vote – Page 2 – kimi blog

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GOTV tools & voting options for NJ Election Tues Nov 5 2013

I have developed some tools to help motivate people to vote in this important election. In this post are Vote Pledge Cards you can download – they are a major component of the toolkit. And this is the GOTV plan in a nutshell (as of 10 days before the election):

The goal for this week is to get people thinking and talking about voting in New Jersey. Talking about putting a governor and other elected officials in office who will help us bring back our cities … about how and where they’re going to cast their vote … and about how WE CAN VOTE OURSELVES A RAISE this election. Voters who are busy or have children to watch, might want to consider which voting option makes most sense for them. To find out where your vote polling location is, check your voter registration card, Look it up online or call your town/city clerk. Do you need a ride or can you give one? Here are the voting options New Jersey voters have:

Voters can mail applications to Vote by Mail until Monday Oct 28. Mailed applications need to be in their County Clerk’s office by Tuesday Oct 29.
Download a Vote by Mail application online for Bergen County, Essex County, Passaic County or anywhere in NJ.
Through Monday Oct 28, voters can mail in Vote by Mail applications. If the application arrives at the County Clerk’s office by Tuesday Oct 29, a BALLOT will be mailed to their home.
Through Tuesday Oct 29, voters can drop Vote by Mail applications off to their County Clerk and get a BALLOT mailed to their home.
Until 3pm on Monday Nov 4 (day before Election Day) voters can obtain Vote by Mail BALLOTS at the County Clerk’s office;
And through Tuesday Nov 5 (Election Day) Vote by Mail BALLOTS obtained in person or through the mail can be handed in at the County Board of Elections office.
Remember, a Vote by Mail BALLOT vote is counted as a regular vote in exactly the same way a vote cast in a polling place voting machine is counted.
Voters can vote at the polls on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov 5.

Vote Pledge Cards Start a conversation about voting with friends, family and anyone else you chat with by asking them to pledge to vote by filling in a VOTE PLEDGE CARD (pdf). The cards are conveniently arranged 4 on a sheet for easy printing and cutting.

NJ 2013 Vote Pledge Cards 4 on sheet for printing

Will remind people they can vote themselves a raise this election by voting YES on Question 2 to raise the minimum wage to $8.25/hr (about $2000 per year).

Vote Pledge Cards will help people think through when and where they’re going to cast their vote.

They will help you capture contact information and reach out to make sure people fill in their Vote by Mail BALLOT when it arrives and send them back right away, or think through when and how they will vote in person at the County Clerk’s office or at the polls.

Vote Pledge Cards will help connect people with a ride to vote if they need one.

They will identify drivers who can bring voters to the County Clerk’s Office to vote, and who can help with GOTV on Nov 5.

Vote Pledge Cards will help identify canvassers who are available work on door to door GOTV (Get Out The Vote) from Friday Nov 1 through Tuesday Nov 5.

On Election Day, we will be doing door to door GOTV, reminding people to vote and offering rides to the polls to as many people as possible. Remember to ask pledges if they can help and to contact @ivanwei or @kimiwei when you identify someone who wants to volunteer!

New Jersey Voter FAQ
These instruction ©2013 Kimi Wei & TheWei.com read more

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Issues, news and fact checking for NJ’s 2013 election season

THIS ELECTION VOTE YOURSELF A RAISE! Vote YES on the ballot referendum to raise the NJ minimum wage to $8.25/hr

Also in the 2013 election cycle, all of New Jersey’s state level positions are up for election including Assembly, State Senate seats and the governorship. Federal and state elected officials have the ability to make changes to improve, approve or eradicate the issues listed below. Your vote and your voice make them accountable so be sure to vote. (Download issues flyer).

Protect the constitutional right of every US citizen to have one vote and get it counted
Fund and enact The Amistad Act which calls for racially accurate history to be taught in NJ schools
Food justice: eradicate urban food deserts and barriers to home & community gardening; ban of genetically modified foods (GMOs); make college food healthier and more affordable
Reverse Citizens United ruling that gives corporations the status of personhood
Take big money out of general elections (see rootstrikers.org)
Save the open internet and protect it from takeover and control by corporate interests (see savetheinternet.com)
Ban prison based gerrymandering which causes prison inmates’ families to lose government resources in their home states and counties
Stop privatization of schools, prisons, nursing homes and food services
Moratorium on foreclosures to protect 1 in 4 Black &Latino families who are in danger of losing their homes
Hold banks accountable for wrongful foreclosures, charging Blacks and Latinos higher mortgage interest rates, refusing to renegotiate underwater mortgages; and failing to provide maintenance on foreclosed homes – which contributes to the creation of urban blight zones
Lower US prison population. We incarcerate almost 1% of American citizens, about 2.5 million individuals, whom are mostly Latinos and African Americans
Protect civil rights including: ban racial profiling, stop unfounded searches and halt incarceration of non- criminal undocumented immigrants
Achieve diversity of court justices on every level of the judicial system
Transition to a green economy and protect clean air, water and the environment. Prevent climate change.
Provide help to families with homes in foreclosure, the unemployed and the hungry
Protect women’s health, lives, career opportunities; and the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
Hold major corporation and government agencies accountable for diversity in hiring and the awarding of small business contracts
Make minimum wage equal a living wage and protect American jobs. Vote yes to the NJ 2013 ballot referen- dum to raise min wage to $8.25/hr!
Expand the scope of the new federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which offers important protec- tions including: financial institutions may not enact excessive credit rate hikes or provide misleading informa- tion about credit terms and fees
Support for women and minority students wishing to enter STEM fields
Protect Obamacare and fund affordable community health centers
Continue the Deferred Action program & pass the DREAM Act for undocumented immigrant youth; enact comprehensive immigration reform
Increase support for Historically Black Colleges and Minority Serving Institutions and protect public education
End government subsidies to big banks and dirty fuel companies. Invest more in public education and health.
Maintain affordable interest rates on student loans (impacts 140,000 NJ students) and lower college tuition.
Increase the amount of Pell grant dollars available for low-income studentsTrack Congressional bills

