Register to vote. Time is running out. And this is fucking important.

The deadline to get yourself registered to vote here in Michigan is Tuesday the 9th. So, if you’re not already registered, or know people who aren’t, you’ve still got a few days… I was going to say, if you’re a reader of this site, I don’t have to tell you howe important this is, but, just in case you’re still on the fence about voting, here, from our friends at Vote Save America, are a few good reasons to wake up tomorrow morning and run as though your life depended on it to the closest Secretary of State office.

If Republicans win, they will:
• Take health insurance away from 20 million Americans;
• Pack the courts with more lifetime-appointed right-wing judges that could do things like overturn Roe v. Wade;
• Deport more children and families who’ve lived here their entire lives;
• Give Trump a blank check to do whatever the fuck he wants;
• Shut down the Mueller investigation for good.

If Democrats win, they can:
• Stop Trump from passing any more legislation or appointing any more judges;
• Protect the Affordable Care Act, and expand Medicaid in some states;
• Investigate the most corrupt White House in history;
• Pass automatic voter registration, set a $15 minimum wage, protect a woman’s right to choose, or give ex-felons the right to vote in states that have ballot initiatives or Democratic-controlled State Houses;
• Draw new congressional districts that aren’t gerrymandered, so that Democrats don’t have a map that sucks this bad ever again.

And, remember, if you live here in Michigan, this is your chance to send a huge “fuck you” to Donald Trump by voting against his friend Bill Schuette for Governor. Furthermore, if you live in the 7th, 8th, or 11th districts, you can help retake the House by voting against Republicans Tim Walberg, Mike Bishop, and Lena Epstein, helping us to flip what, in recent years, had been pretty much guaranteed Republican seats. [If you want, it’s not too late to donate to the campaigns of Gretchen Driskell, Elissa Slotkin, and Haley Stevens, the three people running against the above mentioned Republicans, through ActBlue. Oh, and I suspect Michigan’s next Governor, ‎Gretchen Whitmer, could use a few dollars as well.]

OK, now that you’re convinced that you need to vote, let’s see if you’re registered. And, thanks to Vote.org, you can do that right here. I just did it, and it only takes about two minutes.

OK, if you are registered, and you live here in Michigan, the next step is to visit the Secretary of State website, where you can confirm your polling place, check out your sample ballot, and, if you need to, request an absentee ballot.

And, if you’re not registered, you can go to either your city or township clerk’s office or a Secretary of State office. You can find all the Michigan voting guidelines online, but here’s everything you need to know about getting registered.

I should add that, since very few young people vote, there are several local initiatives in the Ypsi-Arbor area to encourage students to register. At the University of Michigan, there’s going to be a mobile registration unit outside the Michigan League from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM on Monday. At Eastern, there are going to be registration tables in the Student Center between 10:00 AM and 3:00 PM on both Monday and Tuesday. And, at Washtenaw Community College, on Monday between 12:00 and 130, State Representative Adam Zemke is going to be talking with students about the importance of voting in the midterms. [I hear that WCC students can also register to vote from 9:30 AM to 6:00 PM in the Student Center on Monday.]

So, if you know students in the area, please encourage them to register and vote. In the 2014 midterm election, only one-in-six Americans under the age of 30 voted, and that’s just not acceptable… Here, for those of you who are interested, is the data from the Washington Post.

OK, that’s all I’ve got for now… Just please, if you can, talk with everyone you see between now and October 9, ask if they’re registered, and, if not, help them do so. It’s really no exaggeration that the future of our democracy is riding on this.

Oh, and if noting else works, tell the young people in your life that Taylor Swift says voting is cool. [I’m not a Taylor Swift fan, but I respect the hell out of her decision to risk the wrath of Donald Trump and his followers, knowing full well that it could cost her professionally. The world would be a better place if everyone had that kind of courage.]

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12 Comments

  1. EOS
    Posted October 8, 2018 at 4:43 am | Permalink

    Conviction by accusation is not the American way. Don’t reward Soros’ paid protesters.

  2. a little known fact
    Posted October 8, 2018 at 5:45 am | Permalink

    You are why I vote, EOS. Thank you for the inspiration.

  3. Posted October 8, 2018 at 7:27 am | Permalink

    FIX THE DAMN ROADS!!

    Republicans are going to say “We don’t need a new tax!” but we pay a tax every time we have to get new tires or have to take our vehicles to the body shop. It is not only an embarrassment to our state, but it is also very dangerous.

    Get out there and vote for clean roads and safe travel.

    #Whitmer2018 #BlueWave2018 #CleanYpsi #ResistTrump2018

  4. Meta
    Posted October 8, 2018 at 7:45 am | Permalink

    Washington Post:
    “Likely voters who live in 69 battleground House districts across the country narrowly prefer Democratic candidates, according to a new Washington Post-Schar School survey, a potentially worrying sign for Republicans given that the overwhelming percentage of these districts are currently in GOP hands.”

    Read more:
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/survey-of-battleground-house-districts-shows-democrats-with-narrow-edge/2018/10/07/f45e13f2-c812-11e8-b1ed-1d2d65b86d0c_story.html

  5. Jean Henry
    Posted October 8, 2018 at 8:07 am | Permalink

    EOS— I know a few protesters in DC last week and this. Most are long time social justice activists. None were paid for the trip. Many documented their efforts on social media, including cramming into cars to travel to dc and back for a single day. (So they could get back to their paying jobs.) You might want to check your sources. It’s pretty cheap and easy to get the word out and organize these days. Doris May fund coordinators etc but he doesn’t pay the protestors. No need. In case you haven’t noticed, a lot of people who think differently than you are a Little bit worked up.

  6. Jean Henry
    Posted October 8, 2018 at 8:08 am | Permalink

    Sorros not Doris. Although it would be cool if Doris wanted to pitch in too.

  7. iRobert
    Posted October 8, 2018 at 10:17 am | Permalink

    Michigan doesn’t need a new tax. The taxes we already pay need to be spent properly.

  8. M
    Posted October 8, 2018 at 10:17 am | Permalink

    Be aware also that the right is using the idea that the Dems would impeach Kavanaugh to drive the base to the polls come election day. This, by the way, could never happen, as the Dems would need 2/3 of the Senate to impeach a Supreme Court judge.

    President Trump on talks of Kavanaugh impeachment: “I think it’s an insult to the American public, and I think you’re going to see a lot of things happen on November 6 that would not have happened before”

  9. Lynne
    Posted October 8, 2018 at 10:39 am | Permalink

    Yes, and frankly if the idea of a Kavanaugh impeachment drives more of the right to the polls than it drives the left to the polls, they deserve the win. If people can’t see how damaging this could be to them to allow the GOP to control all three branches of government and nearly 3/4 of state governments too, then what can we do?

  10. CNN
    Posted October 8, 2018 at 11:42 am | Permalink

    Millennials could be one of the biggest political forces in America today, if they wanted https://cnn.it/2OM0pHR

  11. wobblie
    Posted October 8, 2018 at 2:39 pm | Permalink

    Whitmer is up by between 9 and 12 points. Obviously it is going to be all about whipping up each parties base from here on out, though after about the end of next week or the first of the week after, new news will be hard to make an impression. So look for more Trump grand standing over the next two weeks. If you are not registered you must do it tomorrow

    By the way, my Democratic leaning friends. Notice how Trump has been continually on campaign trail since summer. Obama only made 7 campaign appearances in 2014

  12. Buzzfeed
    Posted October 9, 2018 at 6:38 am | Permalink

    Since Taylor Swift encouraged her 112 million Instagram followers to register to vote, Vote.org has experienced an unprecedented flood of new voter registrations nationwide

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