One More Vote: My Day of Registering Latino Voters

[babylonsister]

http://www.truth-out.org/one-more-vote-my-day-registering-latino-voters64106

One More Vote: My Day of Registering Latino Voters

Monday 11 October 2010

by: Amy McMullen, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

snip//

This time, it was a young Latino couple and they actually stopped and walked over to my table. The man turned to his wife and spoke rapid Spanish to her. She nodded and looked at me. "I've just become a citizen and I want to vote," she said. My heart swelled and I nodded rapidly, scrambling to find pen and forms that were right in front of me. I took her driver's license and helped her fill out the form. I got to the part requiring party affiliation. "What party do you want to choose?"

She looked unsure. "Which should I choose?" she asked me.

Ah, the power! But my pesky sense of fairness won out.

"Um, let me put it this way, our Governor Brewer is a Republican. Her opponent, Terry Goddard, is a Democrat. State Senator Russell Pearce is a Republican. Congressman Raul Grijalva is a Democrat."

She thought for a moment, "Democrat."

It had been a long day. I packed up the table, signs and voter forms, thanked the store manager and headed out to the roasting hot parking lot. Later, I called my friend at the voter group.

"How many did you get?" she asked.

"One," I said

"Great! That's one more than we had yesterday!" she enthused.

Yes ... uno mas, one more. Strangely enough, that made it a good day.

[Cirque du So-What]

1. While out canvassing a few years ago, I explained the difference to some Hispanics

by making a sweeping gesture with my hand to take in the entire street and all its residents, saying 'Democrat.' I then pointed toward the skyscrapers a couple of miles away and said 'Republican.' They got the message straightaway.

[babylonsister]

2. I love that! Something everyone can understand. nt

[lunatica]

4. That's an inspired explanation!

And utterly to the point.

[lunatica]

3. That's exactly how it's done!

If you think you need to convince a mob in order to succeed you will lose.