If you live in Indianapolis, then come work with Declare Yourself! Declare Yourself will have tent in side the event, giving away free stuff and registering people to vote. We will also be working at the display of the Declaration of Independence which is at the Hall of Fame Museum inside the racetrack. You will get a free pass to the race and special access around the track!
Are we finally to a day that could end this seemingly endless democratic primary? Quite possibly. North Carolina and Indiana hold their primaries today, and these two states have the highest amount of delegate votes of any remaining primaries. It could be the deciding factor in who gets the Democratic nomination. Most polls in North Carolina show Barack Obama leading Hillary Clinton by a margin in the double digits. Indiana, on the other hand, could prove to be much more interesting.
Indiana is holding an open primary, meaning Republicans, Democrats, and Independents can vote in any primary that they choose without officially registering with that party. Indiana is a historically red state, but with the Republican primary all but officially decided, many Republicans could choose to take part in the Democratic primary to vote for whichever candidate they feel is more likely to lose to John McCain in November. Polls have shown the race as virtually tied leading into the primary, but the non-Democrats voting Democratic could make a huge difference, especially given the high number of Republicans in the state.
Regardless of whom you are voting for and why you are voting, it is important to vote! Let’s see record numbers today in North Carolina and Indiana from the youth!
Put your fake IDs away! To vote in Indiana next Tuesday, you’re gonna need the real thing. The Supreme Court Monday upheld an Indiana law passed in 2005 that requires voters to show a government issued photo identification when voting at the polls, a decision that many young people need to be aware of going into next week’s primary.
Why this decision is a good one: Requiring identification is intended to prevent voter fraud. Voters can no longer show up at the polls and simply say who they are and sign that name because this system could allow a person to vote multiple times under multiple aliases. By requiring proof of identification, the law will ensure that every person gets only one vote. That’s the democratic way, after all!
Why this decision is a bad one: Even though voters can choose to show a driver’s license, a passport, or a free government issued voter ID card, it is still a concern that this law will discriminate against many elderly and minorities. Some people in these categories may not have a driver’s license or a passport and may not have the means to get the free voter ID card, an unfortunate circumstance that would prohibit them from voting. It also could affect the youth negatively. The ID presented must have the voter’s current address. Youth are more inclined to move regularly, and unless their ID reflects this move, their voting right will be denied (college students excluded).
It is a complicated, multi-sided issue that is reflected in the Supreme Court’s 6-3 vote. Seeing as we are a youth voting initiative and obviously want as many youth to vote as possible, here’s our question: Do you think that the voter ID law will affect how many youth vote on Tuesday? Do you think turnout would be higher if IDs were not required?
Moral of the story: Don’t forget your IDs on Tuesday Indiana!
Mario visited the Declare Yourself offices today, where he registered to vote!
Not only is Mario a multi-platinum selling singer, actor, and now registered voter, but he's also a celeb on ABC's Dancing With The Stars!
Make sure to watch Mario and his dancing partner Karina Smirnoff on Dancing With The Stars tonight!
Have you ever heard the old saying, “there’s no point in beating a dead horse?” Well Hillary Clinton disproved this saying yesterday after winning the Pennsylvania primary by a decisive 10 point margin, proving that you in fact can bring a dead horse back to life if you smack it around enough. Now there’s an image.
Barack Obama, who still leads Clinton in delegate, superdelegate, and popular votes, hoped to put the final nail in Clinton’s coffin yesterday. But after Clinton’s decisive victory, her campaign is sufficiently resurrected, and the Democrats will remain in their never-ending battle.
Whereas there has been a huge spike in civic participation due to the exciting Democratic primary, it could be hurting the Democrats in the end and giving the Republicans an advantage. While the Democrats continue to decide which candidate to rally behind, John McCain can move forward as the presumptive Republican nominee and focus on uniting his party behind him.
Meanwhile, the Democratic race is only dividing the DNC further and further, something that could be very bad news for them in November. In Pennsylvania, for example, “only 50 percent of Pennsylvania voters who picked Clinton said they would vote for Obama if he was the Democratic nominee, but 26 percent said they would vote for McCain.” Basically, many Democrats have said that they would rather not vote than vote for the other Democratic candidate.
So here’s the question: would the final outcome of the Democratic primary affect whether or not you vote in November? Would you opt out of voting if your favorite candidate isn’t on the ticket? Obviously we hope you would choose to vote, but if not, tell us why!
OK Pennsylvania, now’s your chance! If you haven’t done so yet, you have until 8 pm ET to get to the polls and vote. The Pennsylvania youth voter registration increased by 70% in 2008, so we expect a great turnout!
You have a HUGE say in who will be the next Democratic candidate. Clinton has acknowledged that she “has to win” Pennsylvania in order to win her party’s nomination. Will you help her do it? Will you help Obama defeat her? Will you help McCain continue his momentum? Only YOU can make it happen. So get out and VOTE!
As you know, we are a nonpartisan organization, so since we last wrote on Stewart, it is of course necessary to mention the ultimate Republican, Stephan Colbert. Ok fine, that doesn't help us maintain our nonpartisan-ness, but it is worth mentioning.
According to the Truthiness Encyclopedia, The Colbert Bump is defined as "the surge of enthusiasm The American Public has for a politician, candidate for office, author or other personality after they appear on The Colbert Report." Sure, Colbert made it up, but thanks the James Fowler, there is now scientific evidence to back up this phenonmenon.
According to Fowler, a Political Science professor at the University of California, San Diego, Democrats who appeared on the show raised about 44 percent more money after their appearance than they did before. How does this happen when it is mostly us poor young people who are watching the Report? Fowler says,"When someone goes on his show, the fact that someone went on his show becomes news," Fowler said. "And a single appearance turns into an incident that's reported to 30 [million], 50 million people.""His show is very influential among people who influence others," he added. So Colbert IS at the center of the world!
Last Thursday both Senators Hilary Clinton and Barrack Obama appeared on The Colbert Report, along with former candidate John Edwards. But where is John McCain?!?
According to Fowler's research, Republicans had either no response or a negative response to their appearance on the Colbert Report. Huckabee appeared in past and while he his donations didn't show any significant increase, his polling percentage increased from 1 to 3% immediately after. As Stephan Colbert said, thats 300%. Now thats a bump!
My question is, if both Obama and Clinton appeared on the Colbert Report at the same time, will they both receive the bump? Or does the bump go to whoever is funnier? Watch the clips below of Hillary and Barack and let us know who you think should get "the Colbert Bump."
Hillary Clinton
Barack Obama
By the way, Stephan, Youth Voter Registration could really use a bump, so bring Declare Yourself on your show!!!
http://www.myspace.com/hillaryclinton
www.myspace.com/johnmccain
www.myspace.com/barackobama
www.myspace.com/barackobama