Yesterday the Republican Party of Montana announced that it was abandoning its plans to challenge the voting eligibility of at least 6,000 residents of that state-mostly in democratic strongholds-who had filed change-of-address cards with the U.S. Postal Service. In a letter sent to election officials in seven counties, state GOP executive director Jacob Eaton withdrew the party's challenges and said they would be issuing no more. Several hundred letters requesting that individuals confirm their correct addresses had already gone out from overworked election offices before the GOP withdrew its challenge.
Today is the last day to get registered to vote for the June primary (the exception being registering under Montana's late and Election Day Registration laws, which allow you to register in person and vote at the courthouse between now and the close of Election Day with the exception of Noon of the day before the Election and 7am of Election Day itself).
As you can tell from the complexity of that parenthetical, we actively encourage folks to avoid the complex route and register to vote.
If folks need to, we have folks out on the ground in Bozeman and Missoula today. Need to register, call us at 406-542-VOTE and we'll hook you up.
Wow -- some big news on the day jobby job front. Forward Montana is spreading like a wildfire, but with fewer casualties.
Here's the cool news:
Up and Running in Bozeman -- We just hired a great new Gallatin Coordinator to do some on-the-ground organizing in Bozeman. His name is Jeff Bangs. He hails from Hill County and we're excited to have him on board.
We're Hiring Voter Registration Organizers -- With the primary coming up, we want to make sure Montanans are registered and ready to vote. Want to help with that goal? Let us know and we'll get you to work registering voters and working with volunteers to register voters.
Fake Medical School -- We're in the middle of launching a huge health care campaign to identify Montanans' concerns about health care, build a progressive majority in Montana, and fight for comprehensive health care reform. Sound interesting? Sign up for our Fake Medical School. April 12 in Missoula. We provide the food, the training, and the plan. You provide the passion and energy for change.
I'd be remiss in failing to note that this expansion is funded in part through some new found generosity. Our in-state giving by individuals has ticked up considerably recently. We also are getting more support from organized labor. And, of course, George Soros.
Forward Montana has a message: get re-registered to vote. With vote by mail, you need to be registered at your current. Because of old registration information, 10,997 ballots bounced back to the courthouse for the primary election.
That's why we're working hard to make sure people know about the need to re-register and we've even got a slick online tool to help make it happen at www.pinkbunnies.org (the sweeter version of this site will launch later today).
This whole thing has been an awesome undertaking by a great bunch of volunteers, Westridge Creative, Mountain Kid Pictures, and ModWest. The online voter reg tool comes courtesy of Working Assets and Rock the Vote. We've got what we think is a compelling message, but we need your help to spread it.
Need to update your voter registration? We've got a handy new tool that Forward Montana is launching with some help from our friends at Working for Change and Rock the Vote -- it's super easy to use.
And -- note to other bloggers or folks with websites, if you want to integrate this tool, let me know -- we're happy to make it easier for people to register.
