This morning, President-Elect Barack Obama urged the Senate to take up and pass the legislation the House approved.  I urge you to support the President-Elect and the tens of thousands of workers who are facing job losses by joining our campaign to push the Senate to take action on this legislation.

Write Your Senator Today
http://action.yda.org/t/497/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=62

As President-Elect Obama said, the “anger and frustration” that many of us share about the auto companies’ inability to stay out of the situation they now find themselves in is understandable.  The leaders of these companies, who were slow to adjust to current market circumstances, adopt the increased production of more fuel efficient vehicles, and create a competitive business model that could go toe to toe with foreign manufacturers, should not be rewarded for their failures.  This action is not directed at bailing CEOs and management out, instead it is directed at preventing hard working employees of these companies, their families, and the workers of thousands of companies that rely on them from suddenly and all at once losing their jobs.  This action is not meant to prop up a “dinosaur” of an industry, but instead to provide the resources this industry needs to modernize, become competitive, and develop the world’s best and most fuel efficient vehicles.

The consequences of the American auto industry collapsing are too severe and  the prospect of  a vibrant green auto industry are too positive to ignore this issue.  Our leaders in Washington must take action immediately to provide the American auto industry the emergency loans they require.

Write your Senators now and urge them to support this emergency legislation!

Write Your Senator Today
http://action.yda.org/t/497/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=62

But our work is not yet done! As you know, there is a vitally important run-off campaign for the U.S. Senate underway right now in our neighbor to the north, Georgia.  Democrat Jim Martin mounted a strong opposition to Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss in the general election. But, because neither candidate received the required 50% majority a run-off election will take place on December 2.  Prominent Democrats and Republicans are flocking to the state to stump for their candidates. And Florida Young Democrats also have a role to play.

The Georgia Young Democrats has set up a virtual phone bank system that will allow you to call young Georgia voters from your home or cell phone at your own convenience. They have a goal of reaching nearly 150,000 young voters and will be hosting a national call-in day on Tuesday, November 25, from 6-9 PM (EST), as well as this Saturday-Tuesday (Election Day).

All you need to help turn-out young voters is access to the internet and a phone.  Here’s how it works:

Visit http://www.georgiayds.org/blog/index.cfm?Fuseaction=ViewBlog&BlogTopicID=4433 to sign-up for a call-in time.  You’ll be sent instructions on how to log-on to the system.  Once you log in, you’ll be prompted to enter your phone number.  Activate will call you and walk you through the phone system, the script and how to mark or tag each respondent.  Then, once you’re ready, set your status to “available” and the system start connecting you with live calls.

The hard work of Florida’s Young Democrats helped make 2008 a banner year for Democrats in Florida. Now we can help bring those same results to Georgia.  Let’s send a message that Young Democrats are a political force to be reckoned with!

I want to make sure Young Democrats get credit for all the hard work they did to elect Democrats from the top of the ticket to the bottom.  So please let me know over the next few days what you, your chapters, your members and your officers did to help elect Dems in your areas. The more specific you can be, the more specific I can be when I’m promoting you and your chapters with state and party leaders.  So if you have them, give me numbers, races, and what actions you took to bring out people in your community for Democrats.

The sooner you all can get this to me the better it will be.  I’m working on a press release to go out Thursday or Friday. You can either post it here in a comment, or email me at lpoole@flyoungdems.org.

Again, great job to all of you.  I look forward to working with you as we make FYD and its local chapters THE premiere Democratic organization in Florida.

YES WE DID!!!!!!

Lori Poole
Executive Director
Florida Young Democrats

Poll workers doing this are wrong.  In BOTH cases, you have the right to vote:

A valid school issued student ID with a picture and a signature is explicitly defined by Florida statute as an acceptable ID for voting. So is a Military ID.

Your driver license address DOES NOT have to match your registered address.

If you try to vote and someone tries to tell you you cannot for these or any other reason, call 1-866-OUR-VOTE. This is a voter protection hotline that will help you know and assert your rights and will get you legal help if needed.

Keep up the good work everyone.  Just a few more hours till Florida’s Polls close at 7 PM.  And remember, so long as you are in line by 7 PM, they have to let you vote….even if the line is a hour long or more.

Stand Strong - Vote Dem!

Increase Early Vote & Absentee Turnout by 50 Percent

Florida’s young voters (18-35 year-olds) have been turning out in record numbers during Florida’s early voting and absentee ballot period, despite recent reports to the contrary.  With early vote results for this weekend yet to be fully tallied and countless absentee ballots still making their way through the postal system, young voters have already increased their turnout numbers by over 50 percent from 2004’s early and absentee vote numbers.

According to the America Votes Voter Access Network (VAN), which compiles voter data across the state, approximately 419,664 voters between the ages of 18-35 voted early or absentee during the 2004 early vote period.  With totals yet to be fully reported, approximately 669,449 young voters have already cast or mailed their ballots in Florida for the 2008 elections.  That is a 50 percent increase in young voter early and absentee voting and we can only expect that the numbers will continue to grow.

These results are even more impressive given that young and new voters have historically preferred voting on Election Day.  That, coupled with record voter registration numbers, means we can only expect that young voters will continue to deliver by turning out to vote in record numbers on November 4.

Young voters are an increasingly active and growing segment of Florida’s population. If there was ever any doubt that young people would vote in Florida this year, these results prove that when you challenge our generation, we rise above expectations every time.

Young voters - 44 million strong - make up 22% of the eligible electorate and are overwhelmingly Democratic. In this election cycle, young people have favored Democratic candidates by a two to one margin.

