Get Out The Vote
Gail Bliss
Ed Garvey and others from FightingBob.com. Since Fighting Bob is a
501(c)(3) we can't support any one candidate, but we are looking at
ways to encourage voter turnout. This Saturday at the Wisconsin River
Valley Grassroots Festival we will be seeking people willing to sign a
pledge "I pledge to vote in the Spring Election April 7, 2009 I will
make sure 10 people I know also vote." This sign up has 2 purposes -
getting people out to vote for this election, and building a list of
progressive activists who are willing to talk to their friends about
GOTV.
There will be a phone bank starting 3/18 to call people reminding them
to vote and remind their friends and neighbors to vote April 7. There
will be a request for phone banking volunteers coming next month.
Note that the April 7 election is during the Madison Public Schools
Spring Break. We are encouraging people who won't be in town to
request an absentee ballot form. Absentee ballots are also useful for
people who are concerned that they won't get to the polls for any
reason. You can go to the city clerks office or request an absentee
ballot by mail The form is at
http://www.cityofmadison.com/clerk/documents/AbsenteeBallotRequest.pdf
You do not need to use the form. You can send a written request that
must include:
* A statement that you want an absentee ballot for April 7, 2009
* Name,
* Madison address, (you must be registered at this address)
* Address to which the ballot should be mailed, (can be the same
address - you would return the ballot before leaving town.)
* Signature.
Mail the request to City Clerk, City-County Building, Room 103, 210
Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd., Madison, WI 53703-3342. Ballots will
be mailed out through the Thursday before the election. Absentee
ballots must be received in the City Clerk's Office on or before
election day. Ballots received after the election date will not be
counted.
You can bundle absentee ballot requests HOWEVER each must be signed by
the voter.
Absentee ballots are distributed by municipality. They are available
21 days before the election (starting March 18). People can go in and
vote early, like many did for the presidential election. This
information is for the CITY of Madison. It would be a good plan to
check with your local clerk.
Gail Bliss
Jorgenson, Reid
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