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May 11, 2008
Registration drive nets scores of new voters
Staffers and volunteers gathered on Patten Parkway in downtown Chattanooga Saturday for the kickoff to "Vote for Change," a national voter registration effort sponsored by the Barack Obama campaign. Organizers say some 55 volunteers gathered 140 voter registration forms in over two dozen locations throughout Hamilton County. The drive will continue until the last day for voters to become registered. In Tennessee, for the general election on November 4, that day is October 4. (Some states allow same-day registration.)
Attendees were given a rousing send-off by state Rep. Tommie Brown (D-28) prior to receiving instructions and assignments. Dr. Brown recalled some of her early voter registration efforts, and told those gathered that, by participating in the day's events, they had "chosen to transform themselves" beyond supporters of a particular campaign or political party. Event organizers Justin Wilkins and Elizabeth Crews reiterated the message: this effort is to get eligible voters registered, regardless of what party or candidate they may support.
There were similar events held Saturday in Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis. More than 100 registration efforts were held around the nation. More media coverage:
Chattanoogan.com (with photos)
Chattanooga Times Free Press (photo/caption only)
BarackObama.com
HamDems (Note 5/13/08: the event was coordinated through the Hamilton County Democratic Party, and I formerly did not realize that. Thanks to John Bailes for the clarification.)
Your blogger's personal account after the jump:
I was paired with another volunteer who had come alone, and we were assigned to the shopping centers along Highway 153 in Hixson. We decided to hit the Wal-Mart first, then make our way back toward the city.
The good news is that a great many voters in that area are already registered (or, they said they were in order to be left alone). The bad news is that we did not contribute very well to the overall total. Most people were fairly polite about stating that they were all set; a few, though, saw the Obama-related stickers we were wearing and made us "talk to the hand."
I was thinking of removing the sticker, because the point was to increase voter registration, and not to sway those new voters in any one direction. At least, that is how I saw it. But then I decided to leave it on, because it identified the event that I was assisting.
I am glad for the experience (though not so much for the sunburn — didn't realize I'd be outside for so long), and for the Clumpies ice cream I managed to find. After learning about doing this type of thing in shopping center parking lots, I would think that a better application of such an effort would be where people are going to be there for a while, instead of heading to or from their cars with errand lists on the brain.
So, you may see me at a table at Nightfall, or some such event, enticing people to file or update their voter registration.
Elections | By joe lance | 03:05 PM