"Stop Voter Suppression Rally", Educational Forum and Film
What: Join legislators and our coalition of organizations against Voter Suppression Legislation for a rally, educational forum, and film explaining why we need to oppose Voter ID (Photo ID) legislation and how we'll win this fight.
This is one of the coolest web applications I've seen developed specifically for this election to help monitor reported voting problems. I would encourage any of you working with campaigns and in the field as poll watchers, poll workers etc to help voters know that this hotline is for their use. The number is toll free and at the same time the incident gets tracked and monitored. 866-OUR-VOTE
EFF Press Release Monitor Election Problems Nationwide with OurVoteLive.org
Search by State or County for Real-Time Voter Reports on Election Day
San Francisco - Reporters, bloggers, and voters across the country can monitor problems at the polls on Election Day on OurVoteLive.org, a project built and hosted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on behalf of Election Protection, the nation's largest nonpartisan voter protection coalition, and its toll-free voter-assistance hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE.
We've all heard about the potential Houston has for going blue this year. If you live around the Houston area, you can help get it started by making sure registration drives in Houston get off to a good start.
With the State Convention poised to descend upon Austin in less than a month, we thought we'd have some fun, talk about what to expect and meet some of the people standing for convention positions and running for a delegate spot to the National Convention in Denver.
Come join us THIS WEDNESDAY for a Pre-Convention Party!
As always, please join us around 6:30 dinner and drinks, followed by the first speaker around 7:15.
Texas Environmental Democrats, a state caucus, will have a special meeting to elect officers for two-year terms on Saturday, April 26, at 3:30 p.m., at the Austin Marriott North, 2600 La Frontera Boulevard, Round Rock, Texas 78681. Come have a say in state-wide politics!
(There are few times when political stories touch the soul. But I have read this post, and all the links therein, a couple times now, and I have an emotional upwelling that is indescribable. My hat is off to the teachers for their understanding, the students for their courage, and Dan Grant for walking with the students in this 7.3 mile march for voter rights. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Early voting starts today in Texas. In Waller County, a primarily rural county about 60 miles outside Houston, the county made the decision to offer only one early voting location: at the County Courthouse in Hempstead, TX, the county seat.
Prairie View A&M students organized to protest the decision, because they felt it hindered their ability to vote. For background, Prairie View A&M is one of Texas' historically Black universities. It has a very different demographic feel than the rest of the county. There has been a long history of dispute over what the students feel is disenfranchisement. There was a lot of outrage in 2006, when students felt they were unfairly denied the right to vote when their registrations somehow did not get processed.
Waller County has faced numerous lawsuits involving voting rights in the past 30 years and remains under investigation by the Texas Attorney General's Office based on complaints by local black leaders. Those allegations, concerning the November 2006 general election, related to voting machine failures, inadequate staffing and long delays for voting results.
The article adds,
"I was angry after registering to vote in the 2006 election only to be turned away at the voting booth," said sophomore Dee Dee Williams.
So what are the students doing?
1000 students, along with an additional 1000 friends and supporters, are this morning walking the 7.3 miles between Prairie View and Hempstead in order to vote today. According to the piece I saw on the news (there's no video up, so I can't link to it), the students plan to all vote today. There are only 2 machines available at the courthouse for early voting, so they hope to tie them up all day and into the night.
