EX-EL-EYE

Or, translated, XLI or 41, which is the amount of days left until the election.

What?!? Only 41 days?!? Scary?

Nope.

Because we gots ourselves a plan to vote…

Wednesday, September 24th: MAKE SURE YOU’RE REGISTERED AND ON THE ROLLS

How do you do that?

VOTE FOR CHANGE is great tool.

(Note: I used the tool and it worked for me, but it has not worked for everybody. So, if VOTE FOR CHANGE says you’re not registered, enter your states name and “Voter Registration” into Google and follow the links to your Secretary of State’s website where you can find information on checking you registration. It may require an annoying phone call or 30 aggravating mouse clicks, but that’s better then showing up on election day and realizing you can’t participate.)

After you check for yourself… send an email to all your friends and get them to check as well.

This is especially important because…

VOTER REGISTRATION ENDS NEXT TWO WEEKS IN THE FOLLOWING STATES…

Alaska 10/5

Arizona 10/6

Arkansas 10/6

COLORODO 10/6

District of Columbia 10/6

FLORIDA 10/6

Georgia 10/6

Hawaii 10/6

Illinois 10/7

INDIANA 10/6

Kentucky 10/6

Louisiana 10/6

MICHIGAN 10/6

Mississippi 10/3

Montana 10/6

NEW MEXICO 10/7

OHIO 10/6

PENNSYLVANIA 10/6

Rhode Island 10/4

South Carolina 10/4

Tennesssee 10/6

Texas 10/6

Utah 10/6

VIRGINIA 10/6

Washington 10/4

Wednesday, September 24th: GO FIND YOUR LOCAL OBAMA OFFICE AND SAY “HELLO”

I know. I know. You’ve sent an email. You’ve called. They’re not getting back to you.

IT’S BECAUSE THEY ARE OFFICIALLY COO-COO FOR CO-CO PUFFS.

Overwhelmed campaign staff can put off responding to an email.

Overworked volunteers can miss a phone call.

But YOU standing in the doorway of a campaign office… that cannot be ignored.

Where are  those offices? Well, they are here.

ALAKSA, ALAKSA, ARIZONA, ARKANSAS, CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, CONNECTICUT, DELAWARE, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, FLORIDA, GEORGIA, HAWAII ,IDAHO, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, IOWA, KANSAS, KENTUCKY, LOUISIANA, MAINE, MARYLAND, MASSACHUSETTS, MICHIGAN, MINNESOTA, MISSISSIPPI, MISSOURI, MONTANA, NEBRASKA, NEVADA, NEW HAMPSHIRE, NEW JERSEY, NEW MEXICO, NEW YORK, NORTH CAROLINA, NORTH DAKOTA, OHIO, OKLAHOMA, OREGON, PENNSYLVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, SOUTH  DAKOTA, TENNESSEE, TEXAS, UTAH, VERMONT, VIRGINIA, WASHINGTON, WEST VIRGINIA, WISCONSIN, WYOMING

Need help here? Well… here’s a link to easy to print Obama materials.

Thursday, September 25th: THINK BEYOND THE PRESIDENCY, THINK LEGISLATIVELY

Our new Democratic President is going to need as close to a filibuster proof majority as possible and that means winning 11 seats (to account for the space-waste that will-soon-be Republican Joe Lieberman).

So, who are those 11 new Senators and how do YOU get involved with THEIR campaigns?

1) Here is where you volunteer for Mark Warner’s campaign, helping  him become the next Democratic Senator from Virginia.

2) Here is where you volunteer for Mark Begich’s campaign, helping  him become the next Democratic Senator from Alaska.

3) Here is where you volunteer for Tom Udall’s campaign, helping  him become the next Democratic Senator from New Mexico.

4) Here is where you volunteer for Mark Udall’s campaign, helping  him become the next Democratic Senator from Colorado.

5) Here is where you volunteer for Al Franken’s campaign, helping  him become the next Democratic Senator from Minnesota.

6) Here is where you volunteer for Ronnie Musgrove’s campaign, helping  him become the next Democratic Senator from Mississippi.

