Voter Registration Status

Not sure where to vote? As you may have guessed there is one easy way to find out. You can go to PA voter services and look up your Voter Registration Status.

Make sure you know where to vote!
Make sure the people you know are certain of where they should vote!

If you are not sure what to take with you to the polls, you can find out at VotesPA.
You do need ID, but if someone lacks any form of photo ID, they can also use a utility bill!

Vote!

Uniquely Obama

Please watch this video and experience what it is that makes Obama unique.
He is unique because he envisions a new way of managing governance. For Obama, governance is about what we can do together and not what others can do for us.

As he said on the March 4th Primary Night, San Antonio, TX,

"...[T]he real work of democracy begins far from the closed doors and marbled halls of Washington. It begins on street corners and front porches; in living rooms and meeting halls with ordinary Americans who see the world as it is and realize that we have it within our power to remake the world as it should be."

In the following video, you glimpse another example of the empowering manner that is uniquely Obama. In the video, you can witness the pep talk he gives to his staff and volunteers in the campaign headquarters in Chicago and across the country by conference call on June 7:

Unify the Democratic Party!

Right now, Jim Dean is asking members of the Democratic Party to take the UNITY PLEDGE to reach out to 5 people who you know supported a different candidate for the nomination RIGHT NOW and bring them into our campaign.

Jim Dean wants us to listen, empathize, and try to help them move past the pain and think of the good of the country. This is bigger than an alliance to one candidate...

He encourages us to convince them that if they are thinking of voting for McCain, then they are not choosing the same values and goals of their original candidate. McCain is for the same things as Clinton or Edwards or Richards, and definitely not Biden or Kucinich!

I had a fellow democrat email me last week to tell me that while she and her family have been staunch democrats [she] can not support Obama. While curious if this means that she merely won't be publicly promoting Obama or if she really will not vote for our presumptive democratic nominee, I can't yet bring myself to ask.

People need time to heal. Our fellow democrats have been going through the stages of grief. We can reach out and let them know that we are here. However, until they embrace acceptance, we should not rain upon them neither reason nor rhetoric.

I will reach out and say to the Clinton supporters I know,

The democratic values you believe in have not been lost.
They are embodied in Obama.

The major difference between Obama and Clinton was not policy or democratic values, but rather the way they went about living those values. Clinton wants to restore jobs and rebuild the middle class. She wants to help make health care and education rights and not privileges....

But when Clinton talked about making change, it was about what SHE would do for US.
When Obama talks about making change, it is about what WE can do TOGETHER.

Keep your not-yet-Obama-supporters away from the strange delusion that McCain is a better choice because of his experience...Clinton really did not help herself or the party by pursuing that line of reasoning.

McCain is to Hillary as Bush is to Bill.
Let's try to keep that thought in mind.

Obama is to Hillary as Richardson is to Edwards...

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been stressing party unity through the month of May. At the Jefferson-Jackson dinner this year, Clinton even said,

If [Obama] is the nominee, I'll work my heart out for him."

If Clinton is offering to promote Obama as the candidate as well as hold the Vice President position, then why should her supporters do anything besides vote for Obama?

Take the UNITY PLEDGE and reach out to your fellow democrats to unify our party, but please use caution. They may need time to heal.

Pundits liked to spin a drawn out primary as bad for the party, but more people have been fired up by it across our nation than have been in 30 years! More people are interested and engaged!!! This primary has helped us to see the real stakes of the election.

To safeguard our future, democrats must stand together.

Involvement in Jefferson County PA: Summary of Democratic Committee Meeting

If you are interested in being more involved with democratic action in Jefferson County, PA, then please consider attending a meeting of the Jefferson County Democrats!

At these meetings, you will get to meet candidates and elected officials, hear from representatives of the state democratic committee, participate in voter outreach, and hear about the policies that are shaping your lives! You will also have time to socialize with people who share your values.

At their most recent meeting on May 28, the Jefferson County Democrats finalized their decision to have booths for outreach and voter registration, discussed the importance of unifying behind the democratic Presidential nominee, and heard updates from regional candidates such as Mark McCracken (5th Congressional) and Don Hilliard (66th PA state legislative). The campaigns are reaching out to voters in all parties. This is a republican dominant county. We will need cross party votes to get our candidates into office!

They also received an update on the Obama campaign from me: the campaign is back in town and gearing up for the next phase! Please let me know if you are interested in helping with the campaign. We will be working with the Jefferson Democrats to get more people registered to vote!

