Dear Hawkeye-X,
When Michelle and I decided to enter this race more than a year ago, one of our hopes was to bring people back into the political process.
Like so many Americans, we'd been exhausted and frustrated by the slash-and-burn politics that had come to dominate our elections. Smallness and pettiness were the rule, not the exception. And it seemed like every day, more and more Americans were tuning out their democracy.
This election, we're seeing something different.
Nearly as many people have participated in the Democratic primary this year than in 2000 and 2004 combined. And there are still ten contests left to go.
As we enter the final stretch of elections, we have a unique opportunity to shape the outcome -- and the outcome of elections up and down the ballot this November.
The last day to register new voters in Pennsylvania is March 24th. In North Carolina and Indiana, it's in early April. And in West Virginia and Kentucky, the voter registration deadline is a little more than a month from today.
So today we're launching a national initiative to register an unprecedented number of voters in each of the upcoming states.
No matter where you live, you can help get people registered in the upcoming states. You can make phone calls from home, reach out to people you know in these states, or even sign up to travel to one of these states to be on the ground for this massive voter registration effort.
Learn more about what you can do to bring as many voters as possible into the political process:
http://my.barackobama.com/morevoicesYoung voters have shaped this presidential primary like no other.
In Iowa, South Carolina, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Mississippi, the youth vote has tripled since 2004. And in all other states it has reached record levels. And these young voters are breaking 2-to-1 Democratic.
Statistics show that if we can get young people to vote Democratic now, they are far more likely to vote regularly -- and vote for Democrats -- throughout their lives.
So by getting involved and helping to register voters, you're not just increasing the number of voters in this election. You're increasing the number of people who will be engaged Democratic voters for the rest of their lives.
Sign up to help bring More Voices into the Democratic primary today:
http://my.barackobama.com/morevoicesMore than fifteen years ago, after I finished law school, I came back to Chicago and led a voter registration drive on the South Side.
For months, our passionate and hardworking volunteers pounded the pavement -- registering folks everywhere they could, from barber shops to grocery stores to apartment building lobbies to local fairs. One particularly enthusiastic woman -- who until then had never been involved in politics -- made it her personal goal to register 100 voters a day, and ultimately registered 3,000 new voters.
In the end, we made a real difference in Illinois. Our team registered more than 150,000 new voters, not only impacting local elections, but helping to shift the balance in state and national races as well. Illinois went from voting Republican in 1988 to Democratic in 1992.
That lesson has informed how we've run this campaign. And now we have an unbelievable opportunity to apply it on a massive scale.
When new or returning voters participate in the Democratic primary, they are far more likely to come back and participate in the general election.
That's not just good for presidential candidates; it's good for Democrats up and down the ticket. More engaged, committed Democratic voters in the primaries means more votes this November in all fifty states -- from competitive statewide races to state legislative and city council seats everywhere.
You can make a difference right now. Encourage someone to register in time to participate in the presidential race in their state.
Learn more and get involved here:
http://my.barackobama.com/morevoicesThanks for all your hard work,
Barack
P.S. -- Here's an example of how you can get involved right now.
In Pennsylvania, Independent voters must register as Democrats by March 24th in order to vote in the primary. One supporter made calls this weekend and reached 10 Independent voters who wanted to vote for us -- four of whom needed information about how to register.
Our team has created an online tool that provides all the information you need to make calls from home.
Get started now:
http://my.barackobama.com/callpa
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