|
Dear Bob:
As I write this quick note to you, some 25,000 volunteers are boarding airplanes and buses, traveling on trains or in carpools to take part in the largest get-out-the-vote and Election Protection effort in history. They will be arriving in locations from Florida to Nevada, Pennsylvania to New Mexico, Ohio to Colorado, and 11 other states in between.
They have one goal: to make sure that every citizen who goes to the poll casts a vote that counts.
Help us make sure that every vote counts!
To be sure, we're expecting to see wholesale efforts to suppress the vote through acts of intimidation, presentation of false and confusing information, voter purges, and understaffing of polls that will slow lines and present obstacles.
For the better part of a year, we've been preparing. Now, we're ready for anything.
Earlier this week, Broward County in Florida lost 60,000 absentee ballots on their way to the post office. Many of these were for retired and elderly voters. They will now have to face a maze of bureaucracy to get replacements or get to the polls and brave longer lines to cast their ballots.
Thankfully, the Ft. Lauderdale branch of the NAACP and People For the American Way Foundation will be there to help them by hosting a Saturday get-out-the vote motorcade and organizing van pools and rides to the polls on Election Day.
In Florida, Ohio, and other states, news reports document that the Republican Party will be sending lawyers with secret lists to challenge the vote of anyone whose name is on the list. Where are the lawyers going? Heavily African-American and Latino precincts.
Thankfully, our volunteers will be there to assure that all voters know the law and their rights and to help them cast provisional ballots if necessary. Provisional ballots will be sorted out and counted in the event of a close election.
Support our volunteers in polling places around the country!
Furthermore, White House attorneys are claiming that only Attorney General John Ashcroft has the authority to enforce voting rights set out in the Help America Vote Act, reversing decades of precedents where voters have gone to court to protect voting rights. It is not possible for John Ashcroft to be impartial in protecting voter rights.
This is the same Republican Party that, according to public reports, has paid operatives in at least six states accused of obtaining and then shredding thousands of Democratic registrations they obtained from citizens who thought they could vote, but recently learned they cannot.
We must not allow these kinds of tactics to corrupt democracy in America.
That is why, in this closing weekend before Election Day, I am asking you one final time to help support our 25,000 volunteers as they are on their way to their states and cities.
When I last wrote to you about Election Protection and our Adopt-a-State Matching Gift Challenge, I shared the news that we needed to raise $1.2 million in the closing week of the campaign.
The great news is that we are almost there. Because of the online generosity of thousands of supporters, we met the Challenge and have put those gifts to work immediately to assure fair, open, and honest elections in critical states.
In fact, since issuing the Challenge one week ago, we've raised almost $900,000 toward the closing $1.2 million budget gap. That means we only have to raise $100,000 a day in these last three days before the election.
Help us make history -- donate now!
We will put this money to work in five states where we must be especially vigilant in monitoring the conduct and decisions of election officials and rogue organizations: Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.
Whatever state you choose to "adopt," we'll give you a post-election report on our work, our progress, and our findings in that state.
Each of these five states is mired in critical election issues that must be addressed before November 2 if we are to have a fair and honest election.
To do everything we can and must do, we must raise the final $300,000 on the Internet between now and the election for these five states. That's why I need to hear from you today.
If we can meet the goal, we'll put it to work immediately in these five key states: Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.
Remember, we will rush your support to the state you select immediately. Together, we need to do all we can to assure that every vote cast is also counted.
Please be as generous as you can. Voter suppression strikes at the very core of our democratic values. We expect to find many surprises on Election Day in these and other states -- surprises that will tax our resources.
I cannot begin to tell you how important you are to our Election Protection work. Please help push us over the top and help us meet the challenge today.
With appreciation,
Ralph G. Neas
President
People For the American Way Foundation | 
