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Order a supply of voter registration forms, or determine the normal
process by which someone registers to vote in your area. Use the UE state-by-state list to get started and become aware of the
deadlines you must meet.
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Put voter registration on the agenda of your next several UE Local
meetings. Craft a basic plan to obtain, distribute, and collect the voter registration forms in your workplace. Use the
shop
stewards network if possible. Designate someone to take charge of coordinating the distribution and collection of the forms.
Be prepared to keep at this for the next couple months on a regular but low-level basis.
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Once the UE voter registration flyers and official voter registration
forms are distributed in your workplace, encourage co-workers to fill-out these forms, then collect them to send back. Forms
that get taken home or get put aside rarely are sent in. If someone is unsure of whether they are registered to vote,
re-register them. People are removed from the voting rolls because they have moved, failed to vote over a span of several
elections, and other reasons.
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Use the registration process to help
inform fellow UE members as to
why it is so critical that they take an interest in politics and eventually vote on election day. If we are to win the kind of
change that we need on Election Day then the work we do now to register people to vote is critical. In almost every state you
need to register in advance of the election.
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Be prepared to repeatedly ask people to register over the coming
months. If they are sending in their form via the Internet, make sure that they receive confirmation from election authorities
via the mail. If they are going to register in-person, remind them to take proper ID with them.
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Last but not least, think about how your UE Local Union could magnify
the voter registration effort by getting more forms into the hands of more working people in your community. A plan to send
forms home to register family members is one way. Finding a way to circulate the forms and information to unorganized workers
in your community is another. Can your UE Local set up a table at a local supermarket or bus stop to distribute voter
registration materials? Discuss this and try to pick at least one activity to reach outside of our own UE ranks.
AND, Finally: |
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Report the results and progress of voter registration activities to
your UE District Council, your UE staff members, and to the National Union. Send reports to the UE News! Take pictures!
Contact the UE News at 412-471-8919 or uenews@ranknfile-ue.org. The UE Washington Office is able to answer questions and help
brainstorm at 703-299-5120 or uewashington@erols.com. |
