News

Activists join forces in national voter registration and postering campaign!

SAN DIEGO, July 4, 2004, For Immediate Release — This election season, American progressives throughout the country will participate in the 2004 Anybody But Bush poster and voter registration campaign, organized by BloodForOil.org.

Postering
“We’re trying to get as many people to get the ‘Anybody But Bush’ word out by September 6th, 2004, when most students are back in school. It provides an opportunity for grass-roots organizers, students, activists — and anyone else for that matter — to speak out against ‘politics as usual’ just in time for the election,” says M. Lindsay, art director at BloodForOil.org.

“Our Anybody But Bush campaign materials look just like the official Bush-Cheney campaign materials, except the logo reads ‘Anybody But Bush Election Day ’04.’ Imagine them mixed in with the real thing at the Republican National Convention! We also have a whole set of alternative picks for president in our Saints and Sinners poster set.”

There are ten different poster designs in the Saints and Sinners campaign at BloodForOil.org/saints-and-sinners/ and several Anybody But Bush poster and sticker designs available at BloodForOil.org/anybody-but-bush/ for free download and distribution. Go to: RobbieConal.com or BloodForOil.org for postering tips and etiquette.

“We’re distributing stickers and posters to as many people as we can for maximum exposure to the message,” says Lindsay. “It’s easy and effective, we gave out over 300 stickers in less than an hour at one local local showing of F9/11.”

Student Voter Registration Drive
Don’t let the apathy of “my vote doesn’t matter” take hold! Get up and do something about it. Educators, parents and students alike — if there are no groups in your area registering high school and college voters, be thinking of forming one. Target the first week of school for your event. It’s as easy as making a flyer directing students to voter registration websites like:

League of Women Voters
Working For Change
Rock the Vote
Punk Voter

Or go to your local board of elections / registrar of voters, pick up a bunch of voter registration forms (San Diego county even has simple postcards), and hand them out. Get some friends together, put up flyers and plan a voter registration day at your school (but please remember to get the proper permissions from your local school officials before staging such an event).

Is registering to vote difficult?
No. It’s easy! If you are a U.S. citizen and you are at least 18 years old, you can vote. In most states, before you can vote you need to register. Registration deadlines cannot be more than 30 days before Election Day. In seven states — Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming — you can vote without registering before Election Day. In these states, you can register on Election Day.

Think “outside of the box”
Voter registration doe not have to take place solely on campus. And no, you don’t have to join a political action group to get things done. Your efforts may be as simple as registering a daughter, son, friend, brother, sister, boyfriend or wife. Or as complex as staging an event, either on-campus or off. Other distribution/registration venues to consider : political meetings, documentary film openings (such as F9/11), shopping malls, busy storefronts, county fairs, street fairs, concert events like the Vans Warped Tour, concerts and club events, and coffee houses.

We know of many progressives who always carry a few extra voter registration forms with them, just in case. Whatever you can do. It’s what we call “asymmetrical activism.”

There are lots of little things you can do. And any of them can make a huge difference...

Contributions or gifts to BloodForOil.org are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.

BloodForOil.org is a growing collection of over 150 free downloadable anti-war/occupation/empire and peace movement works by artists against war. To submit your artwork, go to BloodForOil.org/contact/. If you’d like to : help organize, set up a registration team or event, or help sponsor this campaign — contact M. Lindsay at BloodForOil.org, the anti-empire/war/occupation & peace movement artwork resource center.