When I first heard John Mayer’s song “Waiting on the World to Change,” I was struck by how perfectly it captured the voice of youth today. Like a sleeping giant, so many of us are literally waiting for the world to change.

But here’s the thing. The time for waiting, if there ever really was one, is over! This November, young voters have the opportunity, not to hope for change, not to wish for a better world, but to stand up and make it so. From the top of the ticket to local commission races, young voters will be THE key to sweeping in a wave of change that will revitalize our political life and potentially rewrite the future of this great nation. In fact, a recent analysis of battleground states found that if the Florida goes blue, it will be due to the large margins that young voters will give to Democrats.

Rivaling the Baby Boomers in size, 18-29 year-olds make up one quarter of the voting population today and we are the most diverse and progressive generation in US history. Our votes CAN swing elections. And in Florida, our participation has the ability to rewrite the electoral map.

So how do we make it happen? It’s simple, really -WE VOTE! And we vote in record numbers by bringing our friends, families, co-workers, classmates and anyone else we know to the polls. If we want OUR issues and OUR concerns to be part of the political dialogue, we have to start by letting politicians know that young voters are engaged, informed and that we will, as a bloc, hold them accountable in this election and in every one to come.

You don’t even have to wait to cast a ballot. Early voting is going on now in every county in Florida and there are even weekend voting hours in every county in case you have trouble getting off work or away from school during the week. Newspapers are reporting that young voters have been lagging behind older voters in taking advantage of early voting and the “experts” are using it as an opportunty to say, “I told you so!” I know it’s not because we don’t care, and I know that on election night we will prove the pundits wrong by turning out in record numbers. But until then, the more of us who vote early, the sooner people will see that if you challenge our generation, we will rise above expectations everytime.

So don’t wait until November 4th to make your voice heard. Check out www.govote.org to find out where and when you can early vote in your community. And if you are waiting for election day, you can also find your polling place for Election Day.

Don’t wait for the world to change - Go make it happen TODAY!

Lori Poole

Executive Director, Florida Young Democrats

The votes of Florida’s youth will be crucial in tipping the balance for Democrats in races at every end of the ticket.  By early voting in record numbers, we will show that young voters are more engaged than ever in our country’s political life, while helping to elect the leaders who will get our country and state back on the right track.

Early voting locations can be found in every county in Florida, with many counties having multiple locations for your convenience.

By voting early, you ensure that your vote is cast at a time convenient to you and avoid the chance that a last minute emergency could keep you from the polls on November 4.  It will also allow you to focus all your Election Day energy towards making sure your friends, family, neighbors and peers make it to the polls.

So don’t wait until the last minute – Vote Early Today!

We’re looking volunteers to come and walk with our union brothers and sisters on on Saturday morning. This is a great opportunity for Young Dems to assist our union brothers and sisters and establish our presence throughout our local areas.

Please give us a little bit of your time on Saturday morning. You will be helping good Democrats and playing a pivotal part in our upcoming elections!

Time and Place

If you want to participate, email me at lpoole@flyoungdems.org so the event host knows how many of us to expect.

The moment came toward the end of the debate on an issue that hasn’t really gotten much press this election, the abortion debate. In it John McCain sneeringly and cavalierly dismissed concerns, generally accepted by people on both sides of the debate, about protecting the “health of the mother” when legislating restrictions on late term abortions by claiming that this refrain is just a political gimmick used to justify allowing abortion. Watch it here…it’s about 1:30 into the clip.

As a woman, this was the most offensive statement in what was a long night of offensive half-truths and bald misrepresentation about the facts. We don’t think about it because it is so common, but even with all the advantages of modern medicine, bearing a child is still fraught with risk. According to the CDC, pregnancy complications are one of the top ten causes of death for women of childbearing age. There are so many things that can go wrong, which is one of the reasons comprehensive prenatal care is so vitally important. One of the most painful decisions a woman can have to make is to terminate a pregnancy that she wants when not doing so could kill or cripple her.

Senator McCain’s statement belittled that painful and devastating choice and as such is totally inexcusable. It shows how totally out of touch he is on an issue that intimately affects every woman in this country.

I’d like to work with as many of you as possible to help you put together a canvass targeting young voters in your area.  I’ve already spoken with a few chapter leaders who are interested in doing one of these walks.  The idea is to have your chapter members do a canvass, either for the candidate of your choice or for Democrats in general, that will target voters between 18-36.

Young voters aren’t being targeted by traditional campaigns, so it can be a really important way to increase Democratic performance in your area and local races.  I will work with you to pull a good precinct and put together an effective and managable walk that will be a lot of fun for your members and of maximum benefit to the Democratic candidates you are working to support.

Young voter canvasses that collect vote pledges are an important tool for getting young voters to actually turn out at the polls. Statistics show that peer-to-peer contacts which result in a signed voter pledge are more effective than political events, celebrities, and new media with the same message. Plus, they’re a great way to grow your own membership!  So you can learn more about this important GOTV tool, I’ve attached YDA’s Voter pledge, as well as a file containing vote pledges you can print out and use.

As an incentive, FYD is offering a FREE Flip Camera to the chapter that holds one of these canvasses and collects the most vote pledges.  You can use this to record your events, upload videos to You Tube and many other fun activities!

Please contact me if you’d like more information on putting together a Young Voter Canvass in your area.

Lori Poole
Executive Director
Florida Young Democrats
lpoole@flyoungdems.org