OpEdNews - Diary: Netroots National Conversations: How to Protect Our Vote

Across the nation, netroots activists, bloggers, readers of blogs, and politicians are involved in a national conversation on how to take back America. They're asking, "Have we lost our way?" Many citizens have found it, at the polls. How do citizens plan to save our vote before 2008? This article discusses reactions to this important question.

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As we rush headlong into the 2008 Presidential Campaign Season, there's lots of talk about the candidates and the issues. I hear lots about the US Attorney General scandal, Alberto Gonzales, and the political nature of their firings. Many are up in arms about narrowly won or lost elections decided by faulty voting machines.

At the core of each of these issues, there rests one important issue: your vote. Your vote is THE essential unit of democracy.

The Election Defense Alliance says, "Your vote only counts, when your vote is counted." This phrase is relevant not only for progressives motivated to protect our right to vote on paper ballots, but also for the largely Republican crooks who seek to suppress the minority, collegiate, and non-Republican vote across the country well before 2008.

It's imperative that we make aggressive strides to protect our votes and our voters well before November 2008 comes round, and many on DailyKos have a few suggestions on how we can do that very easily as individuals and as groups.

I asked Barack Obama during his afternoon Yealry Kos session what he thought he, or any other legislator could do to protect our votes prior to the 2008 elections. His response was, "Well, I doubt much will be done prior to 2008, it's going to be up to the voters."

This was a response by a man resigned to the harsh reality of our present, fractured, elections system. This response, much like many of Obama's speeches, answers, and writings inspires action in addition to hope.

Citizens should make the protection of their own vote their highest priority as we head into this campaign season. Here's a few suggestions on how you can take back the vote in your own community:

Call your local post office and ask that they order and provide voter registration forms at the front counter or on the self-serve table. Registration forms should be as accessible as possible for potential voters to fill out and submit. DEMAND it.
Order registration forms from your local elections board or registrar. Contact your local high schools and distribute registration forms to ALL 11th and 12th grade educators. It's important that youth into music, arts, theater, and sports are aware that politics matter in those subjects as well.
Organize Election Day ballot-counting parties at your local Elections registrar or elections board. In many (if not, all) states, you have a right as a citizen to watch ballots being counted. If you see something suspect as you observe, document the incident in as many ways as possible. This can help the election integrity movement as we work to reform our voting systems.
Ask every candidate what they propose to do to help improve the quality of our elections.
Inform members of suppressed voter populations of the efforts undertaken to take their votes away from them. Hand them a new registration card and the numbers of their elections board.
If you get a suspicious piece of mail, take pictures and post them to the internet! Forward copies of such mail articles to election integrity groups, newspapers, everyone and anyone actively involved in election protection. The more we share information, the faster we can act to shut down efforts to "Cage" voters.

* Check out what others across America are doing to protect elections in their area! Network with those individuals, read their blogs, and ask questions. At Yearly Kos, Netroots Network asked regular citizens how they planned to protect their votes in the next year, and here's what they said.