[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Cross-posted on the Huffington Post. 

The Democratic race is too close to call. It is entirely possible that the losing candidate will be supported by 49% of the voters and the delegates. It is also possible that one candidate could win the popular vote but lose the delegate contest. Amidst all this uncertainty, one thing is clear: the candidate who wins will win by a nose.

Some believe that the fight between Clinton and Obama has hurt Democrats. They are dead wrong. This is the best thing to happen to the Democratic Party in a long time.

Voter turnout and engagement is up virtually everywhere. People who have never been politically involved before -- especially the many women and African Americans who feel a strong sense of connection to the candidates -- are excited.

It has been too many years since Democrats have been wildly passionate about whom they want to win the nomination. We have a good thing going, and we need to keep it going through November. We need to keep it going all the way to the White House.

There's more...

by Susan Rowe [courtesy of Blog for America]

Closing the Voter Turnout Gap: A Report on the California Votes Initiative

Tuesday, November 13, 2007 10:00 - 11:00 AM

Which tactics are most effective in turning out ethnic communities on Election Day? Can we significantly increase voting in historically low turnout communities? Can volunteer phonebanks be as effective as door-to-door canvassing? How useful are doorhangers and direct mail?

Find out more from experts and community leaders at a special briefing hosted by The James Irvine Foundation. The briefings will include results from extensive research on minority voter outreach efforts in 2006 that reached more than 80,000 infrequent voters in Southern California and the Central Valley.

Closing the Voter Turnout Gap: A Report on the California Votes Initiative

Location: Council Chambers
Fresno City Hall
2600 Fresno Street
Fresno, CA 93721

RSVP: For more information or to RSVP contact CAVotes@irvine.org or Karen Pogoda at 323-254-5700. Metered street parking is available for visitors to City Hall. Refreshments will be provided.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Rob Richie
Executive Director
Fair Vote

Facts in the Spotlight:

• Voter turnout statewide primaries in 1966: 33.5%
• Voter turnout in 38 states with such primaries in 2006: 15.4%(the lowest in history)
• Ratio of voter turnout for those over 70 vs. those under 45 in Oregon’s 2006 primaries: 3.5 to 1

As the presidential nomination season is heating up, have you ever thought about the word "primary"? Going to the dictionary, one finds that the first definition is, "first or highest in rank, quality, or importance."

Well, in the case of voter turnout, the first shall be last.

Primary elections indeed determine who wins the great majority of our nation's elections for Congress and state legislature – most districts are safe for one party, and winning the primary is tantamount to winning the general election. But in contrast to turnout in November elections, turnout in primaries is sinking like a stone.

Plunging Turnout in Primaries

by Lewis Miller [courtesy of Blog for America]

Please join us for an engaging show tonight on DFA Radio. Our guests will be:

• Giancarlo D'Orazio from Americans Against Escalation in Iraq. Giancarlo will discuss the Take a Stand and the Iraq Summer campaigns.
• Candace Bowie and Annette Osterlund from Democracy for Colorado. Candance and Annette, the authors of Think Precinct: The Grassroots Organizing Guide for a Progressive America, will discuss organizing to increase voter turnout.

As always, we'll take calls from the DFA community. Tune in to hear your fellow DFA members, or call in & let us know what's on your mind.

If you missed last week's program, which focused on Paths to Progressive Power, you can still listen to it before tonight's show. Just visit the DFA Radio page on DFA's website.

by jra [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Cross-posted at votehope2008.org

The mainstream media has discovered Vote Hope, and it seems like they can't quite get their heads around it.

While we are thankful for the publicity (any press is good press as long as they get the url right!), it's clear that it's going to be a little difficult for some people to grasp an independent campaign that isn't designed to ruthlessly smear someone. News stories published in two places today, both the L.A. Times and MSNBC's "First Read", are focusing on the past history of negative independent campaigns, rather than on the reality of what Vote Hope is trying to do in California.