The 2000 Presidential election woke many people up to the inequalities of elections – will your vote be counted? This year, there are thousands of lawyers on both sides ready to donate their time to making certain that everyone’s right to vote is protected (just as there were thousands of lawyers in NYC during the RNC). The freedom to vote and the freedom of speech and the right to protest should not be abridged.
I expect everyone to vote. But i would also strongly encourage you to get involved in the politics of the election. Register to be a poll worker (SF click here). Polls usually have a hard time getting people to staff them and this is where some of the worst limits on the right to vote happen. The average poll worker is 72; they are usually not technologically savvy (even though most poll machines are now electronic).
Even if you aren’t working, go to the polls and observe the practices that are occurring; report anything fishy (1-866-OUR-VOTE). And of course, if you can, consider traveling to places where voting is more likely to be abridged.
Danah- I’m not so much responding to your entry, though it’s very true and I’m always as involved as I can be in the small town I live in. I am writing because you have been an AMAZING help with tracking down Ani lyrics and unreleased tracks, and I wanted to thank you. I also wanted to know if you have any tips on where I can find actual tracks, mp3s, anything that are her unreleased stuff, especially the demo tracks. Regardless of whether or not you respond, you are AMAZING.
Thanks for the tip, I’m heading down to City Hall this afternoon to complete the registration process. I had always assumed they had plenty of volunteers for poll workers.