A real ground game, this is. Every vote. Every voter. A swing state. Hence I spent the afternoon registering voters and applying for absentee ballots on the part of inmates at a correctional facility (read: no felons) in Wisconsin.
In Wisconsin the deadline for registering to vote via a deputized registrar (that's me) is tomorrow, October 15. After October 15, you have to either get yourself to the Election Commissions office, or register in-person on voting day November 4. Neither of these latter options, needless to say, are available to incarcerated men and women in the state. After tomorrow, their ability to vote is gone. They'll not be able to get themselves out to register nor to a ballot box.
I worked with a great team to register and/or apply for absentee ballots for about 1/4 to 1/3 of those at a correctional facility that houses 1700 inmates.
It was awesome. I'd love to share it with my fellow Dkos'ers. I'm not as witty as JeffLeiber or as thoughtful as David Kroning or as evenhanded as Granny Doc or .... So bear with me over the fold.
There were four of us on the team; I was a late addition and the others had worked Monday as well. The others were lawyers or working for the public defender's office, but I've never been inside a jail, a correctional facility, a prison, whatever you want to call it. Didn't know what to expect. I thought the staff might be uncooperative, or at least upset that we were interfering the daily routine and making them work harder (escorting all the inmates to and from the interview rooms where we were working takes extra work). Thought they might not care one way or another whether these people got to vote.
But I was wrong. Everyone we ran into was eager to help. The escorts were extremely accommodating. The guard staff was welcoming and didn't hassle us. Staff went out of their way to make sure that everyone who wanted to register or get an absentee ballot was able to, even asking us to wait at the end for one last person who was still in court.
In fact, the Director of Inmate Programming had had all those who wanted to, fill out an absentee ballot form before we got there. That meant that we only had to check over the information, and then do a separate form for "new WI voter" or "change of name or address." That is, some inmates were already registered at their home address, and just needed us to help them fill out the paperwork for an absentee ballot to be sent to the corrections facility. The Director had had everyone fill those out. The men and women then came in two or three at a time (depending on how many of us deputies were available), we checked over the absentee application, then asked if they also needed to register.
My guess is that three-quarters of those I worked with were young men and women between 18 and 21 who had never voted before. They were thrilled. Only a very few tried to play tough, for the most part, they were thrilled, thanked us for coming, asked detailed questions about when the ballots would come (10-12 days, fingers crossed), when to mail them (before Oct 30), whether they'd have to get stamps (no), how to get their signature witnessed, etc.
My most touching young man said "you know, I wouldn't be voting if I wasn't in here. If I was out in my 'hood, I'd just be playin' it, and nobody'd be concerned about my vote."
The most disturbing thing was this. In order to register with a registrar deputy in WI, you have to have either a WI driver's license, a state ID, or know the last four digits of your social security number. But it is hierarchical. If you have a valid driver's license, you must register with that. If not, you must use your state ID. If you don't have either a WI license or WI ID, then you must use last four digits of your SSN. If you have a valid license but try to register with your Social, it doesn't count.
BUT THE INMATE'S DRIVER'S LICENSES AND STATE ID'S ARE LOCKED UP WITH THEIR PROPERTY in a property holding facility. They can't get to them until they are released. Knowing this, the Director worked with an individual (who had checked with two of her own supervisors) at the state Department of Transportation to look up these men's and women's license or state ID numbers when she had the inmates fill out the absentee ballot forms, mostly before we got there.
But then today, about 1/2 way through the day, staff worker at the DOT said that she'd just been handed an inter-office memo, directing her to stop cooperating so easily. If the Director wanted more numbers, she'd now have to fill out forms one by one, fax them in, and wait for a fax back. When the Director asked to see this internal memo, she was told she couldn't see it. She then asked what regulation controlled this decision. "We'll get back to you on that."
To the Director's credit, she was able to work with another source and get the license or ID numbers, and we were able to serve all those who wanted to be.
But I am suspicious. Why, all of a sudden, did it come down from on high at the DOT that these numbers were going to be much more difficult to come by, and not certainly in time for the deputized registration deadline of October 15? Why would they not share the regulation or the internal memo? I called the local Obama campaign, but didn't hear back before I left the building. I called our state congresswoman's office and her staff was able to give me two numbers of others to talk to, but I didn't get a chance to call those before I left the building either (cell phones not allowed inside).
So, there you have it. A day in the trenches. I loved meeting these people - young men for the most part - and very very glad I was able to make it possible, in a small way, to see about 400 people vote who would not otherwise be able to. The only freaky thing was the drive out to the facility in a fairly rural area - I passed many many McCain/Palin signs, and I now double-realize how important our urban areas are to swinging this state for Barack.