To register republicans, or not to register republicans?

[lojasmo]

I'm a precinct chair. My plan is to assist everybody in my precinct to get registered by giving them cards if requested.

I will assist Democrats to become registered by delivering/mailing their cards and by assisting with the completion of the form if requested.

Fair or no?

[taxidriver]

1. it would be fair to register both,

consider your indignation of someone wouldn't register democrats. It may not be the most pleasant thing, but they deserve to vote too.

[NMDemDist2]

9. as a Dem PC and the veteren of many "voter reg" drives

I can tell you the GOPer's aren't so nice. I have had GOPer's come over from their booth to bad mouth us and get into screaming rants at places like the county fair or a neighborhood party

while i have met some very nice GOPer's their "street troops" are a nasty bunch IME

[spotbird]

12. They certainly deserve to vote,

but we have no duty to help them. There would be no indignation at all from Democrats if Republicans refused to spend time and money registering Democrats. In fact it would be unwise for any Democrat to trust the Republicans with their registration form considering their track record in working to keep Democrats from the polls.

[trof]

23. A parting comment.

My deepest, deepest thanks to all who are working on GOTV.
And the first time I saw that, I thought it was some kind of new MTV.
hee
It's folks like you/us that might make a difference.

This is not beanbag, as I stated elsewhere.
I feel absolutely NO responsibility to help a repub to register.
Given what I've said in other replies here, if he pulls the form from my hand, I'll let go. I just try NOT to get myself in that position.

We set up a voter registration booth at an Earth Day celebration. Back then we had Kerry, Gephardt, Edwards, you-name-it signs all over it. VOTE DEMOCRATIC! signs. Everyone who stopped by was anti-Bush. Believe me, the others just won't come around. OK, maybe that was a no-brainer. How many repubs would go to an Earth Day event?

Go get 'em.

[boobooday]

2. You must register both!

I understand your feelings, but don't fall into the trap of becoming like them!

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[trof]

3. Could you describe job a little more?

A DEm precinct chair, or town/city precinct chair.
Is it part of your job to register voters, or just oversee the polling place.
Need more info.

[sophie996]

4. partisan?

is precinct chair a party position? if not, i think you must register Rs, by law. i register, sometimes by tabling, am required to register everyone. (in california)

[NMDemDist2]

5. deliver the Dems to the county board, politely give the form to

republicans to mail for themselves.

legal and ethical since you are a PC for the dems

[havocmom]

6. And do remember: Many Republicans are anti-bush* and not happy

with the RW take over of their party. Every Republican I have heard for the past year and a half has been down on the malAdministration big time.

Go ahead, do the honorable thing (and possibly legally required thing) and register anybody you can regardless of party. Seriously doubt anybody you register is gonna put bush*/Cheney over the top. The only way they are gonna win this one is to make sure their people/computers are the ones counting the votes.

[Rationality]

7. As precinct chair, you should put partisanship aside

Help everyone that you can, regardless of their politics. Helping only Democrats sets a bad example for how our government should run, not to mention a bad example for our Democratic ideals.

[spotbird]

14. Precinct Chair is normally a strictly partisan job.

They are elected by the political parties, each precinct can have two one for each side.

[trof]

8. Why start a thread and not answer questions?

Sorry if I sound a bit testy, but I'm trying to help and getting no feedback.

I googled Rochester, MN city precinct chairs and get nothing but sites on Dem or repub precinct chairs. Nothing about this being a city job.

My apologies if I missed something, but if you're Dem precinct chair and plan to register repubs, I don't think you understand the situation.

Again, apologies in advance if there's something I need to learn about your job.

[NMDemDist2]

10. trof in most states a "Precinct Chair" or Precinct Committee person

is a volunteer position within the Party (Dem or GOP)

I am a PC for my neighborhood for the local Democratic Party. I walk my neighborhood with lists of voters and try to mobilize the base, and talk to the independents and register voters for MY party

The suggestion we get from the party HQ is to bring the Dem registrations, but if the person wants to reg as a GOPer we politely leave the form with them to submit themselves

[trof]

11. Well that's what I thought.

Same way in Alabama.
We've just found that walking neighborhoods (unless you know they're predominently Dem) doesn't work as well as identifying the Dems FIRST.
And since I just volunteered to do this in my precinct, I guess I are one too.
;-)

In Arizona, do you register in a particular party?
We don't.

[trof]

15. Here's how we're doing it:

You can't say I'll get you registered if you vote Democratic.
But...if you're setting up a booth somewhere, you festoon it with Dem signs and bumper stickers. That's like garlic and vampires to repugs. But you still don't refuse service to anyone.

In many states, you don't register as anything. When you go to vote in the PRIMARY, you select either Dem or repug ballot. In Alabama, I'm just REGISTERED. Period.

If you're doing phone banks (like we are) you identify Dem or repug on the phone. Or "Do you support Kerry or Bush?" If repug, "Thank you very much" and hang up.
If Dem/Kerry leaning ask: registered? any other voting age folks in the house? Registered? Know where to vote? Need ride? Need absentee ballot? ANYTHING?

In our state, the county voters registrar's office will give you a list of ALL registered voters in the county, by precinct. It's up to us to weed 'em out and find the good guys.
This ain't beanbag.
;-)

[lojasmo]

19. This was my plan AZDem

[trof]

22. Good on ya. Did you get guidelines from Kerry campaign?

There's a section on the website that helped point us in the right direction.

[lojasmo]

16. sorry, I've been away.

Other things going on too.

I am a precinct chair for the Minnesota DFL. I'm going to be categorizing my precinct, based on party affiliation, registering voters, distributing literature, and mobilizing volunteers.

My plan was to distribute voter registration cards to those who requested them, regardless of party affiliation.

I also planned to assist democrats by mailing the registration cards.

Just getting people's opinions as to whether my plans were sufficiently egalitarian. I knew there would be very opinionated responses to either side.

[trof]

21. Sorry, lojasmo

I get worked up about this because I'm right in the middle of it now.
If you talk about this in the future please say DEM precinct chair.
I don't know what other states call appointed, non-partisan polling positions.

Please see my post about how we're working. Does your county give lists of registered voters? That's the place to start, if you can. You'll be surprised how many of the unregistereds you'll pick up that way. Wives, husbands, grown kids, mama-in-law, etc.

Good on ya, and bless you for getting down in the trenches.
:hi:

[NMDemDist2]

24. what trof said-- also look for "movers" out of state plates

boxes piled on curb etc

i get lots like that :)

ps look at my pic is worth a giggle- what you don't want folks to think is you are Jehovah Witness or Mormon knocking on their door

[spotbird]

13. Don't actively register Republicans.

Leave the Republicans to their own devices. If someone asks and you want to be sporting give them the Republican Party or Board of elections phone number. Explain that you have time and money restrictions. Let them stop by your house to pick up the forms, but don't waste your time helping them.

[lojasmo]

17. I like your solution, spotbird.

N/T

[MAlibdem]

18. where do you live?

is the real question...if you live in a Bible-belt section of Ohio or Florida, you figure if you register everybody you get more Bush voters.

if you live in urban (read: black majority) areas of Ohio or Florida, if you register everybody you get Kerry voters...


edit: If it's a position within the Democratic Party hierarchy in your state, you have no obligation to help register Republicans...in fact, one could argue you have an obligation not to help them because the people who elected you did so to advance the party.

[lojasmo]

20. Conservative district in Minnesota

Rural town, moderate size.