7) Here is where you volunteer for Jeanne  Shaheen’s campaign, helping  her become the next Democratic Senator from New Hampshire.

8) Here is where you volunteer for Jeff Merkley’s campaign, helping  him become the next Democratic Senator from Oregon.

9) Here is where you volunteer for Kay Hagan ‘s campaign, helping  her become the next Democratic Senator from North Carolina.

10) Here is where you volunteer for Tom Allen ‘s campaign, helping  him become the next Democratic Senator from Maine.

11) Here is where you volunteer for Scott Kleeb’s campaign, helping  him become the next Democratic Senator from Nebraska.

BETTER YET, JUST LOOK UP THE LOCAL FIELD OFFICE AND JUST SHOW UP!

Thursday, September 25th: THINK ABOUT GETTING OUT OF TOWN FOR THE WEEKEND

Where to go? Well, again…

VOTER REGISTRATION ENDS NEXT TWO WEEKS IN THE FOLLOWING STATES…

Alaska 10/5

Arizona 10/6

Arkansas 10/6

COLORODO 10/6

District of Columbia 10/6

FLORIDA 10/6

Georgia 10/6

Hawaii 10/6

Illinois 10/7

INDIANA 10/6

Kentucky 10/6

Louisiana 10/6

MICHIGAN 10/6

Mississippi 10/3

Montana 10/6

NEW MEXICO 10/7

OHIO 10/6

PENNSYLVANIA 10/6

Rhode Island 10/4

South Carolina 10/4

Tennesssee 10/6

Texas 10/6

Utah 10/6

VIRGINIA 10/6

Washington 10/4

Not near one of those states? Well here’s every date you’ll need in one handy place.

Now, if I could only embed the Southwest Airlines “You’re Free To Move Around The Country” sound as inspiration, we’d be all set. Oh, hey SPEAKING OF GOING SOMEWHERE…

Friday, September 26th: THINK ABOUT DELIVERING AN EARLY KNOCK OUT PUNCH

Apparently Ohio has something called GOLDEN WEEK, from September 30th through October 6th, wherein citizens can BOTH REGISTER and VOTE on the same day.

Why is this important?

Because you can BANK VOTES now from low-turnout voters such as students and African-Americans.

Why is BANKING IN OHIO vital?

Because if you get those voters out NOW and you win an Eastern Time Zone, McCain must-have state like Ohio, this election will be over very, very early on the night of November 4th.

Kerry States + Ohio = 272 Electoral Votes = President-Elect Barack Obama

NO REPUBLICAN HAS EVER WON THE PRESIDENCY WITHOUT OHIO.

What can you do in Ohio?

Volunteer. Get yourself to Ohio, preferably in a large car, by the night of Sept 28. We’ll give you housing, training and a meaningful job for the week.

Fill out the Online Sign-Up Sheet HERE.

Lend us your car or home. We need wheels to drive voters to the polls, and beds to sleep in all over Ohio. Can you help us find either for the week?

If so, contact cristina.moon at gmail dot com.

Donate. Help us pay for vans, gas and posters. We’re looking for generous individuals or teams of friends to sponsor one van — $750 for the week. Make an online donation HERE.

Saturday, September 27th: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS, KNOW THE LAW

Maybe you’ve committed a felony. Maybe you know someone who has committed a felony. Maybe you run across someone who has committed a felony. Can they legally register to vote?

HERE IS A LINK to a website that lists State Felon Voting Laws. Its important info to know and pass along.

Sunday, September 28th: KNOW YOUR OBAMA

Destroying McCain doesn’t close the deal, but SELLING OBAMA does.

Need help here? Well… HERE’S A LINK FOR EASY-TO-PRINT OBAMA MATERIALS and A LINK TO THE CAMPAIGN’S DOWNLOAD PAGE.

Monday, September 29th: LAWYERRS? KNOW THAT WE CAN PROTECT THE VOTE

The Obama campaign is looking for lawyers to help ensure the vote in states where Republicans plan to do whatever they can think of to prevent the votes of Democrats… or more tellingly people who LOOK like Democrats or LIVE IN AREAS populated by Democrats… from counting.

