No Bumper Stickers, Just Vote!

Memo:12 JULY 2004
Subject: voting registration
TO: All Manchster Craftsmen Guild and
Bidwell Training Center, Staff and Faculty

Since voting for public officials is sometimes an often overlooked aspect of being an American citizen (only 39% of eligible voters had voted in the 2000 Presidential election), we here at Manchester Bidwell Corporation are attempting to bring it to the forefront. We are joining a non-profit organization, Just Harvest, in their voting campaign called "Just Vote".

Two components will comprise our effort:

1)three minutes to complete a Voter Registration Application card - for either people that have never registered to vote before or for those who need to make any changes (i.e., address, name or political party affiliation)

~~~or if you are already a registered voter~~~
2)one minute to complete a Just Vote pledge (promising that you will vote on November 2nd) and will be entered into a data base for follow-up of the Just Vote campaign

ALL STAFF & ALL STUDENTS are encouraged to participate.

I will be stationed at a booth on Monday, June 12, 2004 in the main lobby area of 1815 during the morning (before and during lunch), and on the second floor of 1650 @ during the afternoon (after lunch).

Depending on the outcome of the event, this may be a monthly occurrence, until election time.

Thank you.

Gary, Bidwell Training Center Staff

(Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet....)

·House steps into church-politics debateWASHINGTON (AP) — http://www.able2know.com/forums/about26057-30.html
Churches that mistakenly mix religious and political activity would face reduced fines but keep their tax exempt status under a provision in a corporate tax bill the House is to consider this week. The proposal, which could invalidate the strict separation of religion and politics in current tax laws, was introduced by House Republicans the same week President Bush's re-election campaign targeted 1,600 Pennsylvania congregations to recruit voters.

·The Associated Press WASHINGTON -- http://www.freelancestar.com/News/apmethods/apstory?urlfeed=D83ISOQ00.xml The Bush campaign on Friday defended a memo in which it sought to mobilize church members in support of the president's re-election bid through efforts such as providing church directories to the campaign, arranging for pastors to hold voter registration drives, and talking to various religious groups about the campaign.
Some religious organizations have criticized the document as inappropriate and perhaps having the potential to cause churches to jeopardize their tax-exempt status by becoming involved in partisan politics.

·Legal Rules for Nonpartisan Voter Education, Outreach, and Participation by Nonprofits-- http://www.npaction.org/article/articleview/396/1/162/
Voter registration and Get Out the Vote Activity (GOTV): Both the content of the GOTV message and the choice of audience must reflect a limited agenda: encourage exercise of the right to vote. For example, the organization cannot ask people contacted how they intend to vote.
Sites for registration and Get Out The Vote (GOTV) drives cannot be chosen for reasons that relate to the results of the election. Instead, sites should be based on neutral criteria that result from the group=s underlying purpose or are the result of practical constraints.
While the choice of people targeted by voter registration and GOTV drives cannot be based on political or ideological criteria, a 501(c)(3) may target disadvantaged or under represented groups, even if their historical voting pattern favors one party over another. The target group can also be defined by a set of common interests or problems that are broadly shared, such as farmers or women's groups.