Mixing up old-school with 2.0 voter registration tech
Larry Miller/Special to the NNPA from the Philadelphia Tribune
Issue date: 10/5/08 Section: Politics
While unprecedented numbers of African Americans and young people are expected to register in this year's election, voters in swing states like Pennsylvania are going to have a tremendous impact on the 2008 election.
"People say that the Black vote is a shoe in for the Democratic Party, but especially in swing states that should not be taken for granted," Jealous said. "Swing voters need to be motivated and anyone doing voter registration in those states needs to fight hard for the Black vote. There should be kitchen table discussions and community meetings discussing the needs of Black voters, which aren't insignificant at all."
Jealous also said the 8 million unregistered Blacks were transients, people who moved around a lot and forgot to re-register, college students, young people who are not rooted in a particular community and also people who might be confused about the status of their right to vote.
"For instance, people in California who are in jail and awaiting trial might not know that until they are convicted of a crime, they still have the right to vote," Jealous said.
According to the United States Census Bureau, only 69 percent of African Americans are registered compared to 75 percent of their White counterparts.
"Every 20 years or so there's a major election - the 2008 presidential election," Jealous said. "We see this as our responsibility to get as many people as possible engaged in the political process."
"People say that the Black vote is a shoe in for the Democratic Party, but especially in swing states that should not be taken for granted," Jealous said. "Swing voters need to be motivated and anyone doing voter registration in those states needs to fight hard for the Black vote. There should be kitchen table discussions and community meetings discussing the needs of Black voters, which aren't insignificant at all."
Jealous also said the 8 million unregistered Blacks were transients, people who moved around a lot and forgot to re-register, college students, young people who are not rooted in a particular community and also people who might be confused about the status of their right to vote.
"For instance, people in California who are in jail and awaiting trial might not know that until they are convicted of a crime, they still have the right to vote," Jealous said.
According to the United States Census Bureau, only 69 percent of African Americans are registered compared to 75 percent of their White counterparts.
"Every 20 years or so there's a major election - the 2008 presidential election," Jealous said. "We see this as our responsibility to get as many people as possible engaged in the political process."
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