Beyond November 2

Record numbers of new voters cast their ballot in the 2004 election — 15 million, or 1 in 7 according to exit polling. National Voice, a diverse coalition of 1,000 nonpartisan organizations and community groups was responsible for a lion’s share of those new registrants and new voters in key battleground states. Most people came to know this effort through the national public relations campaign called NOVEMBER 2.

There has never been an election like this. The participation of newly-registered voters reflects the hard work of the thousands of nonpartisan organizations and hundreds of thousands of volunteers who devoted themselves to voter registration and turnout. Of the estimated 15 million new voters nationwide, the NOVEMBER 2 initiative helped six million—40%—vote this year.

The campaign focused on the people who have been ignored in the past, like youth and minimum wage-earning workers, to engage them in the political process through their vote. The long-term goal of the initiative is to not only grow the new voter pool as we keep the new voters who came out for this election engaged in the political process in future elections, but also to help these newly active people to learn about and understand their vital role in our nation’s civic life.

History shows us that that when people lose faith, they feel powerless and less important in their community. When the political system doesn’t respond to or represent the will or interests of the citizenry– people often respond with frustration and anger that can lead to chaos and unrest. This year’s pro-democracy movement has helped millions of people regain their faith and trust in our democratic system.

Now with the election just a memory, how do we keep this level of public service by private citizens growing after this election? Here are a few ideas on how we nurture this pro-democracy movement.

Engage, Inquire, Debate
Collective wisdom is developed through heartfelt, honest dialogue. We should put our nation’s electoral process on the agenda of every organization, meeting, book club, religious education event, and other public and private gatherings. A weakened democracy affects every organization and every community. Dialogue brings people together.

Grow the Electorate
Everyone who is eligible needs to be encouraged to register and to vote. We need to reconsider the definition of who is eligible. This is a year-round job, and pertains to local and state initiatives as much as to the presidential ballot.

Understand and Actively Defend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights
In these United States, we can vote for our lawmakers and we can debate our opinions because these rights are guaranteed in our constitution. We must defend these from any and all attacks.

Vote everyday with your feet, your wallet, and your voice.
We make choices every day about how we spend our time and our money. The choices we make reflect our values about our families, our planet, our economy, international cooperation, and our food security, to name a few. In these times, it is even more important to "walk the talk".