Meet a new voter who's for Obama

You hear these stories about the newly registered voter who’s not going to vote. Or those who don’t pay attention. Or they don’t feel up to the challenges of our democracy.

So it was good to meet Martha Lozano, an immigrant from Colombia some years ago who only became a U.S. citizen last year, and now she’s about as eager to vote as a person can be.

How so? Well, she started off leaning toward the Republicans because that’s what her husband was, but at some point she began to think she should know about the candidates herself.

“I began to listen to them. I like Mr. Obama’s attitude toward immigrants. And I like that he belongs to a minority group, like me.”

She finds the Republicans too old-fashioned on some issues like gay marriage.

“Mr. Obama is better on health care, and on foreign policy, also on how to improve the economy. He’s a smart person with an open mind.”

Does she worry about the rumors? They’re not effective with her. “All human beings make mistakes.”

She watches the debates, and the news on TV. Now she’s off to help a friend find early-voting sites in Palm Beach County.

Welcome, New Voter Martha Lozano!

Voter Reg numbers increase job for us in these last weeks

There are 14-hour days ahead for thousands of unpaid and lightly paid campaign workers.

Your unpaid blogger will be sitting in front of the computer for 6-8 hours a day pondering stuff and every so often writing, and then going out to meetings, events, canvasses and phone banks – piling on 6-8 hours more.

Those who aren’t bloggers can just figure on 14 hours of canvassing, events and phone banks. Y’all can ponder while waiting for the pizza delivery. If you have a job, try to avoid dismissal. It’s tough out there, baby.

Forget about a day off, mowing the lawn, servicing the car, the doctor or the dentist. This is it!

Voter registration is finally over, and the numbers are awesome, and each of the added individuals is a challenge that will require work to produce a vote.

How many challenges? My neighborhood guru, Dan Jonas, captain of North Beach for Obama, says 40,000 new voters in one day, or 200,000 since Aug. 1, have been added to the number of challenges.

Let’s see: how many volunteers does it take to contact 200,000 newly registered Democrats and ask if they have received their absentee ballots, if they need a ride to the polls, if they know where their early voting site is located? And how’s Aunt Tilly and the kids?

“We need help more than ever.”

That’s the word from Dan Jonas and every neighborhood captain, field organizer, deputy field organizer (Welcome the new hires bearing that title, of whom I met one talented example Monday at the unperformed Jay-Z concert), campaign director and on up to Barack Obama himself.

Now is when we win, with the right performance by all of us. Our candidate is doing splendidly. We have a tremendous role model to emulate.

I’m kicking it off this evening by going to a party, a debate-watching party at the Arsht Center in downtown Miami jointly sponsored by the Miami-Dade Democrats. 8 p.m. Y’all come.

Meanwhile, here is word from the Florida Democratic Party on our surge in voter registrations:

With the voter registration for the 2008 General Election now closed, new voter registration numbers provided by the Department of State show another huge surge of Floridians joining the Democratic Party during the month of September.

During the month of September, 20,119 more newly registered Floridians signed up as Democrats than registered as Republicans. Between the beginning of January and the end of September, 170,341 more newly registered voters joined the Democratic Party than joined the Republican Party.

"Floridians are enthusiastic about change and are excited to elect Democrats up and down the ticket. Residents in every corner of the Sunshine State recognize that Democrats will rebuild our economy, create good jobs, lower homeowners' insurance rates and end our addiction to foreign oil, which is why they are joining the Democratic Party in record numbers," said Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman. "Now that our unprecedented voter registration effort has come to an end, we must focus on making sure that every voter in Florida casts their ballot between now and Election Day for Barack Obama and other Democrats. Our tens of thousands of volunteers will be helping their friends and neighbors request absentee ballots, encouraging people to early vote or making sure they get to the polls on Election Day."

According to the Department of State, 72,189 Floridians registered as Democrats while 52,070 people registered as Republicans, during the month of September. Between Jan. 1, 2008 and Sept. 30, 2008, 803,909 people have registered to vote, including 360,478 Democrats, 253,294 Independents and NPAs, and 190,137 Republicans.

Most striking is the net gain numbers, which factor in newly registered voters, party switchers and removes people who are no longer voters in Florida. Since January, the Florida Democratic Party has had a net gain of 415,580 voters, while the Republican Party of Florida has only gained 169,841. This shows that the gap between Democrats and Republicans in Florida has grown by 245,739 voters this year alone.

