Guest Author - Tracey-Kay Caldwell

It is less than a week until the election, and you just decided you want to get involved in helping Democrats get elected. Is it to late? No, there is a lot that you can do. This can be the most important time to volunteer. First, call your friends and see if they are going to vote. If you live in a state that allows early voting, plan an evening out that start at the voting booth. If you don’t have early voting, check to see if any of your friends need a ride to the polls on Election Day.

Voter turnout will be key in this election. Congressional elections have much lower turnout than Presidential elections. A good turn out can sway an election dramatically. Reminding people how important it is to vote, what is at stake in this election and that their vote does count can be all it takes to get them to the polls. MoveOn.org has a get out the vote plan, Call for Change: It’s too Close Not to Call. They are having Rock the House (and the Senate too) cell phone parties this weekend all over the country. You can sign up to join a cell phone party, using your free minutes you can call voters to remind them to go to the polls. They will provide you with a list of registered progressive voters to call and a script that has been tested and is effective. These list have been complied from voter rolls, cross-checked with phone records and post office change of address data. Enter your zip code at MoveOn.org website to see where there is cell phone party near you.

Another way to make sure Democrats get elected is to make sure we have fair and effective elections. During the 2000 and 2004 elections there were many problems at the polls, long lines, eligible voters turned away, misallocation and malfunctioning of voting equipment. With this election Video the Vote will, with a grassroots effort by ordinary citizens, document any voting day problems that occur on Election Day. You can sign up to be a volunteer. All you need is a digital video recorder, a cell phone, and broadband Internet access. Their goal is to have citizens on standby ready to document problems as they occur. These videos will be played online. Blogs and partner websites will work together to ensure that the full story of the elections is told. These videos will help the media and public to insure we have a fair and accurate election process.

In addition you local Democratic Party office will have its own get out the vote effort. You can make calls or drive people to the polls. You can locate your local Democratic Party office by entering your zip code on the volunteer page of the Democratic Party website. Every vote counts, when you are not in a close race. When an election is an overwhelming landslide it is much harder for it to be contested. Insuring that you, and everyone you know, votes is the only way to make sure we get the change in Congress that we need. It’s not to late to do your part.