In my "Obama Campaign Workers Celebrate in Ybor City " post, I shared my experiences from last Friday's Florida Campaign for Change staff going-away party in Ybor City. The pictures are finally posted on the DemocracyPhoto.com site on the page, Obama 2008 Staff Party - Tampa, FL 11/07/2008. There are over 500 pics up, so I've just posted a couple including some of friends that I made that evening.
The photog told me to rep my O shirt, so I did.
Talking to Erica, Obama Field Organizer & government attorney from South Florida.
Word on the street is...there's been a Change in Address in DC
The 3 amigos...where these guys came from I'll never know. The mustachios are horrible tho.
Tallahassee Obama crew, my man said he bought the fly Obama hat for $5. I told him to get me one.
It's true, Rasta's for Obama
One of the big guys thanking us for our hard work. It was the only speech of the night.
Toby O, Regional Field Director of Tampa for Barack Obama's Campaign for Change from Downtown Tampa Field HQ
Crowd pic w/Toby
Brian, an organizer psyched b/c we won South Florida!
Friday night, November 7, Obama for America and Florida Campaign for Change staff and officers from all over Florida came together at Gaspar's Grotto in Ybor City to celebrate the Obama's successes in winning the state of Florida and the 2008 Presidential election. This was the last get together of the 2008 campaign season for campaign staff who not only lived in various parts of Florida but who also came from different parts of the country in paid or volunteer roles to build Get-Out-the-Vote efforts in a bottom up, grass roots manner. Many of them were to return to their homes on the weekend.
Due to the leading Democratic Presidential candidates pledging not to campaign in Florida this year during the Democratic primaries, Obama didn't have any active staff in Florida until after he had clinched the nomination in June. Following that, he moved quickly to get staff in Florida under the umbrella of the DNC's Campaign for Change. I remember at the time that a number of political pundits were talking about how Obama had made a huge mistake in not having a presence in Florida to that point and how his Florida efforts would suffer from having a late start in the nation's fifth largest state which went Republican in the last two elections. Needless to say, as he has all throughout this campaign, after winning the DNC nomination for President Obama continued to defy expectations by quickly moving staff into Florida, sending two of his top national officers Paul Tewes & Steve Hildebrand toTampa and Miami, signing up thousands of attorneys and law students in voter protection efforts, running a record number of TV ads, and fielding over 300 paid staffers managing over 200,000 volunteers from 60 offices in the largest get-out-the-vote effort in Florida's history.
It was an awesome time getting to meet different people whom I didn't already know, folks from Miami, Tampa, Hialeah, Tallahassee, Los Angeles, Chicago, and more. Field organizers and officers from all over Florida (from Tally to Miami) were in attendance and there were about 300 of us hanging out. There was a welcome open bar from 8-10pm for which you only had to have an armband, and hors d'ouvres all night. Quite a fun time and photographers were there to capture the evening. I will share those pictures later this week once they are posted online. Meanwhile, I've included a couple of my camera phone pictures as I couldn't find my Digital Elph before the event.
Like the countless thousands of Obama for America and Campaign for Change staff and volunteers, I am excited that our efforts helped get out the vote in which fellow Americans elected Barack Obama 44th President of the U.S. by a landslide. Tuesday morning when I woke up, I had a feeling of expectation, knowing that today was the day. I had already requested a half-day off from work, and two different Lakeland captains, Ravi and Jane as well as Max, the local Field Organizer had contacted me about canvassing and phone banking for Election Tuesday.
I've only been living in Lakeland for 6 months, so I'm only familiar with my immediate North Lakeland community. Jan took my address and sent me to the nearest Lakeland Obama office, the UFCW Union Hall off I-4 East, Exit 38. Most volunteers were already out that morning as of 10:00am canvassing Lakeland neighborhoods encouraging voters identified as Democratic or Obama-leaning voters to get out and vote. For those voters who hadn't already early voted and needed a ride, volunteers were to check off the names of those persons and inform the Obama staff which voters would need transportation to the polls. So while there were more McCain sign wavers--at least at the 3 precincts closest to my house--the Obama volunteers were doing something more practical, which was making sure our voters actually arrived at the polls. This was something that was being done, not just in Tampa Bay, but all over the country, and was certainly effective in geting out the vote. I'm happy to report that though we did not win Polk County, we made Polk County very competitive and beat the 2000 and 2004 election totals (Gore 45%, Kerry 41%, Obama 46%). The campaign however, won neighboring Hillsborough County (Tampa), Pinellas (St. Petersburg), as well Osceola and Orange Counties (Orlando) to the north east, Alachua (Gainesville), Gadsden, Leon (Tallahassee) & Jefferson counties in the north, Flagler & Volusia counties (Daytona Beach), Palm Beach (W. Palm Beach), Broward (Ft. Lauderdale) & Miami-Dade (Miami), Monroe (Key West) & St. Lucie counties in South Florida by 51% to 67%. Max had already told 200 of us in our October 2 Polk County organizing meeting that if we won along I-4, we would win the state of Florida.
