rallying

[ellipsis]

sadly, i live in alabama, a state already claimed by bush. neither bush nor kerry has even bothered to campaign here. so a friend of mine has lately had the great incentive to influence indecisive voters with information on the green party. the idea is to promote enough voting for the green party to boost its popularity.

the four of us went out yesterday morning to stand at a pretty congested intersection here in montgomery. we held signs and spoke to the people who commented and asked questions while they were waiting at the traffic lights. the response was pretty good, considering how conservative alabama is: some shouted at us to keep it up, some honked their horns incessantly and displayed a thumbs-up sign as they passed through, and some wrote down the information we were offering so they could research it later. one guy even threw a fistful of change at us. there <i>were</i> a few "vote bush!" comments, slurs directed at my black friend and me, and a few middle fingers, but we expected much worse than that. the guy who brandished his rifle at my friend really mustn't be interested.

summary: i'm amazed at the kind of support we've gotten in this wildly conservative state. if this were a swing state at all, we'd do our duty and promote kerry (barely the lesser of two evils), but as it is, we're taking advantage of being a set state. who <i>would</i> jesus bomb, anyway?

[anniefay]

well, michigan is a battleground state, and we have politicians coming out our ears. I have signed up to work as an election official tormorrow... wheeeeee!!!!

WAIT! not whee. I have to be there at 6:30 in the morning and stay until very, very, very late at night... probably midnight or later. After the polls close all absentee ballots have to be counted and there's some serious accounting work that has to be done to make sure everything balances. Because I will be working in a precinct not my own, i had to complete an absentee ballot, so my voting is done. All those phone phone calls and ads are totally wasted on me.

I actually get paid $7.00/hr to do this duty. It is probably going to be the hardest money I will have ever earned. They are expecting a huge turnout, attorneys sitting waiting to challenge voters as they come through the line. I have a feeling it is going to be a very educational experience. But, for some strange reason, I am looking forward to it.

[ellipsis]

good for you, annie! there is no way i can weasel out of work to do anything tomorrow (except vote--thankfully, my boss is very emphatic about our vote, though he'd be horrified to hear i don't vote republican). also, everyone i know will rush energetically to vote tomorrow, so i really can't help anyone get out there, anyway. and the state belongs to bush...

well, i'm really just hoping that the new voter registrations belong to people who just might support kerry. i am literally terrified by this election. i'll probably not sleep one bit tonight or the next night.

i'm really happy to read that you're involved with the polls. also, jamelah's blog post about the election makes me very happy.

this election is horrific, though.