Thanks to the relatively new law in Ohio, I was able to change my registered address today in Ohio, and vote while I was at the Stark County Board of Elections.
I'd been planning to do this for a while. Ever since I moved in to take care of my ailing father, I'd needed to re-register with my new change of address. I decided to hold off until this week so I could vote at the same time.
But recently, I met a woman in a concerned state. It's a strange tale.
Stephanie is a liberal at heart, but has seen herself influenced by her right-wing parents too often. She knows what's in her heart, but mom and dad come at her often with statistics that she cannot properly defend against (I visited their house today and saw the Newt Gingrich books on the shelf, so I know what she's up against daily).
Last night I took her to a debate-watching party, and she got a taste of the other side. We spent a couple hours prior discussing politics, and she just KNEW that what she's been fed about Barack Obama wasn't likely to be true, but she had no direction to disprove them. I did help set her straight on a lot of the lies she'd been told.
But one of them disturbed me deeply.
Stephanie registered to vote a couple months ago, at a concert. The group registering voters sent in her forms and she knew she was legally registered. But her mother and father repeatedly told her that unless she had a valid driver's license with proof of auto insurance, it'd be illegal for her to vote. Stephanie doesn't have a license, and therefore does not need insurance, so she honestly believed she couldn't vote.
Since we met, she's learned a lot about my political history and she asked me if there was any way I could help her vote without these items. I was shocked to hear that she'd been told these lies.
So today, I took her with me to the Board Of Elections and we talked directly to a BOE worker. Yes, she was registered, and all she needed was ANY proof of who she was. The smile on her face when they gave her a card to vote with was simply beautiful.
Today, Stephanie and I both proudly cast our votes for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. We also voted for John Boccieri for US House.
But I am still dismayed at the lengths that right-wingers will go to to prevent a voter from expressing their rights. Do they really have to lie at every turn?
By the way, the early voting line was a sight to behold. While I was in the building, at least 50 people cast their votes, and the election workers say that the flow has been steady, and that a LOT of first-time voters are registering and voting on the same day.
I convinced, and drove Stephanie to the polls to vote. I'll do it again with as many people as I can find, and I'll do it as many times as necessary before and on Election Day. Together, we can do this!