY ONE WHERE THE INDIVIDUAL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR REGISTERING TO VOTE." According to the 2006 census, only 60% of citizens in households making under 25k a year were registered to vote, compared to 80% of those in households making over 100k a year. Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act also known as the Motor Voter Act in 1993 to increase the number of eligible citizens registering to vote in federal elections. One of the law's provisions, Section 7, requires public assistance agencies to offer voter registration services to clients. But many people eligible to register under Section 7 don't know about it, because too many states aren't implementing the law. Demos has worked with public assistance agencies in a number of states since 2006 to increase voter registration. 'WE'VE HAD SOME AMAZING SUCCESS. WE'VE WORKED WITH NORTH CAROLINA – OVER THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF THEY'VE REGISTERED ALMOST 58,000 PEOPLE."
In other states, such as Missouri, Demos resorted to litigation requiring the states department of social services to actually implement the law. Again Scott Novakowski: "WITHIN THE FIRST TWO WEEKS UNDER THE JUDGES ORDER THEY REGISTERED OVER 8,000 PEOPLE IN THEIR OFFICES." In Washington State, public assistance agencies registered 22,800 people in the years 1995/96. Between 2005 and 2006 the number fell to a little over 7,000.
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Back at Wal Mart, organizers Elaine Agoot and Meaghan Walsh continue to engage shoppers. Elaine Agoot: "ENJOY THE POLITICAL ENERGY. IS THAT WHAT IT IS." A man visiting from Australia points out that voting is compulsory in his country. "NO YOU HAVE TO VOTE. IF YOU DON'T YOU GET FINED. THAT WAY EVERYBODY GETS A SAY WHETHER THEY LIKE IT OR NOT." Political sentiments are as diverse as the shoppers. A middle aged Caucasian woman says she already registered. "I FEEL ITS MY DUTY, CIVIC DUTY AND MY DUTY TO MY GOD TO VOTE SO I ALWAYS DO." {Edited out: She says she's voting for McCain. 'BECAUSE I THINK THE OTHER TICKET IS FAR TOO RADICAL LEFT AND IS BOUND TO CHANGE OUR COUNTRY FROM WHAT IT WAS FOUNDED ON. ITS ROOTS OF CONSERVATISM AND GOD AND COUNTRY."}
Another man puts out a cigarette and decides to register. His family is from Samoa. The 2008 Presidential election will be the first time he's voted. Why this time? "I DON'T KNOW, SEEING ALL THESE COMMERCIALS SAYING EVERY VOTE COUNTS." Who will he vote for? OBAMA MAN. OBAMA ALL THE WAY. I DON'T KNOW. END THIS WAR LET THE TROOPS COME HOME. I GOT FAMILY THERE YOU KNOW. WANT THEM TO COME HOME."
State election officials anticipate record numbers of voters this year for a highly publicized Presidential election and a rematch between Democratic Governor Chris Gregoire, who won by 133 votes, and challenger Republican, Dino Rossi. In Washington, October 20th is the cut off for in-person voter registration. For Free Speech Radio News this is Martha Baskin reporting. 2nd sockout For Election Unspun, this is Martha Baskin.
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A woman with 4 children says she's already registered – in Alaska. She says she's still, as she puts it, hashing things out. But then she opens up. "..IN ALASKA RAPE VICTIMS ARE REQUIRED TO PAY FOR THEIR RAPE TESTS... SARAH PALIN PASSED IT WHERE WE PAY FOR OUR RAPE TESTS IF WE GET RAPED..PEOPLE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY FOR ALL THAT WHEN THEY'RE THE VICTIMS AS IT IS SO PRETTY MUCH THEY'RE BEING VICTIMIZED TWICE." Asked how she'd like to be identified, she answers: "MY NAME IS SARAH AND I'M FROM WASILLA WHERE PALIN'S FROM. AND OUR KIDS GO TO COTTONWOOD. THE SAME SCHOOL HER KIDS GO TO. SAME LITTLE TOWN."
Only in America, can so many diverse voices be heard on one afternoon, and maybe, on election day as well.
BTW the Free Speech Radio News that produces this segment just had its funding cut by the financially-strapped Pacifica Foundation by more than $13,100 a month. This is a devastating blow and they could soon be off the air without your help. (( have no connection to them but noticed it on their webiste when I listened to the news). You can help them here.