To facilitate getting out the vote, neighborhood captains had access to voter registration databases which had already identified where all Polk County registered Democrats and Democrat-leaning Independents and Republicans lived. Each voter contact page had fields for address, voter first & last name, party affiliation, Vote by Mail status, and check boxes for whether or not the voter had already voted, and if so whether they voted for Obama or needed a ride to the polls. This was all the result of Howard Dean and the DNC creating the first truly unified voter file which allowed the Obama Campaign and each state organization to pinpoint accurately every Democratic or Democratic-leaning voter by neighborhood, city, county and state. Finally the top of each page identified the voting precinct for the particular neighborhood in question. Canvassers were also given door hangers to distribute if no one was home with the voter's precinct information and voter protection phone numbers to call if they had trouble voting. The Obama for America Campaign certainly was not going to allow a repeat of 2000, when there were innumerable election "irregularities" in Florida, but no one to address those problems in a timely manner.
Upon arriving athe UFCW, I was given a folder of voter addresses in a middle-class subdivision very close to my own in North Lakeland as well as door hangers for those that I couldn't contact. Once I arrived at my destination courtesy of Google Maps directions, I was amazed to see how open voters were. I certainly expected to have a few doors closed in my face, but almost everyone who was at home, Black, White, or Latino acted like they were glad to see me, and let me know that they or their relatives had already voted for Obama earlier in the day or had early voted in the previous two weeks. A couple folks were not sure of their voter status so I gave them relevant phone numbers so they could check. Overall, it was a good canvass, and I was glad to see that very close to my neighborhood there was nearly an entire subdivision where the majority of home owners are Obama supporters. Because I had to go return to work at 1:30pm, I couldn't quite finish my voter sheet. However, I met my captain, Jane who took the list off my hands at my precinct, and said everything was fine because the plan was to canvass each neighborhood at least twice on Tuesday if time and events allowed.
About 4:30pm, I had to return home due to a family emergency. Once that was taken care of, I called Jane and Max to find out what was going on. The polls closed at 7pm, so everyone was moving from neighborhood to neighborhood. By 5:30pm, word came that residents of one particular area of town were not voting at their precinct as expected, so we all went to the St. Mark's Church, the Obama office in that area to canvass and phonebank. Inside the church we were provided with complimentary cubanettes, donuts, fruit, and drink. There was a rumor that due to the record voting, Governor Charlie Crist would extend the voting past 7pm, which would have slightly changed our phone scripts, but about 6:30pm, we confirmed that this was not accurate, and then wrapped up a few minutes later. Our phone script was simply, "Hello, this is ___ calling from the Obama campaign. I'm checking to see if you had the opportunity to vote early or to vote today. If not, do you need a ride to the polls? If you voted, may I ask if you voted for Obama? If you are in line when the polls close at 7pm, you have the right to vote. Please call this number if you have any questions. Thank you." Following our wrap-up for the evening, Obama staff headed to the Lakeland Center on Lime Street for an Election night celebration for Polk County. I figured I had done enough and wanted to get back to my family in time for dinner, since I rarely miss that time with them, so I went home happy that I had contributed in some small way to what I was sure was going to be an Obama win in Florida.
To sum it all up, I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to get in a national grass roots campaign for the first time in my adult life. I've been a registered Democrat and voter since 1999, and have previously campaigned for local races including judgeships since my college days, but never have I seen a campaign as well organized and professional as that run by our next President, Barack Obama. This campaign was successful in several ways. The Obama Campaign for Change proved that not only does bottom-up political organizing work when provided leadership, motivation, and sufficient money and resources from the top, but also that America identified with Change. Not just any kind of Change (as ANY new President would represent change), but Change which truly allowed the individual voter to have a voice in electing his/her leaders. The campaign also proved that utilizing social networking, a relatively new Web 2.0 phenomenon, and the Internet, a campaign could rewrite the political game in terms of providing organizing tools, ad hoc communication with supporters, and tapping unlimited small donors like myself who gave $5, $25, $100 at a time for an average of $86 for September, Obama's $150 million month, and proved more powerful than any big special interest lobbyists. This is the ultimate form of campaign finance reform. Many have talked about it and have attempted to pass legilslation to limit big money contributions, but until Obama, no one was able to successfully use it to affect the outcome of an election, not even Howard Dean whose online campaigning and 50-state strategy were both perfected by Obama's team.
