Manifesta

MANIFESTA Resource Guide for Third Wave Feminists

The vote, which was the goal of the first seventy-two years of feminist struggle, is actually controversial among some activists we know. Some feminists argue that the system is so damaged and corrupt that it should be revolutionized, not sustained by encouraging the participation of its citizens. The fact is, most aspects of our lives are influenced by the government: our schools, the condition of our roads, the state of the economy, how much our milk and cigarettes cost, and so on. But the vast majority of people who don't vote are not doing it as a political protest. Many people aren't voting because they don't have access to registration, don't know that they can vote, or are unable to get to the polls. That's why it's imperative for us, as feminists and organizers, to register voters, to understand the system and the issues, and to help people to exercise their right to vote. Once we have this basic foundation accounted for, we can lobby for better information on candidates and for more representative candidates. In additions, most of the steps outlined below are universal and can be applied to other campaigns if voting isn't really your thing:

Identify A Problem (A.K.A. What's Wrong With This Picture?):
You notice that young people aren't voting. In 1994, only 37 percent of people aged eighteen to twenty-four were registered voters, and only 22 percent of women aged eighteen to twenty-four actually voted. Only 36 percent of the eligible voting population actually cast a ballot for President in 1996, and just 6 percent of everyone who voted in 1994 was under the age of thirty.

Determine Your Goals:
If even 60 percent of the women who could vote did, and voted in their own best interests, the face of the electorate would be changed. This should be both part of your message and your goal.

Identify You Constituency (Who Does This Issue Affect?):
How many people do you want to register? Be realistic. If you are doing it solo, the registering one person a day is great. If there a particular under-registered community that you want to target? Do you want to target a neighborhood? A segment of the population? Perhaps your goal isn't registering but encouraging people to vote — voter awareness or voter education. If you want to get one hundred people out to vote on Election Day, you need a plan to find those one hundred people.

If you live in or near a college, an obvious place to both register people and encourage them to vote is on campus. Set up a table at the dining hall, lobby to make voter registration a part of new-student registration, or petition to keep forms at the library and anywhere else that students gather.
Off campus, target grocery stores, welfare offices, malls, the line outside the women's bathroom at movies, and anywhere else that people congregate and loiter.
If you choose to go door-to-door out side you community, you may want to collaborate with a local group (i.e., a church or Project South, which works in rural Georgia and urban Atlanta) in order to have a recognizable and trusted name behind you.
After you pick a place and a date, consult the management or administration to make sure you don't need a permit.
Besides the constituency you are trying to reach, who is going to help you? Get a group of committed volunteers — from the League of Women Voters, your friends, student groups, your slacker cousin, or your retired lawyer mother — and delegate some of the implementation steps.

Research:
Each state has different laws about governing voter registration, so call your local Board of Elections. (The number is in your phone book.) The League of Women Voters (LWV) also has this information. Ask the local Board of Elections or the LWV:

Who can/can't register to vote?
Myths about who can vote get in the way of the act of registering. For instance when Amy did Freedom Summer in 1992, an eighty-year-old woman told her that she was too old to vote. Amy met two women who were told by someone in authority that although they were U.S. citizens they couldn't vote because they weren't born in this country. Homeless people often don't know that they can vote, and others think that because they were once imprisoned they can't vote, either. Actually, all of these people probably can vote. Another myth trumpeted by many to make our generation seem lame is the fact that 1972 had the highest turnout among young voters — without mentioning that this was the first election after Nixon had lowered the voting age from twenty-one to eighteen. You want the numbers up? The government should try lowering the age to seventeen.
For now, in all states you must be eighteen or older to vote. In some states you can register to vote before you turn eighteen, as long as you will be eighteen by the time of the election. Most states have restrictions on people who have been convicted of a crime and on those who are currently serving time. States differ on the voting rights of convicted felons, but most allow them to vote once they are out of prison and off parole.

How do you register to vote?

