I was one of those lawyers sent out yesterday to protect the vote. I was way down in "real" Virginia, close the the North Carolina border, in an area hit hard by the decline in the textile industry. I had never been to Franklin before, but it was a day I'll never forget. Below the jump is the email I sent out to my friends today.
As many of you know, I was part of the Democratic Party's "One Day World's Largest Law Firm," a volunteer effort in coordination with Get Out the Vote and the Obama/Biden campaign to protect the vote across the USA. I was assigned to Precinct 5 in the City of Franklin, VA, a small city of about 8,500 people in the southeast corner of Virginia.
I spent all day election day at Precinct 5. I had voted early two weeks prior. I arrived at 5 am to oversee the opening of the polls, validate the machines, etc. The polls opened in Virginia at 6 am. There was a long line well before then. Precinct 5 had about 640 registered voters. 536 people voted yesterday in Precinct 5 in Franklin, VA. Later that night at the local Democratic party's celebration, I learned the results for Precinct 5 - Obama, 515; McCain 21. And so went Virginia...for the first time since 1964, the Commonwealth voted blue!
There were some minor problems with the vote in Precinct 5. Three women reported that they were not properly instructed how to vote on the machines, and were told to push the "Presidential Only" button, and were thus disenfranchised from voting in the Senate and Congressional races. One man, who insisted that he had registered, found that his name was not on the rolls. I helped him fill out a new registration form and a provisional ballot. Two people arrived at 6:58 by the time on my cell phone and another person's cell phone, but the election official had closed the polls and refused to allow the people to vote. She insisted that her wristwatch gave the correct time. Virginia law says that polls close at 7 PM, but anyone in line at that time is entitled to vote. I took incident reports for all of the above situations and had the people involved signed declarations of what happened. These will be filed with the Democratic Party's voter protection team.
I watched the results at the local Dem's party at a community college, and listened to Barack Obama's acceptance speech back at the bed and breakfast. Dan Hunt, owner of the lovely Victorian bed and breakfast, The Pace House Inn in Franklin, opened his doors to any Democratic volunteer to stay for FREE while working on the campaign and volunteering on election day. If you are ever in the area and need a place to stay, go to the Pace House Inn.
http://www.thepacehouseinn.com/
It was a great experience, as was the past couple of months knocking on doors, talking to people and making phone calls. I encourage everyone, regardless of party affiliation, to get involved in the process. If you have money but not time, donate. According to the non-partisan group the Center for Responsive Politics, troops serving abroad gave nearly six times as much money to Obama's presidential campaign as they did to McCain's. That should tell something about the military vote, and if they can give, so can we.
There is still time to take action. There is an important run-off race for a Senate seat in Georgia between the Republican Saxby Chambliss and Democrat Jim Martin. You don't have to be in Georgia to volunteer. Through Jim Martin's website, you can help via an interactive program that allows volunteers to call voters in Georgia from where ever you sit behind your own computer. I made calls on Jim's behalf before election day. If you have unlimited long distance, it costs nothing. Check Jim Martin's website for how to volunteer in the run off.
http://www.martinforsenate.com/...
Thank you to everyone who voted and especially to those who turned Virginia blue.