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WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- On Saturday, Oct. 7, Democrats will kick-off the final month of voter contact activities at Democratic National Organizing Day events across the country, building on the success of ongoing critical Get-Out- the-Vote operations for Election Day.
At more than 600 events across the country, Democrats will contact voters, recruit volunteers and distribute literature promoting the new direction Democrats offer America. The Democratic National Committee's (DNC) toll-free national voter assistance hotline, 1-888-DEM-VOTE, will go live Saturday, which will help ensure that voters across the country can vote and have that vote counted. The hotline, available in all states and in English and Spanish, provides automated poll location information to voters and gives voters an opportunity to leave a message or be connected to a live person who can help resolve problems.
In addition to the national voter hotline, the DNC is putting election protection staff in 15 key states and our National Lawyers Council will deploy thousands of lawyers to the polls nationally. These efforts are part of the DNC's ongoing comprehensive plan to help Americans register to vote, learn how and where to cast their ballot and provide assistance to overcoming Republican-led efforts to suppress voter turnout for the November elections.
"Americans are ready for a new direction, one that puts the interests of the American people ahead of the interests of the Republican Party," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean. "Across the country, Democrats will kick-off the final campaign push by working to contact three million voters who don't always turn out in non-presidential elections but are key to a Democratic victory in November. We are also launching 1- 888-DEM-VOTE to make sure that every eligible voter can vote and have their vote counted. Democrats will deliver our message of an America that works for everyone, where hard work is respected and health care, college and a secure retirement are within every American's reach."
Saturday's events will build on the success of the DNC's earlier national organizing days. In April, 10,000 volunteers knocked on one million doors. In July, it contacted two million targeted voters. And on October 7th, its goal is to contact three million drop-off voters. These events directly benefit Democratic candidates up and down the ballot and candidates at every level are participating. Volunteers will distribute literature with the DNC's voter hotline information and the Democratic message for a new direction.
To see the DNC door knocker go to: http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/09/democratic_visi_5.php
Democrats are united and mobilizing across the country:
Ohio: An expected 2,000 volunteers will help "Turn Around Ohio" by making more than 100,000 voter contacts at 93 events in nearly every of its 88 counties. Candidates at every level will participate, including Democratic Senate Candidate Sherrod Brown, Secretary of State Candidate Jennifer Brunner, State Auditor Candidate Barbara Sykes and targeted Congressional Candidates Zack Space (OH-18) and John Cranley (OH-1).
Arizona: Democrats will gather at 16 Get-Out-the-Vote events across the state and Governor Janet Napolitano, Senate Candidate Jim Pederson and Congressman Pastor, among others, will rally volunteers.
New Jersey: Volunteers will walk neighborhoods and talk about the new direction Democrats offer New Jersey and the country at events across the state. Following the GOTV activities, a rally will take place in Newark featuring Senator Menendez and other elected officials.
Oregon: In Oregon, there are over 40 events scheduled. Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-3) and Congressman Peter DeFazio (OR-4) will join fellow Oregonians from Dallas to The Dalles, from Pendleton to Port Orford and everywhere in between.
Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, http://www.democratsorg. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
http://www.usnewswire.com/
A new generation fights back against minority and student voter suppression.
Prairie View, TX - (2/24/04). During a town hall forum held with hundreds of students at Prairie View A&M University in Texas, Rap the Vote, a project of Rock the Vote, today launched a national campaign to put the spotlight on student voter suppression. Calling the incidents of voter intimidation against minority students at Prairie View A&M a dramatic example of a national problem, Rap the Vote/Rock the Vote launched a campaign to help students get organized, fight back, and turn out the vote on Election Day.
The town hall forum, organized by Rap the Vote with student leaders at Prairie View A&M as well as the Congressional Black Caucus, featured hip-hop icon and Rap the Vote activist Q-Tip, Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis (D-TX), Rock the Vote president Jehmu Greene, and other national and state leaders.
Prairie View A&M is a historically Black university in Texas with about seven thousand students. The school is located in Waller County, and the students make up 20 percent of the voting population in an otherwise largely White county.
The District Attorney in Waller County, Oliver Kitzman, recently attempted to intimidate students from voting. Claiming that, it's not right for any college student to vote where they do not have permanent residency, Kitzman threatened to prosecute students who declared Prairie View as their residency.
