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How the last presidential election awoke me from an unsound sleep
By Jeanne Norris Weinberg Posted by Joan Brunwasser (about the submitter)
Become a Fan (38 fans) -- Page 4 of 4 page(s)
which, in the case of electronic voting, would be a ballot printout.
3.We have not outlawed the practices that led to long lines at the polls.
The best proof available for voter disenfranchisement in Ohio, in the eyes of the law, has to do with those long lines that are in practically every clip of Linda Byrket's film, VIDEO THE VOTE. Its footage covers precincts all over the city of Columbus, Ohio, where there was incredible confusion within the polls. It shows people standing under umbrellas or dripping wet, wearing garbage bags for protection from the rain. I participated in that film and it stuns me to this day how that one fateful action has spawned my re-engagement with the political future of our country. It was difficult, at first, to be on the front lines of a new battle that seemed to just fall into my lap, but I now feel blessed to know that average citizens really can make a difference. At the end of the film are three words: Let's fix this. I'm now on that path.
John Conyers, Democratic congressman from Michigan, led a committee to ascertain What Went Wrong in Ohio. His report to Congress, now part of the Congressional Record, has also been published as a book with the same name. The film is part of that record as well.
Mid-terms are now upon us. The drumbeat has begun. Even for a middle-aged person, like me, with another life beyond politics, staying awake now, is necessary. My actions do count. I cannot just sit back for any election anymore. This is my country, my president, and my vote.
Become a Fan (38 fans) -- Page 4 of 4 page(s)
3.We have not outlawed the practices that led to long lines at the polls.
The best proof available for voter disenfranchisement in Ohio, in the eyes of the law, has to do with those long lines that are in practically every clip of Linda Byrket's film, VIDEO THE VOTE. Its footage covers precincts all over the city of Columbus, Ohio, where there was incredible confusion within the polls. It shows people standing under umbrellas or dripping wet, wearing garbage bags for protection from the rain. I participated in that film and it stuns me to this day how that one fateful action has spawned my re-engagement with the political future of our country. It was difficult, at first, to be on the front lines of a new battle that seemed to just fall into my lap, but I now feel blessed to know that average citizens really can make a difference. At the end of the film are three words: Let's fix this. I'm now on that path.
John Conyers, Democratic congressman from Michigan, led a committee to ascertain What Went Wrong in Ohio. His report to Congress, now part of the Congressional Record, has also been published as a book with the same name. The film is part of that record as well.
Mid-terms are now upon us. The drumbeat has begun. Even for a middle-aged person, like me, with another life beyond politics, staying awake now, is necessary. My actions do count. I cannot just sit back for any election anymore. This is my country, my president, and my vote.
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I had almost the same experience
by CSherm on Sunday, Jul 23, 2006 at 2:39:23 PM