Voting Rocks by Shirre Hodges & Voting Information

My wife, Shirre A. Hodges, is at it again! Like me, she's taking an active part in this election. We believe that we SHOULD participate actively, not just because we want to show our own children the importance of political action, but also because we realize how critical this 2008 election is, and want to ensure that as many folks in our local community exercise their right to vote.

If you're in the Lakeland/Polk County area (or even Brandon, Valrico, Riverview, New Tampa), come on out Saturday, September 27, 10AM for a great time with voting education and some refreshments (first-come, first-served for first time voter's registration applicants.

For more information, make sure to logon TheListbyKeto, for mapping information from the Winter Haven area and Tampa. Other things to know:

WHERE: Washington Oaks (formerly Washington Park) Lakeland, FL

COST: FREE to general public Complimentary refreshments, first-come, first-served for voters registration applicants.

FMI: If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact Shirre A Hodges @ 863.662.8554.

Polk County Voter Registration: If you would like to contact your local Supervisor of Elections for more information please call 863.534.5888.

I'm including below some voting information that Shirre will cover during the session and also listed a couple online resources which are currently assisting folks nationally and locally with preparing their voter's registration documents.

VOTERS’ QUALIFICATIONS
18 years or older
A U. S citizen living in the state of Florida
Registered to vote in the state of Florida
Must not be adjudicated mentally incapacitated unless your rights have been restored
Not be a convicted felon unless you have had your civil rights restored
Provide a current valid Florida drivers license number of identification card number. If you do not have a current and valid license or ID you must provide last four digits of SSN
If you do not possess a current valid drivers license, ID, or SSN please mark NONE on your voters’ application.

CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION
There are twenty states in the United States were an ex-felon can vote after his/her release, unfortunately we are not one of those states. The one thing that may happen after the exhaustion of your incarceration period is that you may receive a letter in the mail notifying you of your civil rights restoration. If your civil rights have not been restored or invalid address is registered in the system than of course you will not receive the letter. If you are a convicted felon that has been rehabilitated or released and want to know whether your rights have been restored or if you are eligible for civil rights restoration, contact the Office of Executive Clemency @1800.435.8286 or logon www.fpc.state.fl.us.

At this time it MAY BE be too late to restore your civil rights [in time to vote in the November 4 election]

REGISTRATION MYTHS
If I register to vote then will be selected for jury duty? This is not completely true, if you have ever purchased anything online or registered an account online, filled out any surveys or anything that can be publicly viewed than you can be selected.

Recently there has been a viral email circulating stating that Florida polling officials will turn away anyone wearing Obama gear. Please ignore this email. According to poll officials, this is not true. If you have on a hat or carrying a poster or sign the Deputy on the outside will ask you to leave it outside until you cast your vote. So you are free to wear your Obama t-Shirt. For further details, call your local Supervisor of Elections office.

VOTING EARLY
Early voting may be better for some people trying to beat the hustle and bustle at the polls on November 4, 2008. One surefire way to beat an extremely large crowd is to participate in early voting starting on October 20 and ending on November 1, Monday-Saturday 9a-5p. This is for everyone

CAN’T FIND MY CARD OR HAVE NOT RECEIVED IT YET WHAT DO I DO?
If you have misplaced or have not received your voter’s registration card by the day that you chose to vote bring along a copy of your driver’s license or identification card. This serves as two forms of identification.

INFORMATION CHANGES
If you have moved, married, or divorced and need to change your personal information just complete a voters' registration application, check the box number that applies to you and submit the application.

REGISTRATION STATUS LETTER
If you receive any political mail asking you to prove whether you are registered to vote please make sure to rely to that letter right away and return to sender only including your name [and no other personal information].

ALL NEW VOTERS' REGISTRATION APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 6, 2008!!!!!!

Also, there are several national organizations that are assisting with the Get Out the Vote efforts.

• http://www.rockthevote.com/ Easily enter your information here, and RocktheVote, provided by MoveOn.org will create the registration form which you can then print out and mail to your local Supervisor of Elections for your county. Reminders: You must be a U.S. citizen to vote in the U.S. You must provide your month, day, and year of birth, and you must be 18 to vote.
• 
  https://www.voteforchange.com/ Founded by the Obama for America Campaign, this site provides a very simple tool which allows people to 1. Register to vote. 2. Request to vote absentee. 3. Find your polling location. The process only takes about 3 minutes.

REGISTER NOW!