Vote for Change Photos and Updates
By admin. Filed in 2008 election, Barack Obama, Uncategorized, Utah for Obama, human rights |
Last Wednesday, hundreds, thousands or some large number of people showed up at Washington Square for the Peace and Human Rights Rally. So, we decided that would be the perfect place to register new voters, and update others’ registrations. I had at least 6 people join me, including Cheryl, Theo, Brandon, Susan, Sherri, and Claire and her son. I swear there were a couple more but I didn’t do a sign-in, so I’m stuck with the ones my short memory will recall. Anyway, we were able to register 43 voters. Not bad for an hour’s work, right?
Here are some of the photos from the rally, much thanks to Theo for getting some of the better shots for me.
It took me 3 tries, but I finally got a full shot of this “Prez Lie Dispenser” sign.
These guys with the foil signs walked in front of and through the crowd several times.
Here’s a shot from near the back of the crowd.
One from the side.
Another from the side.
Here’s Rocky at the beginning of his speech.
I liked the signs put up from High Road for Human Rights. They said:
Our America Does Not Torture
America: Where Everyone Including The President Is Bound By Rule Of Law
Torture Is A Subversion Of American Values
Anyway, we’ve had a lot of positive stories about Vote for Change across Utah. Josh Der sent this email about the Logan Vote for Change event:
On Saturday, May 24, 2008, Utah State University for Obama, Cache Valley for Obama and the Cache County Democratic Party jointly organized a voter registration drive in Logan.
We had four volunteers and we collected 16 new voter registration applications, 6 of which were Democrats, 6 were unaffiliated and only one of which was Republican. This was a test-run and was a great success, considering it was nice weather on a holiday weekend without any big events happening in Logan.
One of our volunteers scouted the community for potential drive locations, one registered voters downtown and two volunteers worked outside of a locally owned, progressive coffee shop/deli counter.
We wore our Obama flair, but focused on registering people to vote. If they asked why we were doing it, we told them about the Vote for Change campaign. We were well received and connected with some potential volunteers.
By the end of the day, we came away feeling excited and energized. We also gave out free Obama bumper stickers to supporters who expressed interest. We didn’t really push the stickers, but still gave out close to 30 of them.
This registration drive represents something tangible, easy and proactive we can all do to promote Obama. The more we promote Obama in Utah, the stronger the democratic party will be on Election Day, regardless of how Utah’s electoral votes are cast. This means the possibility for REAL change on a local level, where we are most directly affected.
Here are a couple pieces of advice for organizers based on our experiences:
1) Identify locations before you start. Corporate-owned grocery store chains (e.g. Walmart or Albertsons, etc.) don’t want anything to do with politics, so don’t bother sending volunteers to these places, they’ll just get turned away. I’ve found locally owned businesses are much more receptive to this voter registration drive. Consider the management’s perspective; try not to bother patrons inside of the business, but rather catch them on their way in or out. Don’t block the entrance and don’t be too pushy. Look for places where you’ll get a lot of foot traffic. Consider your target demographic and go to where you are likely to find them (e.g. for youth, find the local hangouts or work on campuses; for Latinos or Asian Americans, go to an ethnic market or restaurant). If you can (and they will allow), get a booth or a table at a local festival or farmer’s market, otherwise get a lot of volunteers to work the crowd. In any case, its best to work in a location where people are not in a rush and can spend a few minutes to fill out the form or to chat with you.
2) Visit your County Clerk’s office. They are required to provide voter registration application books to organizations who are registering voters. They will give you 4-5 books of 50 applications. Each volunteer will need a book, so this may limit how many volunteers you can use, but if a few different people request them independently or you make a plea that you are working a large event, you may be able to get more. The books have carbon copies so you can give each voter a receipt that is proof of registration and will get them a ballot in case they don’t get their voter registration card or their application gets lost somehow. The books fit on a clipboard well and you don’t have to make any photocopies or carry stacks of loose paper or bulky state-printed mail in forms (however, its good to have a few mail in forms to give out to people who don’t have time, want their voter information kept private, or want to give it to a friend). Be sure to check that all the required information is completed and legible. When you finish a book, bring it back to the County Clerk and they will replace it.
Set up your own vote for change event: http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/create
Lots of people are organizing small drives, and local businesses seem to be supportive, and often let people run the drive from there. In fact, Golden Braid Books contacted us, to offer a location. It’s easy, and even if you don’t want to run one yourself, you can join us at larger gatherings, like next weekend when we get going at Utah Pride. Check out events statewide.