March 19, 2008
By Steven Rosenfeld
I'm working on a paperback book/election guide to be published this summer. It will tell voters what they need to know to ensure that they can vote this November, and increase the likelihood that their votes will be counted. I'm asking all you activists to help me with this book, because you all know best what's happening in your states. What's happening that will affect the voters on Election Day?
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Dear Election Integrity Activists,
I'm working on a paperback book/election guide to be published this summer. It will tell voters what they need to know to ensure that they can vote this November, and increase the likelihood that their votes will be counted.
While we can only do so much to change the election machinery between now and November, we can help people make sure that they're registered, that they have the right ID, and that they'll prepared for long lines, possible voter challenges, and DRE malfunctions, etc., and know how to get help.
I'm asking all you activists to help me with this book, because you all know best what's happening in your states. What's happening that will affect the voters on Election Day? What problems, old or new, have come up in the recent primary or caucuses--problems likely to recur this fall? And who--yourselves included--would you recommend for help in overcoming them?
I'm planning to divide the book into two sections. First there will be a series of short chapters on the most important topics: registration and purges; student voting; senior voting; issues facing new voters; voting absentee vs. in the precinct; DRE do's and don't's; how to deal with poll workers/election officials; what to do to get more involved. The second, shorter section will provide the basic facts for every state: registration deadlines; the kind(s) of voting system in place, and particular snafus to look out for; who to call for help.
I would like to quote and cite activists who have been working all across the country. The book--to be published by AlterNet--will come out by mid-July, which means it has to be completed by early June.
It would be great if you could you pass this request around, get back to me with your own input and contact info, and keep a look-out as this primary season. This is an opportunity to help voters, raise the profile of election integrity issues and send a message that we are watching.
Sincerely,
Steven Rosenfeld
Senior Fellow, AlterNet.org
steven@alternet.org
Authors Bio:
Steven Rosenfeld covers democracy issues for AlterNet. He is a longtime print and broadcast journalist and has reported for National Public Radio, Monitor Radio, Marketplace,
TomPaine.com and many newspapers. He has written and co-authored three books on voting rights since 2004, including Count My Vote (AlterNet Books, 2008). His next book profiles how Ben Bril, the most famous Dutch Jewish boxer, kept his family alive in WW2.