Finally, the Jefferson Democrats were visited by Brigid Sullivan from the DNC who came to discuss the Neighborhood Leader program. The Neighborhood Leader program asks that you speak with at least 25 voters about our democratic candidates three times from now until November. No problem!

The outreach and voter registration booths will be held at the Jefferson County Fair and the Sykesville Ag & Youth Fair. They will also look into having booths at the Laurel Festival, the Brockway Festival, and the Reynoldsville Homecoming. They will not have a booth at the Punxsy Festival due to the numerous rules.

Chairman Lu Inzana asked that everyone attend each festival and fair wearing buttons, etc. to show support for the party and for democratic candidates.

He also asked that all democrats come together to support our likely presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama

Lu Inzana said that we in NW Pennsylvania have a chance to make a real showing in this race.

PA is quite often a swing state in elections. By coming out in record numbers, we have a chance to impact this election.

All democrats must support the democratic candidate if we are to get a democrat back into the oval office!

I hope you will consider getting involved by helping at at voter registration booth, showing your support for all of the democratic candidates, and by participating in the Neighborhood Leader program.

Voting Makes a Comeback: On the Importance of Registering Voters and Getting them to the Polls

Winning an election is not a mystery. You want more people who support your candidates and issues going to the polls than people who support other candidates and issues. Americans didn't seem to vote much in the last 40 years...but that is starting to change.

In the 2004 Presidential election, we returned to levels of voter participation not seen since the 1968 election between Nixon and Humphrey, where just over 60% of the eligible population turned out to vote.

According to federal records, only 70% of the eligible population is actually registered to vote, which means we need to reach out to that 30% of unregistered voters!

According to Dr. Michael McDonald of George Mason University, voter turnout in the United States has been largely misrepresented due to comparisons of votes to people of voting age; however, comparisons using numbers of eligible voters still demonstrate, in my opinion, that not enough Americans vote. One of the lowest voter turn outs in his records was 52% in the 1996 election between then President Clinton and Bob Dole.

Perhaps voter participation has not changed radically since 1972; we seem to hover around the 55% mark, as seen in McDonald's study of participation in presidential elections since 1948. Since 1948, the only time we hit 65% participation was in 1960 in the presidential race between Kennedy and Nixon! Between 1952 and 1968, voter participation remained above 60%.

An interest in changing the world did not retire with the baby boomers who broke through to a counter culture! Once again, people are getting involved in governance because they recognize that their voices matter, and they don't want to risk not casting a vote.

Your vote is your voice!

If we are to show the world just how much Americans care about democracy, we need to bring those 30% of unregistered voters into the fold!

In 2004, 62% of Pennsylvania's eligible voters participated in the election. In 2008, 32% of Pennsylvania's eligible voters participated in the April 22 Primary.

We need to make sure active voters get out and vote!

More people are interested in politics than have been since 1960! We have a great chance to show people that collectively they can and will make a difference.

Not sure where to start? In Pennsylvania, we can increase voter registrations by targeting women!!

A study of women in Pennsylvania in 1998 to 2000 indicated that only 62.3% of women are registered to vote. Of those, it seems that only 47.3% voted!

It was a stratgey in the 2004 election, and it is again in 2008, no matter who is the democratic nominee. If candidates want to win, they should make sure women are registered and getting out to vote.

More people are getting involved because they see how politics affect their day to day lives with gas prices, the cost of food, health care, joblessness, home financing, and, of course, the threat of losing more soldiers....

Declare yourself! Vote!

2008 PA Primary – Obama, Governance, and Responsibility

Vote on APRIL 22 in the Pennsylvania Primary for Senator Barack Obama.

If you are not interested in politics, you really should be.

If you are interested, you need to educate yourself about candidates and you need to vote!

As a citizen, you have a right to vote. Voting is the most basic as well as the most important way that we can participate in governance.

We live in a democratic republic. Each citizen has a voice in selecting a representative government. This government is keep in check by a separation of church and state, a system of checks and balances between governing bodies (Presidential, Congressional, Judicial), and the ability of the people to select leaders as well as our right to impeach people who are not doing their jobs!

And what is their job?
It is the job of all politicians to serve the will of the people.

We are many, and we are diverse. It is the burden of our elected officials to mediate the many needs and wants of the people against what is possible. In the end, they should do what will maximize the public good. What will serve the interests of the most people in the most efficient manner?

