Not registered to vote? 20 days left to change that

Highland Park activist Dina Johnson says she’ll be out on Alki again this afternoon in her suffragette garb — “circa 1912,” as she describes it — registering people to vote. Unless you’re new to this state, your deadline to register is October 4th — if you sign up by mail, that’s the date your form must be postmarked by; you can download the form from this page on the King County website. If you ARE new to Washington, your deadline is October 20, but you’d have to register in person to push it that far (more details here). The presidential race is only the top of a tall stack of important state/local races and ballot measures; go here to get a look at some of what you’ll be voting for – provided you’re signed up. (If you’d like to sign up with Dina’s help, look for her and husband Blair Johnson on the Alki promenade this afternoon. Lots of other local activists are busy trying to sign up voters too, with so much at stake.)

JoB September 14, 2008 (3:02 pm)

You go girl.

i wish i could join you today… but i can’t.. so i may just have to imitate you for a while.

J September 14, 2008 (3:44 pm)

Very classy!

C.A. September 14, 2008 (3:48 pm)

LOVE the garb! Very classy, indeed.

homedk September 14, 2008 (4:37 pm)

Kudos to Dina & Blair for this effort!

A friend recently forwarded a very powerful email about the suffrage protesters titled “Why Women Should Vote”.

The email included photos & some details regarding how the suffragists were imprisoned & what they endured for their efforts to gain women the right to vote.

The email mentioned that the story of their struggle to gain the vote for women is featured in an HBO film called “Iron Jawed Angels”. I haven’t seen the film yet, but think it’s important that we not forget that the right to vote is a privilege that we shouldn’t take for granted.

WSB September 14, 2008 (4:52 pm)

I still have trouble getting my brain around the concept that the right to vote is so recent for American women, my grandmothers (and co-publisher Patrick’s mother) were born in a time when they were still denied that right. About half a century after women in this country finally won that hard-fought right, I was shocked to discover, as a child who’d taken an interest in politics, that my mom didn’t vote. I begged her, register, and I’ll tell you who to vote for! So I always joke that I have been voting since age 12. It is still a thrill. And for those who claim they don’t vote because it doesn’t matter … if you look at the decisions made by the people/positions on the ballot, or the ramifications of the ballot measures that come up for votes, it DOES matter. Often, a LOT – TR

p.s. just saw this story, heartening!
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/379087_registrations15.html

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