Friend --You probably haven't heard about it, but something just happened in Ohio that could change this race and deny thousands of people their right to vote.
Last week, the state legislature there passed an election-law overhaul that actually lets poll workers refuse to help people find where to vote. The law now says "it is the duty of the individual casting the ballot" to ensure they're in the right place, and no one else -- not even taxpayer-funded election officials -- needs to help them.
So let's imagine you're an Ohio voter. You live near a polling place, but you're not sure it's yours. On Election Day, you walk in and ask the nearest poll worker, just to confirm. That person now has a legal right to refuse to help you.
Our elected officials are supposed to be the ones protecting the right to vote. But in Ohio and other states, they're doing the opposite. It's cynical and it's wrong.
We'll see more and more of this sort of tactic over the next 16 months. But as long as some are trying to keep people from casting their ballots, we'll be out there bringing people into the process, registering voters, and making voting information as available as possible.
That's what we stand for.
Will you stand with us and join our campaign to fight for voting rights?
Barack Obama's life in public service, going back to his days as a voter registration drive organizer, has always reflected the fundamental value that the more people who participate, the better our democracy. It doesn't matter who they vote for -- we just want more people to vote. That's what America is about.
We're confident that we can hold our own in any debate about the future of our country. But the goal for every elected official and every campaign of any party should be to make it easier for everyday Americans to register and vote.
The fact is that this law in Ohio isn't an isolated event. Legislatures across the country are passing similar bills that put needless barriers in the way of people trying to vote. In Florida, another crucial battleground state, the governor signed a law that makes it harder to register voters, reduces the amount of time in which people can vote early, and wipes out a provision that allowed voters to update their legal address at their polling location and cast a regular ballot like any other eligible voter.
The Americans affected by these kinds of laws often don't get a voice in Washington. So as some folks go to great lengths to stop them from exercising their most basic right as citizens, let's work even harder to have their backs.
Stand with the campaign that is fighting for voters' rights today:
http://my.barackobama.com/Stand-for-Voting-Rights
Thanks,
Jeremy
Jeremy Bird
National Field Director
Obama for America
P.S. -- To read more about the new legislation in Ohio that allows poll workers to deny help to voters looking for their correct polling place, click here.