FACT CHECK & OTHER USEFUL RESOURCES read more

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Pro-public education Board of Education 2013 candidates

Board of Education budgets are typically 3 times as big as the entire budgets of the municipalities in which they’re located. Those hugs pots of money are why Big-Business supporter Gov. Chris Christie and his GOP colleague Mitt Romney are so eager to get their hands on public education funds. They can’t stand money being spent to actually improve the lives of vulnerable children, and students of color, across America when that money could go to make their own children and grandchildren richer. read more

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Election 2012 voting FAQ

FAQ: Questions about election/voting procedures

Q: I didn’t get my Voter ID card after registering to vote. Can I still vote?
A: Yes. If you’re a registered voter who appears on the voter rolls (see below for how to check if you’re registered), you can vote. If you submitted a registration form but don’t appear on the voter’s roster at your polling place, you have two options:
- Submit a provisional ballot which can be obtained at any polling place (voter station) or your County Clerk or Board of Elections Office.
- New Jersey residents also have the option of petitioning your county’s court for the right to cast a regular voting ballot. Do this by visiting the Board of Election or County Clerk in your county.
Q: How can I find out if I’m registered to vote? A: Visit canivote.org To check if you’re registered to vote and to find your polling place Q: Can I vote electronically, by email or fax? A: Yes! New Jersey voters that are, “displaced voters” can cast ballots by fax or email. What’s more, I learned at 6:10pm from the Assistant Bergen County Clerk that due to overwhelming demand, Governor Christie has just authorized the County Clerk’s offices around New Jersey to continue processing ballot requests through Friday Nov 9 for Vote By Mail applications that were received electronically by the submission deadline of 5pm on Election Day, Nov 6.. The Clerks’ staff need this extra time to finish checking and entering Vote By Mail applications received, and to generate and send out ballots by fax or email in accordance with the preference each voter has indicated). Although thousands of ballots have been processed in Bergen County, many still remain. The vote of each and every registered voter who returns an electronic ballot by Friday will be counted for the 2012 General Election :).
The deadline for submitting a request for an electronic ballot ended at 5pm Tuesday, Nov 6, 2012. No new procedure was established to make this process possible for New Jersey voters displaced by Hurricane Sandy; the procedure already existed for military personnel and United States residents living abroad. Permission to vote by electronic means expires at the end of the 2012 general election. These are the instructions that were provided.

You will need to fax or email a Vote By Mail application to your County Clerk by 5pm on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov 6 2012. They will send you back a form you must sign waiving your right to having your vote be anonymous (because entering your vote will see it), and a ballot. After filling out the ballot, you return it by fax or email as indicated on the ballot.
Q: How does a provisional ballot work?
A: You can vote provisionally from any polling location or by visiting your county’s (see list) Board of Elections or County Clerks Offices – they’ll steer you to the right location. When the provisional ballot is reviewed, they Board of Elections should approve it based on what are a common entry errors (Street vs. Avenue, etc.).
Q: Why didn’t I get a sample ballot?
Sample ballots came out very late. Some people received them on Nov 5 and some people did not receive them at all.
Q: What do I need to bring with me to vote at the polls?
A: Here’s a list of what’s required in each state. In New Jersey, people who have already voted don’t need to bring any form of ID, but first time voters may be asked for identification.

Información en Español

Visite Ya Es Hora – ¡Ve y Vota! ó llamar al 888-839-3682 (888-VE-Y-VOTA) read more

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Report on voter woes in Bergen County NJ

Hundreds wait to vote in person at Bergen County Clerk Nov 4 2012

Here are details of the report I sent in about voting issues here in Bergen County, NJ to Our Vote Live, set up by Craig Newmark (of Craig’s List) and other civic rights advocates to protect voter’s rights and make sure the conservatives don’t get away with suppressing people’s voting rights in this pivotal election. If you become aware of any voting issues, please make your own report.

The Bergen County Clerk this afternoon remarked that State issued a new and confusing Directive just yesterday (Saturday). Apparently, County Clerks all over the state asked all week for a Directive to be issued. read more

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To students of real history, corruption doesn’t look worse today

People who believe widespread social problems are new to the United States come from ethnic backgrounds of privilege, or didn’t learn true history at home or in school. A Facebook friend and Green Party member thinks he is trying to explain to me that ethnicity does not affect a person’s belief about whether there is more corruption today than in the past. But, what Mark is really doing is demonstrating that he hails from a background where White male privilege is so much part of his personal culture that he is unaware that any other reality exists. read more