All you have to do is go HERE, give them your information, clear your schedule for election day, and they’ll take it from there. Or HERE is a link to a LAWYERS FOR OBAMA page asking for help. And you know who else is looking for… well… you… The National Campaign For Fair Elections whose volunteer page is HERE.

Also, I’m not exactly sure what qualifies as YOUNG (though I’m sure at 39 1/2 I’m STILL IT), but HERE is a link for YOUNG Lawyers for Obama, which I’m sure you’ll all want to get in contact with, if for no other reason then it will allow you to mock OTHERS as old.

Tuesday, September 30th: START THINKING AHEAD

–If you’re an employee, remind your employer about election day. Get the day off work if you can or at least remind your boss that its important that vote and intend to vote EARLY (we’ll get into this in a second).

Remind them that this will be an historic election and that the polls may be mobbed, so you may be late.

–If you’re an employer, give your employees the day off or plenty of space and time to vote.

If you need more person-power, set it up well in advance.

Friday, October, 31st: BE PREPARED

–Identify two pieces of identification (we’ll also get into this in a moment.) Drivers license. Passport. If you’ve got them utilities with your name and address.

–Find your polling place. Pretty much every Secretary of State has a website that allows you to enter your address in order to see an online version of your ballot and get directions to your polling place.

Better yet Google comes through again with this Election Day Map. All you have to do is put your address in and up will come your polling place as well as directions and instructions.

Friday October 31st: DOUBLE OR TRIPLE YOUR VOTE.

–Take a moment to identify OTHER VOTERS in your neighborhood who are low-turnout voters… i.e. older voters who might not be able to get to the polls, younger voters who don’t have a history of participating, friends who are on the fence Democrats… and invite them to come to join you when you go to vote. APPLY NO PRESSURE ABOUT WHO THEY ARE GOING TO VOTE FOR, but be open, if they initiate, to educate them on Obama’s positions.

–If YOU are one of those low-turnout voters and you need help, CONTACT THE LOCAL OBAMA campaign NOW or… hell… let us know here below. I’m sure, given how this community works, we’ll figure out some way to get you to the church on time.

Tuesday November 4th: GOING TO THE POLLS

–Vote early. Every year there’s a state… or states… where state Democrats have to go to the courts and ask to keep the polls open late in order to allow for people to vote. It’ll happen again this year, but the best way to make SURE your vote is counted is to get out early and get it done. You may have to wait in line… but that won’t be a problem because you cleared whatever time you — and your voting buddy — need.

–Have those two pieces of identification with you.

Of course IN MOST STATES YOU’RE ALLOWED TO VOTE WITHOUT IDENTIFICATION, but given the way the Republicans play, we all want to insure that we are allowed to vote and don’t have to vote provisionally.

The second part is especially important in a very close election, because provisional ballots aren’t counted until the END of the election process and, as we learned in 2000, the PERCEPTION of the winner is more important than the actual winner. Barack Obama must be winning by the wee hours of Wednesday November 5th and the less provisional votes Democrats cast the better.

–If something goes wrong, ANYTHING IT ALL, and you are not allowed to vote… find the closest local Obama office and inform them immediately. Don’t go to the press. Don’t lose your mind. Don’t post a hysterical blog here on the Kos. Find Obama’s people and let them know what’s happened. NO ONE IN THE WORLD wants you to vote more then them and they’ll do everything possible to make it happen.

Tuesday November 4th: AFTER YOU’VE VOTED

If you have the time and means, hit the phone banks, either by going to your local Obama office or by contacting them online now.

All the worrying and TV watching and freaking the fuck out will do less then ten phone calls on election day.

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It is my intention to post THIS BLOG every Sunday from now until election day and as I’m sure there are techniques/ideas/suggestions that I’ve yet to incorporate… please let me know in the comment. Also, as this blog evolves… feel free to steal it and send it to your friends/family/Democratic enemies.

Without us actually showing up and voting like we never have before, the rest, to quote The Bard, “is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”