It happened in West Virginia

Tags: election, protection, voter, voter fraud, voting machines, West Virginia

Standing up for America

Standing Up for America!

Terry and I spent the morning with our friends Jerry, Andy, and Kelly from the United Steelworkers at the US Steel Clairton Works making sure that everyone there was registered to vote before the registration deadline Monday. Thanks to the USW for bringing us in.

You may be wondering, why, standing up for America, is Terry crouching in this photo? I suggest spending a little time out talking to voters with him, and you will see that he does things his own way. Not that he is any less effective for it: there are a few people who will be out at the polls November 4 who would not have been able to vote this year without Terry’s dedication this morning!

Mac

Tags: 2008, canvassing, election, new voters, Pennsylvania, registration, steelworkers, voter

Registering Voters makes the News!

We got a spot in the Post-Gazette for our jail registration work in conjunction with Just Harvest; Goodwill of Southwestern Pennsylvania; the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, ACORN; the Community Voters Project; Work for Progress; and Duquesne University nursing and political science students last week!

“Spearheaded by inmate program director Jack Pishke, it was the largest registration effort to date at the jail and the only one jail officials knew of statewide, in anticipation of the last registration day: Oct. 6.

In a dizzying two hours, the group helped to complete 456 new registrations and about 700 absentee ballot applications.

Unlike most of the younger volunteers, Ms. Rabinowitz, 67, of Park Place, had been in jail before. She was locked up with a group of organizers for two separate stretches in 1963, after the group was arrested for registering rural black voters in the south with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.

Those voters, she said, were scared because “they’d never had the right to vote before and we couldn’t tell them it wasn’t dangerous.”

The jail inmates today were just eager. And hopeful.”

Read the full article

Tags: allegheny county, Allegheny County Jail, disenfranchised, election, ex-offenders, inmates, pa league of young voters, pa league of young voters education fund, Pennsylvania, registration, unlock the vote, vote, voter, Voting

Reasons to Vote

Schuman Juvenile Detention Center

“I want government that works for the people.” - Andrew

“I finally can and we are going to make history this election.” -Kymarr

“Lower taxes and gas prices.” - Cameron

Schenley High School

“I want a change and to fulfill my responsibility as a citizen.” - Sophia

“I want to have a voice in the political process.” - Walter

CCAC: West Mifflin

“I believe my vote can make a difference.” - Chelsea

“Because of the troops being killed in Iraq, because i think they can
start coming home.” - Amy

“I want America to be ran by someone whose gonna do whats right for the US, not himself.” - Amanda

Opinions expressed belong solely to the individuals mentioned and are not necessarily those of the PA League.

Tags: CCAC, election, pledge card, Schenley, Schuman, vote, voter, young

It’s a new record!

Roxanne Banks-Williams and Terry Griffin (and former League interns Justin Witmer and Moshe Sherman) and about 50 more amazing volunteers registered the inmates at the Allegheny County Jail today — and came back with 456 new voter registrations!

Now don’t you wish you were there?  Volunteer to help copy and stamp all of these so we can turn them in to the Division of Elections!

Tags: allegheny county, disenfranchised, election, inmates, jail, pa league of young voters, pittsburgh, unlock the vote, vote, voter, voter registration

Lobby the County to Protect our VOTES!

If you’re gonna do all that work to get people registered to vote, to learn about their candidates, and get out to the polls, then you’ve gotta take it that last step of ELECTION PROTECTION to make sure that all those votes get counted.

That’s why we’re going to be at the County Council Hearing TUESDAY to encourage them to look into the authenticity of the new electronic voting machines’ software.

JOIN US TUESDAY and let officials know that the voters in their county want their votes counted!

Audit Our Voting Software

County Council Meeting - Tuesday at 5pm, Sept. 9th

4th Floor, County Courthouse - Gold Room

Sign up to speak to council before Monday at 5pm with this link here:
http://www.county.allegheny.pa.us/council/meetings/recomm.asp

We’re asking everyone who works downtown to pop over for the meeting after work! Stay long enough to miss rush hour, and contribute to the collective concern represented there to our elected county officials.

LEARN MORE:

Excerpt from VoteAllegheny’s press release:

“Because the ES&S iVotronic voting machines used in Allegheny County provide no way
for voters to personally verify that their votes have been correctly and accurately recorded,
voters must trust the iVotronic program code to be correct. The inspection and certification
process carried out by the Secretary of the Commonwealth is meaningless unless the County
ensures the machines run exactly the same program the Secretary certifies.”

“Election Commission Bails Out Voting Machine Maker In Time for May Primary,” March 11, 2004
“EVEREST: Evaluation and Validation of Election-Related Equipment, Standards, and Testing,” Sections 6.3 and 7.2.2

See you downtown!
PA League

Tags: accountability, allegheny county, county council, election, protection, Upcoming Events, volunteer, vote, voter

Volunteer Orientation — Monday Sept. 8th

Get yourself orientated to be able to get out that vote for this election!
Sure, you probably think that people would have to be crazy to not vote in an election that’s received as much attention as this one has, but you would also be surprised. People need to be encouraged, to know that others think it is important, to overcome apathy, and to vote down the whole ballot, dagnabit.

There are tens of thousands of inactive voters in our area.

So, to be able to motivate and mobilize those voters for the future of PA,
come to our volunteer orientation!

Some things that will be covered:
- history of the League
- the Fall strategy for election turnout
- the keys to successful voter mobilization
- volunteer opportunities before and on election day

That’s MONDAY, SEP 8th, and 7PM, at our office (6101 Penn Avenue Suite 302).

Any questions, email field-pa@theleague.com

Tags: Education, election, orientation, Outreach, pa league of young voters, training, volunteer, voter