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Greetings!
- 88 more day until Election Day - November 6;
- 73 more days until California's Voter Registration Deadline - October 22; and
- 46 more days until National Voter Registration Day - September 25!
These are the numbers that we are counting down as we approach another important election. As groups ramp up for this year's November elections, we want to support your efforts to Get-Out-The-Vote. And for many of us, the first step to GOTV is to make sure that our neighbors, constituents, members, and friends are registered to vote! Join us next Wednesday, August 15 from 10am-12pm for our "California Participation Project - Deputy Registrar Training," as we prepare for the upcoming elections and National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, September 25, 2012. In addition to discussing the various ways that your nonprofit, club, or organization can get involved in this year's elections, we've invited our partners at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's office to conduct a Deputy Registrar Training so that you can learn the proper methods and techniques for registering voters, and so that you can avoid the common pitfalls that caused nearly 94,000 voter registration forms to get flagged for errors in 2010. With over 2 million eligible, unregistered voters throughout L.A. County (and many more who may have moved and need to re-register!), we simply cannot afford to allow these errors to occur. By working together and attending this training, hopefully we can avoid these problems and ensure that our new and returning voters have easy access to the polls. If you are interested in attending this training, please RSVP by Tuesday, August 14 at 2pm through our facebook event page or by emailing lawrence@caparticipates.org to confirm your attendance. After you have successfully completed the training, you will receive a Deputy Registrar of Voters Certificate to show off to family and friends. We hope that you can join us! p.s. And while we're on the topic of voter registration, we also hope that you will sign on as a partner with us on National Voter Registration Day! More information can be found at www.nationalvoterregistrationday.org. For information about how you can be plugged in locally, please email lawrence@caparticipates.org |
| What Would California be Like if Everybody Voted? | |
On July 29 Rapheal Sonenshein, the new Executive Director of THE PAT BROWN INSTITUTE joined California Participation Project supporters at the home of Lauren White and Alex Gansa and spoke about the shifts in public policy we might see if our electorate was a truer reflection of our population and really represented the values the majority of Californians.
Among the highlights of his talk:
- Until the 1990's, polls found that nonvoters and voters had very similar positions on issues and would most likely have voted the same way as voters did, so while it would have still been good to engage voters for the sake of democracy, it may not have made much of a difference in the final election results.
- However, as the country became more and more diverse and more partisan, nonvoters' views began to differ. They became far more likely than voters to favor increasing revenues and services as opposed to cutting taxes and spending, for example.
- Sadly, many nonvoters have lost their faith in government, and when they are disappointed, they become more discouraged and don't think their vote will make a difference. However, people will show up if they believe something is going to be taken from them -- like Medicare or Social Security. That is why voter engagement is so important -- to let people know what's at stake and why voting matters!
In wrapping up, Prof. Sonenshein shared the story of a student who explained to him that the reason he doesn't vote is because he doesn't think his vote will count. Prof. Sonenshein's reply? "If your vote doesn't matter, why are people trying to make it so hard for you to vote?"
 | | Rapheal Sonenshein, the new Executive Director of The Pat Brown Institute speaking to CPP supporters at the home of Lauren White and Alex Gansa. |
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Nonprofit VOTE Webinars
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 The next webinar from our national partner Nonprofit VOTE is Thursday, August 30th at 11:00am Pacific.
Poll Worker Recruitment for Nonprofits
Poll workers are on the front lines of helping people vote on Election Day. This year, many states have new laws around ID requirements and voting procedures, so poll worker recruitment and training will be critical to the Election Day experience. Your nonprofit can ensure that poll workers represent and are familiar with your community by encouraging staff, volunteers, and constituents to serve as poll workers. In many areas, translators are also needed to assist non-English speaking voters by translating voting information and answering questions. Learn how your nonprofit can help facilitate democracy in your community by recruiting poll workers, translators, and poll monitors.
Click here for more information and to RSVP!
Also, if you've missed any of Nonprofit VOTE's previous webinars, you can view any of their past webinars here.
Workshops last approximately one hour. Log-in and dial-information will be emailed to participants after registration.
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Vote With Your Mission!
| | The California Participation Project is a proud resource partner of Vote with Your Mission, a new campaign by CalNonprofits to have 100% of eligible nonprofit staff, board members, and volunteers vote. It's not a big commitment, but it could make a big difference! Over 125 nonprofits have already signed up. Add your organization to the growing list of nonprofits by clicking on the following link to sign up today!
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Want to stay connected with new resources, upcoming events and activities that your nonprofit can do to engage your communities in elections and voting? Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter:
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@caparticipates |
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Sincerely,
The California Participation Project
1000 N. Alameda St. Suite 240
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Office: (213) 346-3291 |
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