On a mission from God

God must like weirdos, because he puts up with my odd personality, and even feeds it from time to time by giving me odd missions. Like gathering up thousands of dollars of welding equipment, and overloading the back of a dodge minivan with the equipment and half a ton of scrap steel in order to take in hundreds of miles out into the middle of nowhere (show low) and let 11 year old kids use it to make weapons of mass destruction.

So, having survived that ordeal, I was kicking back, minding my own business when God dragged me over to the junk mail folder on my yahoo account and said, "That's your next task." I stared at it for a minute, took a break and played This Land from JibJab, and then sat and thought about what was going on.

The email was from True Majority, and the action item was registering to vote. Now I take my civic duty pretty seriously, and am registered to vote, and show up and vote on election day. But not everyone does. God's now given me the mission to make sure that everyone around me is registered to vote, and that as much as possible, everyone does vote. We get the government we deserve, and Jesus was always big on working within the system (instead of overthrowing it). So this November, its my job to make sure my friends, my co-workers, and my church members are all ready.

At first I didn't really think it mattered that much. Arizona is traditionally a very "Red Neck" state. Republican senators, govenors, etc. But depending on who you listen to, Arizona could go either way this November. Bush lead the state by 6 points last time, and its likely to be even closer this time (some polls currently list Bush leading by 2-3 point: a slim margin). So its going to be close, and every vote is going to count.

Its not that people don't want to vote, its just that there are a number of hurdles that stand in their way. One friend registered to vote many years ago, but doesn't know what party she's registered in or what district she has to vote in. Others didn't know were their polling place was anymore. My mission isn't just to make a few phone calls and send out a mass emailo. I've got to put the tools in front of everybody, and remove the barriers. I've got to time the message so that people have time to take action, but that its timely enough that they feel the pressure and don't put it off. If I can, I'll put the web sites, forms, and instructions right in front of them and have them sign up on the spot.

This fall, this election needs to be decided by the people, for the people. I'm on a mission, a mission from God.

[resources]
Arizona Voter Registration Form (PDF).
Online Voter Registration through AZ ADOT.
Election Issue Information
Early ballot request form.