National Campaign to "Get Out the Vote"

National Campaign to "Get Out the Vote"

Lance Hoxie

8/15/2000

The National Organization on Disabilities has asked that we forward the
following special message concerning VOTE 2000.

Lance Hoxie

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Topher Bellavia [SMTP: <Email Address Redacted> ]
> Sent: Tuesday, August 15, 2000 2:25 PM
> To: Allen Perry; April Gerrard; Bill Morris; Bob Philbeck; Carol Potter;
> Carolyn Felton; Chris Hoke; Cindy Crouse-Martin; Cynthia Temoshenko; Debby
> Jackson; Donna Holt; Ed Smith; Geoerge McCoy; Holly Riddle; Jason
> Reynolds; John Dalrymple; Joy Weeber; Julia Sain; Kathy Brack; Ken
> Franklin; Kim Calibretti; Larry JOnes; Martha Walston; Mike and Juile
> Phillips; Rikki Cook; Sandy Baldwin; Allan Bergman; Andrew Farbman; Andrew
> Imparato; Anita Farb; Ann Houston; Anne Marie Hughey; Barbara Huff; Bob
> Griss; Carl Augusto; Catherine Hess; Charles Crawford; Charles Harles;
> Chris Cluhm; Chuck Cochran; Curt Decker; David Auxter; David Michols;
> Deborah Kaplan; Denise Rozell; Doreen Croser; Eric Hargis; Frank Mallon;
> Fred Menz; Fred Spahr; Galen Power; Genie Cohen; George Jesien; Gordon
> Mansfield; Graham Holland; Heather McCabe; I. King Jordan; James Gardner;
> James Williams; Jane West; Jeff Whitman; Joan Zaro; Joann Evans; John
> Graham; John Jaco; John Parry; Joseph McNulty; Justine Maloney; Kirsten
> Nyrop; Lance Hoxie; Larissa Timmerberg; Laura Kaloi; Laurie Flynn; Mark
> Maurer; Michael Marge; Michelle Vaughan; Mike Dugan; Mike Faenza; Monty
> Moeller; Nancy Bloch; Nancy Safer; Nancy Weiss; Patti Richards; Patty
> Smith; Polly Arango; Raymond Fowler; Renee Pietrangelo; Richard Yep; Rikki
> Epstein; Robert Bernstein; Roger Kingsley; Rovert Glover; Ruth Hughes; Sam
> Giordano; Shares Sullivan; Sherry Kolbe; Steve Eidelman; Steve Mosley;
> Susan Zierman; Terje Anderson; Thomas Countee; Tom Cooper; Tom Miller;
> Virginia Anthony; William Arnold; Win Priest; Al Guida; Andrea Harles;
> Andrea Price; Andrew Sperling; Anju Khubchandani; Ann Houston; Ann Vinup;
> ARC; Barbara LeMoine; Barbara Raimondo; Beth Foley; Bob Humphries; Brenda
> Souto; Carl Varner; Carol Boyer; Catherine Clarke; Celane McWhorter;
> Charles Harles; Cheryl Bates-Harris; Cheryl West; Chris Koyanagi; Chris
> Marshall; Chris Tiernan; Claude Stout; Curt Decker; Dan Dodgen; David
> Baquis; David Egnor; David Fields; Deb Ziegler; Debi Gartland; Deborah
> Buck; Dena Morris; Denise Driver; Diane Smith; Dick Verville; Donna
> Meltzer; Donna Waghorn; Ed Burke; Elain Holland; Elizabeth Priaulx; Ethel
> Zelenske; Heidi Holland; Helena Berger; James Geletka; Jeff Crowley;
> Jennifer Dexter; Jerri McCandless; Jill Eicher; Joan Urbaniak; Joni Fritz;
> Judy Simpson; Julie Beckett (Family Voices); Kara Freeburg; Karen Strauss;
> Kathy McGinley; Katy Beh Neas; Kelby Brick; Kevin Dwyer; Kim Musheno;
> Kipperly Tidball; Kristen Nelson; Kristen Villani; Laura Kaloi; Lee Page;
> Leslie Jackson; Libby Kuffner; Lisa Ward; Luzanne Pierce; Lynne Cleveland;
> Marcie Roth; Mark Kander; Mark Richert; Martha Rinker; Marty Ford; Mary
> Crosby; Mary Gennaro; Mary Laverdure; Maureen McCloskey; Melanie Brunson;
> Michael Allen; Michelle Cook; Mike Cheek; Mike Graul; Myrna Mandlawitz;
> Pat Wright; Patti Richards; Paul Marchand; Paul Seifert; Pope Simmons;
> Randy Rutta; Robert Demichelis; Robert Hahn; Robert Herman; Roberta
> Carlin; Ron Honberg; Sallie Rhodes; Sandy Finucane; Sara Collins; Scott
> Barstow; Sharon Walsh; Shelly McLane; Shereen Arent; Stephanie Lee; Steve
> White; Suellen Galbraith; Susan Prokop; Theda Zawaiza-Galdstone; Tina
> Osher; Tony Youg; Treby Brown; William Arnold; Amber Crowl; Bryon
> MacDonald; Chris Zachmeyer; Debbie Douglas; Diana Roy; Genie Brooks; Gil
> Vickery; Jeanne Gallimore; Jeffrey Nurick; Jim Etzel; John Barth; John
> Bowman; Justin Pressley; Kim Charlson; Laura Van Tosh; Leigh Pechillo;
> Linda Schappals-McCain; Melanie Campbell; Pamela Allen; Susan Baker; Susan
> McManus
> Subject: Please post and pass along Topher Bellavia @ National
> Organizatio n on Disability
>
> Only 53 Days Left to Register To Vote
> People with disabilities have fought to have a place at America's table-to
> be present when the big decisions that affect us all are made-but at
> election time our votes are conspicuously absent. In the 1996 Presidential
> Election, 11.6 million Americans with disabilities voted, but another 23.5
> million did not. If people with disabilities voted at the same rate as the
> able-bodied - which is lousy to start with - there would be five million
> more votes cast on November 7th.
> With rights, come responsibilities. The ADA has had an extraordinary
> effect
> on many people's lives, but it is a mistake to think that the fight is
> over.
> Our march for human rights can be halted and pushed back at any time; and
> if
> we do not have allies in elected offices there is little we can do. If we
> put as much work into getting people out to vote as we have put into other
> undertakings, closing the voting gap between people with disabilities and
> the general public will seem effortless.
> The National Organization on Disability's non-partisan VOTE!2000 campaign
> has set the goal of increasing by 700,000 the number of voters with
> disabilities participating in the year 2000 elections. That amounts to
> about
> three percent, and it will take a concerted get-out-the-vote campaign to