Here let me stop and repeat the overall lead the Democrats had in Florida in early September:

• Democrats 4.4 million
• Republicans 3.9 million
• Non-party and minor parties 2.3 million.

This should give us ample reason to keep on working, because all those independents are out there waiting for your contact to decide which way they will vote.

Note: in coming days we should hear final numbers of people eligible to vote for president and all else. This will be our final number of challenges to give Barack 27 electoral votes.

Jay Z adds a show

Voter registration should get another boost from the news that Jay Z is adding a show in downtown Miami. That's free, to see the top of the hip hop artists of today.

Check out his videos at this link.

http://www.universalmusic.com/premiere-play/Jay-Z/Blue-Magic/1607357942

Voter registration deadline Oct. 6

OK, gang. This is time for the final push. Here's a little encouragement from our Florida campaign headquarters.

Misinformation in the News About Voter I.D. Law

We are well advised to be cautious about voting rules in Florida. No doubt, the Republicans will try to inhibit the Democratic vote, and some in the media already seem to be helping intimidate people from voting.

This morning shortly after a friend forwarded me an email with misinformation saying people will not be permitted to vote if their driver license address doesn't match the voting rolls, in rolled an URGENT memo declaring the opposite.

So I'm just going to print the entire email from the Obama campaign, written by:

David Sullivan, Voter Protection Director for the Campaign for Change

Date: 9/24/08
RE: URGENT: Misinformation in the News About Voter I.D. Law (No Match, No Vote)

In recent days, many media outlets have reported incorrect information about Florida’s Voter Registration Verification Law as the “No match, No vote” law.

This law does NOT require that the address on the I.D. that a voter presents at the polls match the voter’s address in the precinct register. This law covers the verification of identity when a citizen registers to vote – not when a registered voter goes to the polls to cast his/her ballot.

At the polls, a voter’s current photo I.D. is required and checked to confirm the voter’s identity only – NOT to verify the voter’s I.D. number or address.

The ‘No Match, No Vote’ nickname is misleading and should not be used further. Any registered voter who provides an acceptable form of photo I.D. will be able to vote.

The Florida Secretary of State issued a media advisory that definitively clarifies the law:

“This law does not keep any person with an unverified number from being able to vote. This law is about verifying identity at the time of registration, so that when the voter goes to the polls the voter can vote a regular ballot, not a provisional ballot…

“I.D. required and checked at the polls is used solely to confirm the voter’s identity. Not to verify the voter’s ID number or address. The photograph on the ID is compared to the person standing before the poll worker and the signature on the ID is compared to the signature on record.” [Florida Department of State]

Florida Department of State
Kurt S. Browning
Secretary of State

Also, some facts about the law, again, from the Secretary of State's office:

This law IS NOT new. It became effective January 2006. It was in effect until December 2007 when a court first ordered the Department to stop the almost 2-year old process. That ruling was overturned on appeal. The law was re-implemented September 8, 2008.

• The law is being implemented now because the court order denying the injunction became final in July. The implementation was delayed by pending litigation until June 2008, waiting for U.S. DOJ preclearance in July 2008, time needed to reprogram the system to automatically notice voters and set up revised procedures, and the time needed to prepare supervisors who were otherwise engaged in administering the 2008 Primary Election.
• This law will not affect the status of already registered voters. The law will apply to all NEW applications received on or after September 8, 2008.
• Obvious errors, including nicknames or typos will be resolved automatically.Every applicant must provide (if issued) a Florida driver’s license number, state identification card number or the last 4 digits of the social security number. The identification number is automatically cross-checked against the Florida driver’s license database (DHSMV) or the Social Security Administration database. If that number does not match, the Bureau of Voter Registration Services manually reviews for identifiable typographical errors or a difference between a nickname and formal name based on available records. If so, the applicant in placed on the active voter roll. If the number still cannot be matched, the applicant is notified to provide a photocopy of their identification by mail, by fax, or by e-mail; or the applicant may show their identification in person. If proof is provided before the election, the applicant becomes registered and the person is able to vote a regular ballot. If proof is not provided before the election, the person votes a provisional ballot. The person can provide proof up until the 2nd day after the election for the ballot to be counted in the election results.
• This law does not keep any person with an unverified number from being able to vote. This law is about verifying identity at the time of registration, so that when the voter goes to the polls the voter can vote a regular ballot, not a provisional ballot.
• This law IS NOT unconstitutional. It was first challenged in September 2007. NAACP and the Brennan Center obtained a preliminary injunction in December 2007. On appeal though, the court overturned the injunction in April 2008, finding no violation of federal law. In June 2008, the court rejected the groups’ second attempt to get another injunction, this time finding no violation of constitutional law. Neither NAACP or the Brennan Center appealed the order.
• This law does not target specific groups. The U.S. Department of Justice reviewed the law in 2005, and after revisions to the law in 2007 and 2008, found that the law did not deny or abridge the right to vote on account of race, color or membership in a language minority group.
• A provisional ballot is always counted when the voter is shown to be registered and eligible, regardless of the closeness of the outcome of the election. A person who votes provisionally simply because he or she forgot ID at the polls will not have to do anything else. If the signatures on that ballot certificate and the voter rolls match, the provisional ballot is counted.
• I.D. required and checked at the polls is used solely to confirm the voter’s identity. Not to verify the voter’s ID number or address. The photograph on the ID is compared to the person standing before the poll worker and the signature on the ID is compared to the signature on record.