In most states there is a simple form available through your local Board of Elections that you will use in your drive. Filling out this form enables a citizen to vote in all elections - local, state, and federal.
In 1993, Clinton signed the National Voter Registration Act, which introduced a National Voter Registration form that you pick up when you go to get your driver's license or when you sing up for welfare. (Colloquially, the act is known as "Motor Voter.") Many states allow you to fill out this form to register for all elections. However, states that haven't fully implemented this law allow you to use this form only for federal elections (President, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives).
Forms are available in different languages. Choices vary, but you can usually get them in Spanish and Chinese, which you should have on hand for your drive. If you are planning to do a large-scale voter-registration drive, you should call ahead to the Board of Elections to make sure that it will have enough registration forms available.
Sometimes you must be over eighteen and a U.S. citizen in order to register others to vote. If you learn that your state allows only a "state-certified registrar" to register voters, refocus your attentions to a voter-education drive (the specifics of which are coming up).

When to register?
Most states require that registration be done at least thirty days prior to the election. Minnesota however, has same-day registration, which is one of the reasons that Jesse Ventura was able to win the gubernatorial race in 1998. Citizens who had stayed away from the polls for years were able to participate in this election spontaneously. (Once you have registered, you will be able to vote for any and all elections. You have to re-register if you have changed addresses or your name, or is you registered but didn't vote in the previous two elections.)

Voter Registration:
When registering voters, keep in mind that the easier you make it for people to register, the more effective your drive will be. Some people may not be able to read but would rather not admit it. Others may not speak English (which is why you should have forms in as many languages as possible). Still others may claim to be just too busy and be annoyed that you're adding one more thing to their day.

Offer to fill the form out for them, or help them fill it out.
Some people don't want to register because they believe they will then be eligible for jury duty. Assuage their fears by telling them that, in reality, there are many other ways of becoming eligible for jury duty - one's driver's license, taxes, and being on public assistance, for example.
Don't forget to tell potential voters that the Board of Elections will be sending them a voter-registration card in the mail in the coming weeks and that they should save it.
Once you have finished, make sure you mail the forms to the appropriate place, most likely the Board of Elections. You should keep copies (or, at least, contact information) of every form that you filled out so that you can follow up ("get out the vote") with the same people you registered.

Voter Education:
Most people won't register to vote or go to polls unless they have a reason to do so. Local issues are the ones that are most likely to inspire people to vote. Other issues that drive people to vote may have personal reasons behind them — violence, education, and reproductive rights, for example. Research local issues, candidates' upcoming positions on those issues, and which referendums will be on the upcoming ballot.

Get information from the candidates and see which issues are central to their campaign.
Campaign materials are often presented in dense, confusing language — you should translate it into clear points. Your role is simply to give voters information about a candidate's position. They, in turn, need to determine how well the candidate will represent them. The following resources can help you research local and other issues on-line: Women's Voting Guide is sponsored by the Women Leaders Online Fund and tracks how well candidates will represent women's issues. Voters for Choice can provide you with information on how candidates rate on reproductive rights. Project Vote Smart (or http://www.selectsmart.com/PRESIDENT/) is a nonpartisan, non-profit voter-education site with great information about every candidate. You can also call (800) 622-7627 and talk to a knowledgeable student volunteer.
You may want to prepare your own local voting guide. Contact the Third Wave Foundation for sample Voter Education Guides (see Chapter Two resources for contact information).

Get Out the Vote!
In recent elections, the biggest problem was actually getting people to the polls. The week before the election (general elections, not including special elections, are always held on the first Tuesday in November), you should call those people you registered and every-one else you know and remind them that it is Election Day. Encourage them to vote with their conscience and their consciousness raised.

Be prepared to tell them where they must go to vote. (The information is on their voter-registration card, or you can direct them to the Board of Elections.) And give people enough reason to vote.
Most people are nervous that they might pull the wrong lever or that they don't know what they're doing. Let them know that you are, too.
The superactivists among you can actually get people to the polls by being an escort for the elderly or for those with disabilities, helping to organize baby-sitting for parents of young children, or arranging transportation for people who don't have cars.
Last, but not least, vote.

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