Pennsylvanians, Yeah You!

What's that you say? You live in Pennsylvania and you're not registered to vote? Time is ticking friends! Let this be a FH PSA to tell you that the deadline for voter registration to be eligible to vote in the 2008 presidential primary is MONDAY. Yes, MONDAY. In Pennsylvania we like plenty of time to let our pokey bureaucracy process that paperwork, so even though the actual election isn't until April 22, you must get your forms in by March 24. That means get thee to thy local voter registration office or thy nearest post office and register! This is important!

Okay and additionally. In PA, you must also be registered with a party in order to participate in primary elections. So for those of you (like me) who are normally registered Independent, but you've been inspired to vote democrat, or republican if that's you, this time around, you need to re-register and switch your party registration to do that. The deadline for switching this is also Monday, March 24.

I really wish I had the time and the impetus to actually get out there and register people to vote. I heard a little piece on NPR about a woman in North Philly who's been sitting at a table in her local Thriftway all week registering people in her neighborhood to vote. As she explains in the interview, people from her part of North Philadelphia suffer from political apathy as a result of the widespread disinvestment in black urban communities at all levels of government, from national on down. By destroying all trust in the political system, by eroding political imagination, our country has disenfranchised a population most in need of the vote to express their social and political experiences. As of Thursday, this single woman had 100 new voter registration applications. In my book, that makes her a champion.



Rock the Vote offers printable forms that are automatically addressed according to where you live, so all you have to do is stamp them. Or if you prefer, voter registration mail applications are also available for free at any Post Office, State Liquor Store, or Public Library. How convenient, you're probably thinking. Now you can pick up a Nancy Drew, grab a bottle of whiskey AND register to vote! In this age of convenience, you wouldn't want to waste this opportunity.