Kitzman's apparent goal is to confuse students about the meaning of permanent so that they won't want to risk prosecution by voting. The Texas Secretary of State, Greg Abbott, refuted the district attorney's statement. The fact is that students can register to vote from their residence while they are in school---the U.S. Supreme Court upheld that right in a case brought by students at Prairie View A&M in 1979.
Students at Prairie View A&M know how to fight back against voter intimidation and disenfranchisement. Indeed, Prairie View A&M is the school that brought students nationwide the right to vote at school through the activism of its students. Now the students are energized and, led by student-body president Hendrik Maison, they are running a sophisticated campaign to get out the vote. Currently, they are dealing with three issues: getting an on-campus polling station for the November 2004 general election, getting early voting (like other counties and schools such as Texas A&M) and putting an end to the harassment and intimidation by Waller County District Attorney Oliver Kitzman. Working with the ACLU of Texas, the NAACP, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, and People for the American Way, the students have filed two lawsuits to protect their voter rights.
During the town hall, Rap the Vote/Rap the Vote announced a national campaign to help students at college campuses across the country to push for on-campus polling places. The group launched a new website at rockthevote.com to show college students how to get a polling place on their campus---and pledged to significantly increase the student vote on campuses in the swing states of the presidential election in order to get the presidential candidates to address the issues facing young people today.
Rap the Vote/Rock the Vote also pointed out that the situation at Prairie View A&M is not an isolated incident. Voter suppression and intimidation happens to students across the country.
Consider the following examples:
The website at Rockthevote.com included additional documentation of incidences of student voter suppression. Photos available upon request by calling 310-234-0665
distributed through
BlackPR.com/BlackNews.com
CBC Chairman Elijah Cummings, CBC 1st Vice Chair Shelia Jackson Lee, State Elected Leaders and Hip-Hop Icon Q-Tip address issues of student voter intimidation, jobs, education and health care
Prairie View, TX - (2/24/04) Rap the Vote, an initiative of Rock the Vote, joined Monday with the Congressional Black Caucus, state elected officials and hip-hop icon Q-Tip to discuss the issues of student voter disenfranchisement, jobs, education and health care in a widely attended town hall meeting at the campus of Prairie View A&M.
At the town hall meeting, Rap the Vote announced its national campaign to help students fight back against student voter intimidation and bring polling places to their college campuses.
Prairie View A&M, a historically black college, outside of Houston, TX is at the center of an on-going struggle to combat student voter suppression. Student efforts to request on-campus poll sites and extend the period of early voting prior to the March 9th democratic primary has been rebuffed by local officials.
"The Prairie View case is an eerie reminder that Jim Crow-like tactics can rear their ugly head even in this day and age. Prairie View is a shocking example of a national problem -- the inability of student voters to fully exercise their voting rights in elections," said Jehmu Greene, President of Rock the Vote. "The CBC and Rock the Vote have joined forces to help student activists in places like Prairie View fight back against the forces of discrimination and those who would deprive them of their constitutional rights."
"The determination and integrity that Prairie View students have demonstrated in demanding their right to vote filled our hearts with hope and pride. I applaud these young Americans for demonstrating the most essential foundation of constructive social change the faith that what they do can change the course of history."
"Young voters across the country are poised to be this year's deciding factor and will have a dramatic impact on the election of 2004," said hip-hop artist and Rap the Vote spokesman Q-Tip. "There are so many critical issues that effect students, whether it be finding a job after they graduate or receiving quality health care, and students everywhere must stand up, cast their vote and let the younger generation force the politicians to listen to their issues."
Founded in 1990 by members of the recording industry, Rock the
Vote is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to protecting
freedom of expression and empowering young people to change their
world. Over the past decade, Rock the Vote has called on young
people to recognize their role in creating significant political
and social change. In addition to registering over three million
new young voters, Rock the Vote street teams are engaging young
people as civic activists in their communities and contributors
to the political process. These street teams have organized, educated
and registered voters at thousands of concerts, community festivals,
college campuses, pride events and coffee shops across the nation.
As a project of Rock the Vote, Rap the Vote is designed to galvanize
and transform the hip-hop and urban community's influence as pop
culture trendsetters into full-fledged political and social justice
activists.
distributed through BlackPR.com/BlackNews.com
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