2008 Elections
Get Out the Vote Checklist
Some of the things you'll need — and need to know
Get a supply of voter registration forms, and find out the process for registering to vote in your state and community. Use the UE state-by-state list to get started and learn the deadlines you must meet.
Put voter registration on the agenda of your next several UE local meetings. Come up with a plan to obtain, distribute, and collect completed voter registration forms in your workplace. This may be an appropriate task for your shop stewards.
Once your local has distributed official voter registration forms to your members, be sure to collect the completed form and send or deliver them to the appropriate government office. Forms that are taken home by members, or set aside, rarely are sent in. If someone is unsure whether they are registered to vote, re-register them. People get "purged" from the voting lists because they moved, failed to vote over several elections, and for other reasons.
Use the registration process to inform members about why they should take an interest in politics and vote on election day. To win the kind of changes we need in this country, we have to get more UE members and working class people registered to vote. In almost every state, you cannot vote unless you are registered in advance of the election (here's our list of deadlines, election dates and where to find more info).
Follow up with the people to whom you’ve spoken or given voter registration forms. If they register online, make sure that they receive confirmation through the U.S. mail. If they register in person, remind them to bring proper ID.
Your UE local union could magnify its voter registration effort by getting forms into the hands of more working people in your community. Having members take registration forms home to register their family members is one way. Finding a way to circulate the forms and information to unorganized workers in your community is another. Can your UE local set up a table at a local supermarket or bus stop to register voters, or work with organizations signing up voters in working class neighborhoods? Discuss this and pick at least one activity to increase voter registration beyond UE members.
Be sure to report the results and progress of voter registration activities to your UE Regional leaders, UE staff rep, and the National Union. Send reports to the UE News. Take pictures! Contact the UE News at 412 471-8919 or uenews@ranknfile-ue.org
The UE Washington Office can answer questions and help brainstorm plans. Call 703 299-5120 or go to uewashington@erols.com.