My takeaway from attending a campaign organization meeting

The event was in Tigard Oregon, there were a couple events in the Portland metro area, but since I live in Oregon's 1st Congressional district I was invited to that location. About 100 people showed up, ranging in age from 8 to 80; lots of women there as well (what's all this about young white males being Bernie's base!?).
There were some good ideas, I think a lot of the people that attended are going to phone bank and canvass. I didn't know this, but apparently if Bernie gets 85% of the vote in Oregon, HRC is shut out and receives NO delegates! That got everybody pumped!

One older gentleman brought up a very good point that didn't get nearly as much attention as I thought it should have: the elderly vote. Turnout among the elderly is the highest of any demographic and by reaching out to those voters there could be a real potential to rack up tons of votes. The imagery that came to my mind was some of us younger folks in the crowd reaching out to our elders and pitching the ways that Bernie will improve the long lives we have ahead of us in a way HRC won't. Tug on the heart strings if you will Smile

I'm a generally shy and reserved person, certainly not one to speak out in a large group. But one of the main points that was pushed was voter registration, there was even a guy there that would help you check to see if your address, name, and party affiliation were accurate. In Oregon, any interaction with the DMV automatically registers you to vote if you meet the eligibility criteria of course. Also, all elections in Oregon are conducted through the mail; no lines at polling stations, you simply fill out your ballot and drop it in the nearest mailbox (you need to pay your own postage unfortunately, I would like to see all ballot return envelopes be pre-paid by the state. Hmmm, maybe something to address with a state representative perhaps!). The catch with the DMV voter registration is that if you don't select a party you are registered as an unaffiliated voter. Now to my knowledge, unaffiliated voters in Oregon are permitted to participate in one party's primary. So in theory one would be able to vote for Bernie even if they aren't registered Democrats. In my mind, it's a bit safer to just register as a D at least for the primary. The neighborhood I live in is densely populated and nearly half of the population ranges in age from 18-34. The neighborhood is uber-progressive even by Portland standards and I don't doubt that the overwhelming majority of my neighbors love Bernie Sanders. What I would like to do is canvass my neighborhood with signs on each telephone pole with the ugliest picture of trump I can find with the caption "This man could be your president". And then have a concise paragraph that can be read in a minute explaining the importance of participating in the primary, followed by "tear off" pieces with the URL of the Oregon Secretary of State's website to update voter information.
This idea could be applied in any state that still has yet to vote! Just my two cents!

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You go!

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Euterpe2

Shahryar's picture

I'll be heading to DMV anyway because I have to renew my license. This is the first time I'll be doing that under the new Homeland Security rules, making sure we're not terrorists even though we've had licenses for 40+ years.

Anyway, I'll find out when I go if you can say what party you want to be registered as. Let's assume it's not even asked, that the info gets forwarded to the Secretary of State. Right now we're Working Families Party but we'll switch to Democrats by April 26th, the deadline here for being able to vote in the primary.

Should we have to go beyond the DMV for this we, and anyone in Portland, can go to our local Elections office. The closest to us is on Southeast Morrison and 11th. The most difficult thing about that is parking!

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B. Joe King's picture

you should be able to select your party affiliation at the DMV. The way it is set up is that you're informed that you are registered to vote during your interaction with the DMV, if you want to opt out of voter registration you have to send something in the mail to the SoS office. The whole idea I think was to make it inconvenient to not vote!
If for whatever reason you run in to trouble at the DMV (you shouldn't), you can update your info on the SoS website. I changed from Pacific Green Party to Dem about a week ago using the website.

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Gold is the wealth of kings; silver is the wealth of commoners; barter is the wealth of peasants; and debt is the wealth of slaves.

You can register to vote at the DMV, but if I recall correctly, there is no availability to declare party affiliation on the form. I found that out when I went to vote for Senator Sanders last month and had to do same day registration at the polling site. Would have been WAY more convenient to have the party choices on the DMV registration form :-(.

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Lookout's picture

berntrump.jpg

Well, maybe amusing.

Good luck in Oregon, we're rootin' for you.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

petral's picture

Wyoming is a much smaller state but they're saying that's where they piled up their votes.

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If folks in nursing homes/assisted living are informed on the issues and the candidates, they'll make better choices. My mom-in-law did a bit of unofficial campaigning when she was in assisted living, including a few extra votes the last time California had legalized recreational cannabis on the ballot (measure failed but they're trying again this November). They also had a weekly Current Events class led by Michael Medved's younger brother Benjamin, who is a political moderate to liberal unlike his brother.

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they say Oregon is a closed primary.

the first comment to this thread. http://caucus99percent.com/content/makahali-overdrives-motivational-spee...

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In Oregon, both the Democratic and Republican primaries are open only to party registrants. The latest figures show that 38.3 percent are registered Democrats and 29.4 percent are Republicans.

Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins said county elections officials will send a letter to unaffiliated voters explaining how they can change their registration. They must do so by April 26 to vote in Oregon’s May 17 presidential primary.

http://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-voters-presidential-primary-exclu...

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B. Joe King's picture

I can't recall what gave me the impression that the primaries were open, but either way it'll be extra important to make sure Bernie fans who are unaffiliated register 'D'.
Thanks for the catch!

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Gold is the wealth of kings; silver is the wealth of commoners; barter is the wealth of peasants; and debt is the wealth of slaves.

Damnit Janet's picture

Me and my 23 yr old son signed up to phone bank and register voters. Oregon is a Closed Primary. Only Rs and Ds can vote. If you're registered as a green or indy, you are left out.

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"Love One Another" ~ George Harrison