Saturday afternoon, Shirre and I took the girls with us to the Larry R. Jackson Library in North Lakeland to early vote. It took over 1.5 hours as we arrived at 4:50pm and walked out at 6:36pm. The wait was well worth it as we were more than glad to stand in line to vote fore Change & Hope. Needless to say we happily voted for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
When we finally got inside the library, we continued in a line which snaked further into the library voting area. Upon arriving at the voting room, we had the girls sit quietly outside the room while Shirre and I stood in shorter lines at 2 of the 4 voting check-in tables all staffed by women poll workers. We presented our driver's licenses and voting IDs, then scanned the licenses into a card reader which confirmed our correct address and voting precinct. The lady who waited on me apologized for the long wait. I told her that in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a big deal for me to wait to excercise my Constitutional rights. I have been waiting for 8 years and voted for Al Gore and John Kerry in the last two elections. The poll workers then demonstrated how to fill out the voting forms which reminded me of the scantrons on which we had to bubble in answers for exams at University of South Florida. We then marched into separate booths to do the deed.
I didn't realize that there are so many candidates for President & Vice President of the U.S.! Though I already knew who I was voting for (Obama-Biden, duh!) I perused the other choices and recognized the dreadful Maverick ticket (McCain/Palin), Bob Barr/Wayne Allyn Root (Libertarian Party), Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente (Green Party), Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez (Independent-Ecology Party), and Alan Keyes/Brian Rohrbough (Independent). The first weekend of October, Shirre and I signed an early vote pledge for the Obama Campaign for Change, though we certainly would have voted early pledge or no. When it came to the Florida Constitutional Amendments it took me a while to read through each one at least twice to make sure I understood the spirit of each amendment before voting yes or no. I'm proud to say I voted "Yes" on #2, Florida Marriage Protection Amendment which "protects marriage as the legal union of only one man and one woman as husband and wife". I also voted "Yes" on an Amendment #8, Local Option Community Funding which will "levy a local option sales tax to supplement community college funding"--having been a product of the community college system--and "Yes" to an amendment which provides a tax-free first year for new business owners. My wife will be starting a teen mother's home in the near future, so the latter amendment seemed like a no-brainer to me. America's lifeblood comes from it's small businesses with nearly 60% of Americans working for small businesses and those businesses creating 90% of new jobs, and according to the Small Business Administration, 66% of new businesses fail in the first two years. So certainly I think that lowering barriers to their initial success is one of the keys to their continuing sustainability especially in tough economic times.
For the complete picture album of our early voting adventures go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=41395&l=d2c95&id=512157070
If pictures could talk, here's what today's picture of the day would say:
Obama--look old man, I've about had it with you. McCain--ya see here sonny, I'm STILL a POW and war hero and dammit, it's my turn to be President. You wouldn't want to deny a dying man's request would you?Obama--Look Pappy, the people have spoken and after the last 8 years they want a sane, smart President who isn't always shouting, "Hey, hey get off my lawn!"McCain--Why I oughta... You, you just wait...Bill Ayers...terrorists...ACORN...cheating...fundamentals...not experienced...suspend a campaign...the media hates me...Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!
PART 3 IN A SERIES: DEBUNKING FLORIDA VOTING MYTHS:
Note: Today's post is the last but most critical in my 3-part Florida Voting Series presenting another voting awareness fact sheet by the Florida Campaign for Change.
A few weeks ago I began receiving a number of email forwardings from friends and associates which contained inaccurate and often wrong information on Florida voting laws. I even heard some local radio stations giving out that same information. My advice is never rely on any voting or legal information you receive in personal email from a friend, co-worker, or family member without checking the facts. Voting emails are normally full of holes, and the Republican Party does a GREAT JOB of sowing false and misleading emails around election time (called "whisper campaigning") because they know that most of US don't bother to check to see if the information is true or not. If Ray Ray sent it, it must be true, right? This year's election is too important for us to rely on forwardings. Just as you shouldn't rely on emails from a friend for medical, legal, or investment advice without first doing your own homework, the same rule of thumb applies to voting. Please double check either with The Great Blog of Kéto, the Florida Campaign for Change, or your local Supervisor Of Elections office whose staff can clarify any misunderstanding of voting rules and laws in short order.
ADDRESS MATCHING AND ID ISSUES:
The law does NOT require that the address on the voter's photo ID match the voter's address on the registration rolls.
