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Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2003 15:14:41 -0400
From: "Beth Messersmith" <BethMessersmith@democracy-nc.org>
Friends,
There is a campaign underway in North Carolina to gain a new way for people
to vote. If you miss the deadline for registering (which is 25 days before Election
Day), this new way would allow you to go to one of the Early Voting Sites in your
county and at that place you could show your ID, register, and vote -- all at
the same time.
There are two bills in the N.C. General Assembly (HB-756 and SB-745) that would
authorize this new procedure to begin in 2004. They can be viewed at:
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/html2003/bills
/AllVersions/House/H756v1.html
http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/html2003/bills/
AllVersions/Senate/S745vf.html
Groups such as N.C. Fair Share, League of Women Voters of N.C., N.C. PIRG,
and Democracy North Carolina support this proposal. We need your help to build
more support. Please ask your organization to sign the resolution below AND/OR
sign it yourself with your organizational affiliation for identification. Then
return it as soon as possible.
For a speaker/info on same-day registration, please contact Lynice Williams
of NC Fair Share at (toll free) 1-866-302-0031 or Bob Hall of Democracy North
Carolina at 919-489-1931 or <sprc@mindspring.com>
Thanks, Bob Hall
Democracy North Carolina
NC Good Government Fund
* * * *
RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF "SAME-DAY REGISTRATION" FOR NORTH CAROLINA
Whereas more than half of adults in North Carolina typically do not participate
in elections, and voter turnout in our State is below the national average; and
Whereas many people do not get interested in candidates and elections until
the last two or three weeks before Election Day, which is after the 25-day cutoff
for registering to vote; and
Whereas people who experience the registration cutoff as a barrier are disproportionately
people of color, youth, rural residents, persons with disabilities, and the poor;
and
Whereas states that offer citizens a chance to register and vote on the same
day enjoy higher voter turnout rates, which exceed the national average by 8 to
15 percentage points; and
Whereas the presence of "early-voting" sites in North Carolina, often
equipped with computers, makes it possible to administer same-day registering
and voting efficiently while protecting against fraud;
Now, Therefore, we endorse phasing in Same-Day Registration for North Carolina,
beginning with the early-voting sites in the 100 counties and expanding as quickly
as feasible to other polling places, to ensure an election system that is accessible
and fair.
Approved by: (Name of organization endorsing resolution, contact name, address,
phone and email -- OR -- your name as individual, with your title and organization
for identification purposes)
Please return to Democracy North Carolina, 105 W. Main St., Carrboro, NC 27510,;
or fax to: 919-489-6597; or email to sprc@mindspring.com
*********************************************
Democracy North Carolina
919-967-1699 1-888-OURVOTE
info@democracy-nc.org
www.democracy-nc.org
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