The July 4 celebration and fireworks at this nearby park was going to be a good audience for registering new voters, so I planned the event for it. It also struck me that one of the most fundamental things about our system of government is the vote, and voting (and helping people register to vote) is one of the more patriotic things you can do. So, it seemed quite natural to register people to vote on the day we celebrate the declaration of independence from the British crown. I also like hosting events because it gets people to be more active - I've given them an event in their area to participate in, and afterwards they are trained in voter registration and more comfortable with it. Turning ‘newbies’ to voter registration into people with some experience is pivotal, because it makes them realize it's not rocket science. They are more likely to do it in the future and to tell others that they are capable of doing it too. I can also feel the roots spreading in other ways: One new volunteer is on the faculty at a local college and arranged for Vote for Change to have a table at the college's new student orientation - she wouldn't have done this if she hadn't known there was a way to find volunteers to staff it. Also, a couple other attendees met each other today and are making plans to do registration efforts targeting young Korean-Americans in the area. Without the event, they wouldn't have been able to meet, brainstorm and plan future efforts. Voter registration is important because it's actively building the party, and the new Democrats and left-leaning independents will help not only Barack Obama, but all the down ticket races. The trend in California is that every single congressional district is getting bluer - registration drives like we did today help continue this trend.
Peter has done voter registration events because he feels proud to be a part of this campaign. He explains why this campaign is different from others…
I support Barack because of the emphasis in his campaign on empowering people to make the change they want to see. This aspect of the campaign, and his providing infrastructure support to let supporters make connections amongst ourselves on MyBO, shows that he means what he says. He's constantly making the point that people need to get engaged, and that simply voting isn't enough. This is the only way real change can happen - if we the people make it happen. I became an Obama supporter following John Edwards’s departure from the primaries. Barack's embrace of the 50-state strategy and his putting real resources to build the whole party and not just help his campaign were really important things that made me come to support him.
Are you involved in the campaign? Create a my.barackobama.com account to connect with other supporters and sign up to attend a voter registration drive in your town.
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