Democratic Party - 49th Ward

FANTASTIC NEWS!!!

Only a week ago I was feeling a little down because we had made such a strong effort to register new voters and after the canvass dropped 2,000 who had moved we ended up with only 2,000 new voters, (4,000 newly registered). Those numbers were released by the Chicago Board of Elections in there initial report on registration. What happens after the initial report is they continue to process remaining registrations. Normally this would add a couple of hundred at best.

Yesterday I call the Chicago Board of Election because I just couldn't believe that we didn't register more people. My gut feeling was right. Lance Gough, the Director of the Board of Elections confirmed that of the citywide total of 10,000 supplemental registrations processed approximately 20%, at least 2,000, were from the 49th Ward! And they aren't quite done yet. It looks like our efforts have paid off in the registration of more than 6,000 people for this Election!

Even I am surprised that it jumped that high. The combination of our hard work and the overwhelming opposition to Bush and Keyes has created a perfect storm scenario. I will update this post to provide the final number, but all of you who worked all summer and fall to register voters should be feeling very proud of your efforts. Election Day will hold the final answer, but our strategy of putting all of our efforts into voter registration is working.

If the rest of the Kerry base across America has worked as hard as we have here in Rogers Park there can be no doubt that Bush will be gone and a new era, in the person of President John Kerry, will have begun.

THANK YOU!

Voter Registration Numbers Are Up

In the ever-changing world of 49th Ward voter registration overall registration is up approximately 2,000, which translates into roughly a 10% net increase. What is always frustrating is to go out and register 3,000 – 4,000 new voters only to find that 1,000 – 2,000 have left the active voter rolls in the canvass. Nevertheless, to all of you who have spent the summer registering people to vote one by one I have a very big THANK YOU for you. The work you have done is incredible.

Special thanks go to Kurt, Vanessa and Helen who did well over 150 new registrations each. One of them will be the big winner, receiving an autographed original edition copy of Barack Obama’s book “Dreams from My Father” and a $100 Red Lobster gift certificate.

You will not know who wins unless you come Monday evening to the political meeting. They all deserve your warmest congratulations and well wishes.

Last Weekend in 49th Ward

This is the last weekend to register to vote here in the 49th Ward and we need your help. We are meeting up at the Campaign office at 10:00 am tomorrow to head out into the neighborhood and register as many people as we can. Today is October 1 and this weekend is the busiest moving weekend of the year. Thousands of new neighbors will arrive in your building, on your block, and around the corner. They need to be registered to vote. Please stop by the office, 2049 W. Howard, at 10 am and get some supplies so you can get out and do some registration.

As of September 14 we had only 19,485 voters in the ward. The Board of Election canvass has knocked off more than two thousand of people. This is our last opportunity to register people to vote.

Finally, go to the Board of Elections site and make sure that you, your family and your friends are active voters.

Plan Ahead
There are also opportunities to go to Wisconsin and other swing states. Wisconsin is one of those progressive and enlightened states that allows for same day registration. Lets get the job done here this weekend and then think about how we can do good beyond the 49th Ward. If you would like to go, call Aaron at (773) 761-4949 or send him an email.

Train Stop Registration In the Morning

Last monday, August 30, 2004 we kicked off our train station registration program. Between now and October 5th we will be at every station at least twice and the big ones three times. If you need to register we will be there between 6:00 am and 8:00 am. If you have time to volunteer we need your help. If you can lend a hand call us at the office (773) 761-4949 or send an email here.

The schedule is as follows:
CTA - Howard - Monday, August 30
CTA - Jarvis - Friday, September 3
CTA - Lunt - Tuesday, September 7
CTA - Morse - Friday, September 10
CTA - Loyola - Tuesday, September 14
NW - Greenleaf - Friday, September 17
NW - Lunt - Monday, September 20
CTA - Howard - Friday, September 24
CTA - Morse - Wednesday, September 29
Both NW Stops - Monday, October 4
All CTA Stops - Tuesday, October 5
(NW = Northwestern/Metra)

If you need more information contact us and we will be very happy to assist you.

Deputy Registrar Classes for September

The Chicago Board of Elections continues to offer classes to become a Deputy Registrar. It’s not to late to get started. After the Labor Day holiday many people are just starting to focus on the election. That means that many people will begin to realize that they need to register or re-register. That's where you come in.

Classes are being held on the following September dates at the downtown location:

September 2 - 6:00 pm - Thursday
September 8 - 10:00 am - Wednesday
September 9 - 6:00 pm - Thursday
September 11 - 9:30 pm - Saturday
September 15 - 6:00 pm - Wednesday
September 18 - 9:30 pm - Saturday
September 21 - 10:00 am - Tuesday
September 23 - 6:00 pm - Thursday

In order to be a Deputy Registrar you need to be registered to vote and be sponsored by an organization. The Democratic Party of the 49th Ward is a sponsoring organization and we would be happy to sponsor anyone who wants to work in the 49th Ward doing registrations. To attend the class you must let me know three days prior to the date of the class.

One final and important point is that Deputy Registrars are not allowed to express any partisan sentiment, thoughts, ideas. If you are interested in partisan activity while doing registration you can do that by using NVRA card otherwise known as "Motor Voter" cards.

Please send an email if you would like to become a registrar.

You can also get more information from the Chicago Board of Elections.

Deputy Registrar Classes for August

The Chicago Board of Elections continues to offer classes to become a Deputy Registrar. It’s not to late to get started. After the convention most people are just starting to focus in on the election. That means that many people will begin to realize that they need to re-register. That's where you come in.

Classes are being held on the following dates at the downtown location:

Wed. Aug. 4 6:00pm Downtown

Sat. Aug. 14 9:30am Downtown

Wed. Aug. 18 6:00pm Downtown

Tue. Aug. 24 3:00pm Downtown

Sat. Aug. 28 9:30am Downtown

In order to be a Deputy Registrar you need to be registered to vote and be sponsored by an organization. The Democratic Party of the 49th Ward is a sponsoring organization and we would be happy to sponsor anyone who wants to work in the 49th Ward doing registrations. To attend the class you must let me know three days prior to the date of the class.

One final and important point is that Deputy Registrars are not allowed to express any partisan sentiment, thoughts, ideas. If you are interested in partisan activity while doing registration you can do that by using NVRA card otherwise known as "Motor Voter" cards.

Please send an email if you would like to become a registrar.

You can also get more information from the Chicago Board of Elections.

Registrars Needed for R.P. Jazz Series

On August 14-15, 2004 the Rogers Park Jazz Series will be held at Lunt and Sheridan during the hours of 10am to 10pm. We need volunteers to do voter registration during these hours. To see other opportunities go to the calendar or send an email to sign up for the day and the time you are interested in.