October has been an amazing month for volunteers and staff of Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates! We have phone banks happening across the state, from Jacksonville to Miami, Gainesville, Orlando, Tampa, Naples, and West Palm. Our volunteers have been calling supporters and talking with them about the importance of voting and voting for Barack Obama!
Our volunteers know just what is at stake in this election, and Florida voters know, too. Many of our supporters have told our volunteers that they're willing to wait in long lines to vote early if they have to.
And we couldn’t agree more.
What’s even more amazing are the numbers. More than 99 percent of those we speak with are voting this election, and 78 percent say that they are voting for Barack Obama right off the bat! Even better: we've been able to change the minds of 52 percent of the McCain/Palin supporters and undecided voters we talk with after we tell them about John McCain’s dismal record on women’s health.
I’m also inspired by our tireless volunteers who have donated countless hours to the campaign — particularly the teens in Jacksonville who are too young to vote but who are thrilled to be phone banking. One volunteer had this to say about an inspiring phone call she had while phone banking in Tampa:
One gentleman was so pleased to tell me that he had already voted on Tuesday for Obama and the rest of the Democratic ticket. I thanked him for his vote and progressed in wrapping up the call, figuring he was a staunch Democratic supporter. It caught me off guard when he said, 'Well, don’t you want to know why?'
As it turns out, this man has been a lifelong registered Republican who strictly voted the party ticket. He even served as president of his college Young Republicans in California. He was disappointed by the tone and actions of the Republican Party over the last eight years. The early vote he cast on Tuesday was the first time in his life that he voted for a Democrat, and he could not have been more proud.
A volunteer in Miami spoke with a man who is the husband of a "feminist for 30 years" who said he was a lifelong Republican and a Vietnam vet who was supporting Obama because "that Palin is scary."
I know that when it comes to the issues that matter to women, I couldn’t be more frightened of Gov. Palin and her running mate.
And finally, a personal note. This weekend I took absentee ballots to a friend’s parents. They live in a conservative part of the state and are lifelong Republicans — Southern Baptists who take religion and family values seriously.
After filling out their ballots, they turned to me and said, "I want you to know that this is the first time we’ve ever voted Democratic in our lives, not just for president, but down the ballot, as well." What moved them was Sen. Obama's message of hope and change, combined with the need to ensure that health care remains affordable and accessible to all, and without government intrusion.
We're proud to be working on delivering a BLUE Florida this Election Day!
The author, Stephanie Kunkel, is the legislative and field director for the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. The Planned Parenthood Action Fund is working in Florida and other battleground states across the country. Learn more.