Driving Votes: David's Blog

Driving Votes' Independence Day Drive in Philadelphia was a smashing success -- with well over 330 new voters registered in three days.

From July 3rd through the 5th, Driving Votes' Boston and New York chapters converged upon Philadelphia's downtown and lively Independence Day festivities. New recruits from DC, Philly and New York joined in the fun.

This large Driving Votes' team spread throughout the city -- working downtown, Market St, South St, the Italian Mkt, and the "neighborhoods" of West Philly.

In groups of 10-15 people, they took on Philly's signature 4th of July events:

*The Guinness World Record Winning "Salsa on the Parkway" Festival,
*The Super Scooper "All You Can Eat" Ice Cream Festival,
*The Sunoco Coca-Cola Multicultural Festival,
*The Southwest Airlines Fourth of July Parade, and
*The Sunoco "Sweet Sounds of Liberty" Concert and Fireworks.

The results were staggering. Of the more than 330 new voters, only 23 registered Republican. And of this 23, most said they won't vote for Bush in November.

Overall, Driving Votes' experience was positive. The vast majority of Philadelphians were already registered and expressed determination to vote Bush out of Washington. Many others registered with Driving Votes for their very first time. These enthusiastic "new registrations" included both the young and old and came from all walks of life.

Highlights/lowlights from the weekend include:

*Jason of New York registered an entire Palestinian family of five -- Democrats through and through.

*Claire of Philly registered eleven democrats in a little over an hour.

*Elena of New York accidentally registered a group of four Republicans and one Democrat, all of whom are voting for Bush (ouch!).

*The Boston crew got kicked out of a Target parking lot, a laundromat, and the air-conditioned tent at Philly's "All You Can Eat" Ice Cream Festival.

This great success didn't come from nothing. Some people paced up and down the same streets hours on end. Others stood for hours in major festival thoroughfares -- calling out to people coming at them from all directions. Every one worked hard, braving the heat and humidity of summer in Philly.

All this goes to show that the slow and steady work of voter registration can pay off. And, indeed, in some cases it can be downright inspiring.

COMING SOON . . .

Bessie of Driving Votes NYC returned to Philly, 7/10 . . . details coming soon. Next weekend, we're going again. Watch for the announcement on the Driving Votes Trip Board. Help us reach our patriotic target: 1776 Pennsylvanians registered before the end of July!!