Montclair resident Marian Golan says she’s never done anything like this before, but last Saturday, she went on an 11-hour trip to Chester, Pa. to register voters for the 2004 election. The trip, officially non-partisan but effectively pro-Kerry, was organized by NJ Citizen Action as a way to sign up voters in key swing states.
“It was a total Kerry crowd,” says Golan. Although she says it was “exhausting” pounding the Chester pavements “with the sun beating down on us,” Golan felt compelled to make the trip: “Like everyone is saying, this is the most important vote of our lifetime.”
Golan and a longtime friend from Maplewood signed up 16 voters — 15 of them pro-Kerry. The group she was with registered 260 voters altogether. On the way home in the van, they listened to tapes of the Democratic Convention.
Maybe she’s never registered swing-state voters before, but Golan’s hanging onion-basket (at least that’s what we use ours for) belies a somewhat activist past. It’s filled with buttons, many political or from women’s marches. Somehow, though, she forgot to pick up a Kerry one.
Doing the Swing-State Tango
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It shouldn’t take 11 hours to get to Chester, Pennsylvania. Somebody get her some directions.
Nice job signing up voters though.
11 hours listening to the retelling of Kerry’s four month stint in Nam. Just imagine that!
On a side note, assuming an eleven hour return trip makes 22 ours or nearly 1% of the total time Kerry spent in Nam!
And how many minutes did Bush spend in, ummm, Alabama?
Somebody get this commenter some common sense. The total trip was 11 hours including travel and hours spent doing voter registration.
Perhaps everyone on Marian’s van was for Kerry, but New Jersey Citizen Action had a total of 35 volunteers participate in this event. In this non-partisan voter registration drive, we registered people from both parties and people who did not want to give party affiliation. Someone in her van had an I-pod with a recording of the convention. This was not an official part of the trip’s training or activities.
John Weber
NJ Citizen Action
PS Re: Shabe’s comment : 11 hour trip = 2hrs there, 2 hrs back, 4 on the streets registering voters, break for lunch, instructions, and time enough to drop off and pick up 35 people. We do not need directions.
>And how many minutes did Bush spend in, ummm, Alabama?
Alabama? I am more concerned about Baghdad!
Well *you* mentioned Kerry in Nam!
Good point, though: why *is* Bush & Co. in Iraq, anyway?!
Oy vey.
If you don’t know the arguments ‘for’ and ‘against’ the war in Iraq. I am certain I am unable to help you.
*I* mentioned Nam? I suppose you are right, if it were not for me, I am sure narry a Barista reader would even be aware of Mr. Kerry’s service in Vietnam.