The Florida Secretary of State says: "I.D. required and checked at the polls is used solely to confirm the voter's identity. Not to verify the voter's ID number or address."
The law only requires that when a voter registers to vote, the driver's license number (or state ID number or last 4 digits of a social security number) match the number in the government databases. But to be clear, the only people who should be using their SSN number are those that have not been issued a valid and non-expired Florida driver's license or ID card.
If the voter has moved within the STATE since registering in FLORIDA, they may update their address at the polls as long as they are at the precinct associated with their CURRENT home address.
The following ID's can be used at the polls if they have your PICTURE and SIGNATURE: Florida driver's license, Florida ID card, US Passport, Debit/Credit card, Military ID, Student ID, Retirement Center ID, Neighborhood Ass'n ID, and Public Assistance ID. The picture and signature CAN be on two separate forms of ID. For example, if your student ID has a picture and your credit card has your signature--that would be good enough to vote.
CLOTHING:
Voters are allowed to wear ANYTHING they want to the polls. This includes Obama gear (buttons, pins, hats).
EARLY VOTE:
Any registered voter may vote early.
Early voting begins October 20 and ends on November 2 (including WEEKENDS).
Voters may vote at any early voting site in their county where they are registered. Voters must still meet the photo ID and signature requirements.
If they are in line when the early voting location is scheduled to close, they MUST be allowed to vote. UPDATE 10/29/08: Gov. Charlie Crist has just declared "a state of emergency" in Florida, due to the overwhelming number of Floridians eager to cast their votes early. That's why yesterday (10/28/08) he issued an executive order to dramatically expand early voting. Effective immediately, every early voting site in the state will be open from 7am to 7pm through Friday, October 31st, and for a total of 12 hours between 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 1st, and 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 2nd. To find your Early Vote location now, visit FL.VoteForChange.com and vote early right away. Certain locations may not be open on Sunday. If you have questions about weekend hours at your nearest location or anything else, please call 1-877-235-6226, or contact your county's Supervisor of Elections. The executive order not only extends the Early Vote deadline, it also increases the time that locations are open weekdays to 12 hours a day -- beyond the 8 hours a day mandated by state law.
EX-FELONS:
Ex-felons can vote if their civil rights are restored, and many non-violent felons are restored automatically.
You can check their status online at https://fpcweb.fpc.state.fl.us/.
EXPIRED DRIVER LICENSES:
Florida law requires that a driver's license be "current and valid" to satisfy the registration and early vote/election day requirement.
If a registrant has ONLY an expired Florida driver's license/ID, use the last four digits of their SSN to register them.
IF the registrant only has a restricted or trainer's driver's license, use that number, so long as the restricted license is otherwise current and valid.
REPUBLICAN MAILINGS:
If you hear of people getting strange or confusing mail from Republicans, please contact the voter protection team IMMEDIATELY and collect the mailing from the voter.
SIGNATURES:
Florida law does not require a voter to update his/her signature on file with the county.
It is fine for a county supervisor or other official to request such an update, but they cannot threaten the right to vote if a voter does not respond.
VOTE-BY-MAIL (VBM):
If a voter received a vote-by-mail ballot, s/he can still vote in person, though voting in person is not recommended in this case.
To vote in person after requesting an absentee ballot, the voter must RETURN the vote-by-mail ballot to the voter's precinct or to an early voting site.
If the voter does not have the absentee ballot and the election official cannot confirm that the absentee ballot was returned, the voter will have to vote a provisional ballot (which is not counted until after the election IF the voter's registration information is confirmed).
A voter may also turn in a vote-by-mail ballot at the SOE's office by 7pm on November 4.
The ballot must be received by 7pm on November 4; POSTMARKS DO NOT COUNT.
Anyone is allowed to pick up completed absentee ballots from voters (sealed in their signed envelopes) and deliver them to the Supervisor of Elections, no later than 7pm on election day.
VOTER REGISTRATION:
The First Amendment protects voter registration activity, but the government may place reasonable restrictions.
Registration activities at government buldings may be limited for security reasons or for traffic control.
Registration activities at public parks or beaches may be limited for security reasons so that visitors can enjoy the available recreational space and have personal space.
Since the legal analysis is highly fact intensive, you should call the Florida Campaign for Change if questions arise.
CONCLUSION:
The Florida Democratic Party and Obama for America are working around the clock to make sure people are able to vote and that their vote is counted.
To this end, the campaign has recruited thousands of attorneys and law students to be present at polling sites during early voting and Election Day so that they can help voters.
Link to Florida Voting by Obama Campaign Part 1 of 3: Early Voting
Link to Florida Voting by Obama Campaign Part 2 of 3: Voting by Mail
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