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Attachment F AlterNet: Now It's Clear Why Same People Are Scared af �arly Voting: Because Yt Empowers P... Page 1 of 2 ��tE'� � -� �;� �� r�� a�� Now It's Clear Why Some People Are Scared of Early Vo�ing: Because It Empawers People By Pam Kapoor, AlterNet Posted o►� November 2, 2008, Pri�n.ted on �'ebruary 3, 2009 htfp:I/�vww.altern el:�rg/story/1057441 ''I've thought of �sor� excuses why not to vate, why not to do tf�i�," Bobby told us. "And each time, it has cost me more than it would have cost rne ta get up off �ny a** -- excuse my �'rench -- and try to �nake a change." Se said Bobby 3c�l�nson i�n the back of one of our "Vote Today Ohio shuttles. Vifhen he spotted our van at the Bishop Cosgrove Centre, a food pantry in �leveland, he climbed ri�ht on in. He hadn't voted in years, b�t an October 4th; 200$, Bobby became one of the 67,408 Oh�oans who cast a ballot during the first week of Ohio's new Early Voting period, We have seen and heard Bobby's story repeated from Cincinnati to Youngstawn; fram Athens to To�eda. So many unIikely voters we drove ta Ohio Early Voting Centers represent this truth: el�ctions are changrng. You might even say democracy itself, in fact, is changing. �'or the better. Ohio no loFlger has an Election Day. Innor�ative updating of the process has norv yielded an �lectio� Month. And we've se�n the embracing ofthis change in the face5 of the very voters most positively impacted by it. This year, an estimated 1 out of 3 Americans wi�l cast their ballot either thra�ugh absentee �r early voting. Colorado i� even expected to see half its turnout amongst earIy �roters. Ohia Secretary of State Jennifer �runner opened Early Voting C�nters ul every county on September 3Q and vvill keep them open through November 3. She has gone� openly and vehemen�Iy on the record as supportiilg �arly Vot�ng as a. means oi broadening access, �nd estimates thai "25 percent of Ohfo's registered voters�, or the� nurriber of vot�rs voting, will ha�e voted before �lection Day." Um; so what? Political operatives will neec� avvhile �o figure �ut just hoW Earl� �oting will alter the langstanding rules of campaigning. But everyane -- even artnchair observers -- reco�nizes the impact �arly vaters couId have on �verall election results: Consider that after aIl the caunts were recounied, Bush too�C Ohia �n 2004 by roughly 100,000 votes (and squeaked in Florida by a mere 527 votes). Carnpai�ners on eith�r side of the spectrum see the value afi l�cking in thos� sorts of numbers w�thin the early vofing windot�v. Ev�ry votE s�iz�ies �vith relevance: the ;300 voters� we (Vote Today Ohia) transported represent far more than a drop in the bucket. Of the 9Z64 people w�o this year vated d�uring Golden WEek in �'ranklin Caurny (home to Columbus}, we moved 1369 �� thern -- that's 14.8 percent of the early vate in Franklin County. IE's safe to assume �hafi hundreds o�thous�nds af Qhioans have learned about early voting directly from our r�vork. That's powerful. http:l/www.alternet.orglmodulelprintversion/105744 2/3/2009