UPDATE: And here's one of the offending media reports: from the flagship newspaper in Florida, the Miami Herald, which had misinformation on its editorial page last Sunday. The editorial appears to have the good intention of arguing against discrimination against minorities, but it includes the erroneous sentence:

The no-match law applies when a person registers to vote as well as at the polls.

Again, the law does NOT apply at the polls.

It will be interesting to see if the Herald pulls back from this editorial -- and if it acknowledges that it may have scared some minority voters away from even approaching the polling place. That is, what will the seriously Republican editorial board of the Miami Herald have to say about the impact of this editorial on likely Democratic voters?

Obama campaign spending $39 million in Florida

It seems like an incredible amount of money, but in fact as I figured out a year ago when we had a municipal election here on Miami Beach, the candidates for city commission spent $130.55 for each vote cast. (Link to that post.)

Now, if all 10.6 million registered Floridians actually vote on Nov. 4, that would be only $3.68 per vote spent by the Obama campaign. Compared with all the robo-calling and glossy mailers we residents of Miami Beach suffer from our aspirants to the city commission, it's a pittance.

Before I report on what David Plouffe says in the video below, let me just post the detail of who's leading among registered voters in Florida with about three weeks until the close of registrations:

• 4.4 million Democrats
• 3.9 million Republicans
• 2.3 million minor and non-party

Please don't let anyone think that this is a Republican state, despite what we have in Tallahassee. Democrats are in a temporary trough; we will be out of it soon to show there's better ways of doing state business. And we won't be mean about it the way the pit-bull Republicans are.

For instance (and again, pardons, I'm delaying a report on the Obama campaign), the Republicans are clearly to blame for two crooked instances of voter manipulation uncovered in the media.

• The St. Petersburg Times reports on our neighbors the Florida Republicans sending mail to seniors who are Democrats, telling them that they're shown as registered Republicans. Whose "honorable" name is on the mail? John McCain. What's the effect? Attempt to confuse Democratic voters, attempt to "cage" them out of their vote on election day.
• Next report is from Politico, about a national "push poll" targeting Jewish voters and asking them leading and nasty questions about Obama. Be aware of this and don't hesitate to report suspicious calls and mailings. By the way, the name on this was John McCain.

Official Democratic reaction:

"It is disgusting that John McCain and his Republican cronies would prey on Florida's seniors. John McCain's dishonorable and dishonest campaign prove he and his Republican Party are so desperate for four more years of Bush politics that they will do anything to win - except talk honestly with voters about the issues that matter," Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman said. "Frankly, John McCain should be ashamed of himself for preying on seniors like a bogus reverse-mortgage peddler."

Now, finally, the video in which David Plouffe, manager of the Obama campaign, lays out the situation for the last seven weeks.



The key point in this, to me, is that Florida is the biggest battleground state that he mentions -- requiring $39 million to fund the TV and radio ads, the staff and grassroots to win our 27 electoral votes.

Beyond that, we have huge jobs to do in the grassroots. Looking back to 2004 when George W. Bush won Florida by 380,000 votes, Plouffe pointed to the half-million African-Americans who didn't vote, and the 900,000 registered young citizens who didn't vote.

"We can win if we just turn them out," he said.

Exactly.

Monday 10 a.m.: Meet County Commissioners at new Obama office

This is a voter registration event. Four Miami-Dade County commissioners are to join up at a new Barack Obama campaign office Monday morning and inspire constituents to register to vote.

This will be at 10 a.m. Monday, at the new Campaign for Change office at 257 Miracle Mile in Coral Grove.

Registration ends Oct. 6. Now is the time for a push, and coming together to add their voices will be Commissioners Audrey Edmonson, Barbara Jordan, Dennis Moss and Katy Sorenson.