> attain this considerable achievement. What follows is a short overview of
> what you and your agency need to do in order to get-out-the-vote in your
> area. Only you and your local disability agencies can make the difference.
>
> Getting out the vote is a numbers game. There is no nuance, not subtle
> arguments; just Did you get more votes than the competition? Therefore,
> it
> is important to always think in terms of getting every voter with
> disabilities to the polls. You and your agency must perform at a level of
> peak motivation. The first and most important rule is: the more you ask
> people to vote, the more likely they are to vote. Voting must be kept in
> the
> forefront of people's minds; they must know that you, your organization
> and
> their community think voting is essential. At every opportunity varied
> media
> should be used to get out the message. Voting should be seen not as a
> chore
> or bother, but a duty and a matter of acute self-interest.
> The most important weapon in your arsenal will be your list. A
> comprehensive
> list must contain phone numbers and addresses for your clients, their
> families, your staff, and your friends. To be useful, the list must be as
> current and complete as possible. The task of creating and maintaining
> this
> list must be put in the hands of a competent individual with a track
> record
> of thoroughness and follow-through. The list must be compiled on a simple
> database (E-base is one free online interactive database that is available
> at www.ebase.org < <URL Redacted>>.)
> Once your list is compiled, a copy of your community's voter file must be
> obtained. Your board of elections maintains this public record of every
> voter and how often they voted (but not for whom they voted). It may be
> more
> efficient for you to contract out this work to an outside list-matching
> group, or to partner up with an organization that is conducting a similar
> voting drive. This document will help you figure out whether someone is a
> Frequent Voter (voting in three out of the last four elections, including
> general and primary), an Occasional Voter (voting in two out of the last
> four elections), or a Non-Voter (voting in one or none of the last four
> elections.) The list of Frequent Voters is a great place to start looking
> for volunteers for your voter drive.
> Your agency may want to conduct two other activities. Absentee voting may
> not feel as equal and inclusive to the voter with a disability, but it can
> be convenient and may provide some with their only chance to vote. Learn
> about the absentee voting laws and deadlines in your state. The second
> activity would be to bring in the apparatus that the voter will use on
> Election Day to get voters with disabilities to feel comfortable using it.
> You can have this dress rehearsal in service agency waiting rooms, group
> homes, or wherever people are already assembled.
> As the election comes closer, you may want to hold a forum for local
> candidates. This endeavor requires much work and time, and you should not
> take it on lightly. If time and resources are limited, skip the forum and
> concentrate on setting up the phone bank.
> At two weeks you must send a clear and simple mailer to everyone on your
> list reminding him or her to vote. It must simply connect voting with your
> issue advocacy. It could state: If you want to see a shorter waiting
> list,
> or if you want accessible transportation, or if you want stronger
> enforcement of the ADA, then vote! The mailer must prominently display a
> phone number to call for polling place information, which your board of
> elections can provide. It should also list a phone number for people who
> need transportation to the polls, or who have other questions. This should
> be followed a few days later with the first round of calls. A Phone Bank
> Coordinator must be responsible for designing and leading a system that
> delivers a large volume of voter contacts with high enthusiasm, accurate
> message delivery and careful recording of responses. If your organization
> does not have enough phone lines, local non-profits may allow you to use
> their phones in the evenings for non-partisan phone banking. Some people
> may
> be more comfortable making calls from home.
> An enthusiastic shift supervisor must announce daily the goals for the
> phone
> bank callers. The volunteers will call each person on their list and use a
> script to encourage voter participation. The responses will be recorded
> and
> notes will be made if the voter requires transportation to their polling
> place. If contact is not made with the person, they are called again the
> next day. The ideal hours to phone are between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. If
> possible, provide your volunteers with dinner.
> The second phone campaign should be done no later that four days before
> the
> election and, again, briefly repeat the message contained in the mailer.
> The
> last round of calls occurs on Election Day, when every caller should be
> reached to make sure they have voted.
> Please join in the effort to get-out-the-vote. That place at the
> table we have fought so hard for will not be saved for us if we don't show
> up on Election Day.
> For more detailed information please see the How to turn Out Voters
> with Disabilities guide at www.nod.org < <URL Redacted>> or call the
> National Organization on Disability at (202) 293-5960.