( - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Yesterday was a great day for Barack Obama, and an even better day for the hundreds and thousands of new voters registered today across the United States. Here in Austin we ran a voter registration drive that crossed the city, looking to make as many new Democrats as possible. We ended up with several hundred new voters, and dozens of new deputy registrars.
We'll be at it again next weekend, Saturday May 17 at 1:00 p.m. starting from Nuevo Leon, 1501 East 6th Street, concurrent with the launch of the Travis County Coordinated Campaign.
Here's some photos from our event. Enjoy! |
The biggest problem we faced? Most people are already registered! But we did our best to make new voters, especially those who just turned 18 and felons who have served their probation or parole and are eligible to vote again. Ex-Felon voting needs to be a big deal this fall. There are too many citizens in Texas who have completed their probation or parole and are unaware of their right to vote.
Preparation started Friday as volunteers assembled voter registration packets at the Obama office. Each volunteer received a clipboard, pen, voter forms, a map to their location, and some information about the event.
Volunteers came from across Central Texas to help out. We gathered at the historic Victory Grill to be trained. Local Obama supporters, City Council Member Mike Martinez and State Rep. Mark Strama, came by to fire up the crowd and remind us of the importance of our work.
Everyone's favorite local law enforcement officer, Bruce Elfant, stopped by to deputize all of the new registrars. Ramey Ko, head of Asian Americans for Barack Obama, helped explain how to register voters. He is clearly a frenzy of activity.
After a few role-playing scenarios to help volunteers feel more comfortable, folks headed out to get their packets. We had a really diverse crowd, and covered a LOT of ground in Austin.
After our teams were dispatched, I headed back over to Congress Ave., where the Obama HQ is. We registered voters on the street all afternoon. The folks on the right are first-time voters, both 19 years old. They don't know who they're voting for yet, but at least they have the ability to do so now.
All afternoon, folks came back with their completed forms. Mary, on the left, had success at a supermarket and a busy bus stop. The couple in the middle had success at a Walmart in South Austin. Carol, on the right, brought in the second-most forms from a really busy grocery store.
All in all, it was a great day. We registered senior citizens and folks who will be 18 in the next two months. We registered recently-cleared felons who have completed their parole, and newly sworn-in citizens of the United States. Best of all, we met hundreds upon hundreds of folks who have already voted for Barack Obama here in Texas, and are ready to do so again in November!
So. Polls may show that Obama trails McCain by 5 points in the Lone Star State. Well, I can promise you this -- Saturday, that margin got a little bit narrower.
Cross-posted at Texans for Obama and DailyKos. |