Everyone else is welcome, too. A few days ago a Campaign for Change office was opened in Hialeah, and probably 200 people attended in a state of high enthusiasm. Y’all come!

Video quality not good, but you can hear what Commissioner Jordan said:

Phone bank! Hundreds of calls for Obama. Next, party!

Sonya, Cora, Ann, Stacey, Aixa in the mopup phase of Tuesday's phone-banking for Barack Obama. These five women are about one-third of the crew that worked in just one small regional volunteer headquarters Tuesday evening to call and identify Obama voters. And don't forget the data entry.

This isn't all that happens from this one center. Registering new voters is a big drive done, for starters, in the now-traditional presence at naturalization ceremonies for new citizens. Other methods are to get on buses and commuter trains and register voters. Waltz from one beach blanket to the next to register voters. Hang out at barbershops and register voters. The parking lot at big-box stores is a good place to register voters. Ask these hard workers for tips.

You can meet this crowd from North Beach Wednesday night at Cafe Prima Pasta, 414 71st St., Miami Beach 33141, and we'll party! Starts at 6 p.m.

What's next after voter registration surge?

The answer was in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, reporting that the Republicans are planning challenges to newly registered voters. If that sounds familiar, you may feel some confidence in the fact that the same article reports the Democratic Party and the Obama campaign have counter-measures already in place.

Voter registration surge

Above is a use of surge that appeals.

Busy scene at HQ of voter registration effort Saturday Aug. 9 to enroll new US citizens after naturalization ceremonies at Miami-Dade County Auditorium.

The way Barack Obama has won elections is by adding to the voting rolls, and it's happening already in Florida. Part of the good news is that the surge in registered voters dates from well before the Obama campaign started running at speed.

The link here is to the Miami Herald online story Monday from Tallahassee reporting the final tally after registration closed for the Aug. 26 primary election. We Democrats are doing better than the Republicans at adding registered voters. The statewide total, however, is only 10.6 million voters, and you'd guess there are a couple million people out there waiting to be invited to vote -- and to be signed up for vote-by-mail, too.

By the way, there's a misleading line in that story, coming from The Associated Press (my former employer): "The Democrats are doing a much better job better than the Republicans at registering new voters ..." Sorry, but if you compare today's numbers with those two years ago, just before the 2006 mid-term election, the Republicans actually LOST about 11,000 registered voters statewide. We Dems are up about 200,0000.

Before we look at the Miami-Dade picture, here are the statewide numbers, as of Aug. 10:

• Democrats 4.4 million
• Republicans 3.924 million
• Non-party 2.3 million

In October 2006, final registration figures before the mid-term general election were:

• Democrats 4.2 million
• Republicans 3.935 million
• Non-party 1.96 million

We see that the non-party folks actually are making the biggest gain, and I have to say that the most vociferous Miamian I encountered in phone-banking the other day was a lady from the Pox-on-all-parties opinion sector. But under her bluster I discerned a tendency to vote for the presidential candidate of her registration -- Democratic. But who knows the fate of those down the ticket. I cringe for our fine Congressional candidates if some of these people can't be convinced to vote Democratic.

Statewide, there's no reason in the registration statistics for the legislature in Tallahassee to be ruled easily by the Republicans. They should have about 40 percent of the seats instead of the two-thirds they now hold. Only rank gerrymandering makes this possible.

Remedy: FairDistrictsFlorida.org already is circulating petitions to rip politics out of the redistricting that is done after every federal census. This must become a powerful drive after the November election, so that it becomes part of the state constitution before the next generation of gerrymanderers steps up to bat. Tip o' the hat to Barbara Schwartz for the work she's started on this petition in Miami-Dade.

Break out the magnifying glass. Now we turn to the PDF files where the Florida Department of State hides its voter statistics. Or you can just trust my summary for Miami-Dade, herewith.

Final figures for the Aug. 26 primary for the county:

• Democrats 515,985
• Republicans 369,856
• Non-party 269,701

Compared with final figures for the 2006 general election:

• Democrats 459,820
• Republicans 370,191
• Non-party 248,173

Again, the Non-party sector has grown some 21,000 people, but not as much as the Democrats' surge -- Love that word -- of about 56,000. The Miami-Dade Republicans are down a few hundred.

Saving the bad news for last: we lost the 2004 presidential vote in Florida by 380,000 votes. If we're to make up that deficit with newly registered voters, we're only half-way there. Back to work!