Take a Friend To Vote

            Everyone is encouraged to help Get-Out-The-Vote.  Over time in our country, we have seen a large increase in numbers of registered voters.  Currently in our school district we have over 55,000 registered voters.  At the same time fewer and fewer citizens are exercising that right to vote.  In the May 2003 election, only 13,211 of these registered voters participated.  In the March 2004 election 23,419 registered voters cast ballots.

According to two studies done by the League of Women Voters:

?     People want more information from trusted sources.

?     Voters are more likely than nonvoters to recognize the impact of elections on issues they care about.

?     Voters become immersed in a culture of voting - they get called, they receive literature, they are visited by campaign representatives.  Nonvoters are left out of this information loop.

?     Finally, even though we live in high tech, high speed times, THE single most powerful component in moving someone from non-voting to voting is when they are asked to vote by someone they know (friend, colleague, family member, church member, etc.)

            We would like to challenge you to help turn Nonvoters into Voters by Taking a Friend to Vote.  This can be achieved in many ways:

?      Literally ask a friend to come vote with you.

?      Offer to drive a friend to the polls so he or she can vote.

?      Exchange babysitting with a friend while you take turns voting.

?      Use your group connections in your school to encourage the whole group to vote ~ Room Parents, Boosters, PTAs....

?      Spread the challenge ~ Send the Take a Friend to Vote Challenge to 5 of your friends and ask them to join in this campaign.

?      Be an informed voter and become a trusted source of information for others.  Dont hesitate to share with others in order to bring them into the information loop.

?      Host a Coffee Chat in your home to discuss school issues.  Send your guests away with printed information about the levy and a copy of this challenge.  Ask them to join in getting out the vote.

?      Come up with your own method of helping your friends to go to the polls.