Unfortunately, we have seen the rise of government that serves the needs of the few, the corporations. Since the 1970s, out of our fear of a folding economy, our leaders removed restrictions from businesses. The invisible hand of the market was supposed to maximize profits as well as maximize the public good. What has trickled down? Nothing. Nothing but higher payments and less return for what we pay in taxes!

We need to see tax fairness. We need a business that is regulated to serve the common good. We need to rebuild our infrastructure, educate our children, and regain our image as a peace keeper.

You can help make it all happen by exercising your right.

You can make a change happen in America by fulfilling your responsibility to participate in government.

VOTE!!!

VOTE FOR OBAMA!

You must be a registered Democrat to vote for Senator Obama in the PA Primary on April 22.

Independents can not vote in the PA primary.

It is a shame, and perhaps an injustice...but it is a fact that we must deal with. If you are an INDEPENDENT please re-register to vote for Obama on April 22.

If you have never voted before, please register now and make a difference.

We have a chance to make history in Pennsylvania. A chance to show that the rural areas as well as the urban areas are ready for a change toward grassroots activism and progressive governance!

You must REGISTER as a Democrat 30 days before the primary in order to vote.

Register by MARCH 24!

A Voter Registration Form:

http://www.dos.state.pa.us/voting/lib/voting/02_voter_registration_applications/onlinevoterregformblank.pdf

PA Voting Information:

http://www.dos.state.pa.us/voting/

There are TWO STEPS to the ONLINE REGISTRATION:
1) Complete an online form.
2) Print it out, sign it, and mail it in before March 24th!

Registering online sends counties an electronic record of each registration, but it
doesn't register the application.

If you will not be in your voting precinct on April 22, you must apply for an ABSENTEE BALLOT by April 15.

Absentee Ballot Application:

http://www.dos.state.pa.us/voting/lib/voting/02_voter_registration_applications/absenteeballot/absentee_ballot_application_(08-13-04).pdf

The County Boards of Election must receive civilian absentee ballots by April 18!

Absentee Voting Information:

http://www.dos.state.pa.us/voting/cwp/view.asp?a=1193&q=442991

Vote on APRIL 22 in the Pennsylvania Primary for Senator Barack Obama.

Show the world that Pennsylvania is ready to turn the page and write a new chapter in the history of nation, one of involvement, one of patriotism, one where civil liberties are respected, and one where innovation and business serve the common, collective interests of the people!

Keeping in touch with Politics: 5th District Congressional Seat in PA

I find it so hard to find information on our local elections. Why is that?
I will save that rant for another day.

If you don't already know, Rep. John Peterson (R) is retiring for personal reasons.

There are three democrats and five republicans looking to take his place.

For now, I would like to tell you about a site that is making is much easier to follow the race for the 5th District Congressional Seat.

The Centre Daily Times has a whole page dedicated to continuous articles about the race.
http://www.centredaily.com/congressional_race/


Please note that there is one story with brief details from each nominee (Republican and Democrat alike) on economic development in the region.
http://www.centredaily.com/482/story/442490.html


I also like to check for things on the Keystone Politics page, where several nominees have posted blogs.
http://www.keystonepolitics.com/delegation08

You can also access a variety of candidates web sites through ActBlue.com
http://actblue.com/directory?query_parameters=---%20%0Afilters%3A%20%5B%5D%0A%0A&add_filter_query=_facet-state%3A%22PA%22

We must go out of our ways to educate ourselves.
We must make ourselves informed voters.

I hope this information helps you make your decisions.

PA House District 66: Sam Smith and Samy Elmasry

The election of Pennsylvania House District 66 is a very simple race. The general assembly

Over the past few month I have seen very little evidence that anyone was paying attention to this race. There were a few signs for Sam Smith and Elmasry sprinkled along heavy traffic areas in Punxsutawney.

If driving along 119, you wil mainly see signs for the gubenatorial race between Rendel and Swan.

Evidence of support for one side or the other in the big races has been scare, although slowly growing. I guess that was why it was so surprising to see the swelling of support for Sam Smith in the PA House of Representatives.

There was a row of houses, each with a sign.

About three years ago Sam Smith opened an office in Punxsy. I am really not sure how long it has been there, but it became very noticable about three years ago. The office is located in an old 1930s storefront. The balcony on the second floor is covered with a sign declaring his name, it is detailed in red and blue.

I think that my wish to have this representative replaced is grounded in my disappointment. My sister started a non-profit to advocate for the Big Run Elementary school which was allowed to fall into disrepair until it was slated for closure--the reason being that it was in disrepair. Many of the small schools in the more rural areas on the outskirts of the school district have been closing. But this one was historic.