Cultural IQ

Don't Play the Race Card Unless You're Holding A Good Hand

Allow me to offer a bit of friendly advice in the competitive game of life: Don't  play the race card unless you are holding a good hand.

If you do, you will make it far more difficult for individuals with real racial and ethnic grievances to get a fair hearing.

 In Philadelphia, an African American aide to an at-large councilman was upset that a TV station followed her around and then reported that her work hours - and her time sheets- didn't match up. (She was actually at work fewer hours.)

Moreover, the Fox  reporter, Jeff Cole, found the woman had spent three hours at the councilman's house with him during the work day. No details on what they were doing. A little homework, I suspect.

What's remarkable is the aide protested the coverage during Philadelphia city council by holding up notebook paper that stated: Fox 29 are racist" and Jeff Cole KKK."

She has since apologize, as did her attorney, Michael Coard."I agree that my client's reaction was inappropriate. I explained to her that the appropriate response would have been to do exactly what she later did. And that was to contact an attorney who could determine whether or not Fox's relentless paparazzi-like conduct . . . was libelous and slanderous, thereby warranting the filing of a defamation lawsuit." 

Coard gets an A. Well played. Get the facts before you make the charges.

Many conservatives have told me they tuned out racial grievances because they've encountered one too many bluffs, so they are wary whenever they hear the charge:racist. We must do two things to make these wrongs right:

Stop all this bluffing, and get people to agree to make charges of racism only when there is proof.

Ask thoughtful questions so we can determine when a player is bluffing, and when he  or she is holding a good hand. That's a win-win situation.

 Fox News, we, the diversity people, have got your back. Nobody should get beaten up because of their race or their politics. Fair is fair.

The Niceness Factor: How Much Is Kindness Worth?

People across the nation watching the Hurricane Ike clean-up might be wondering if all that good will and neighborly affection they see on TV is for real: neighbors sitting together in front yards; hauling broken trees together; and working as a scrub team. 

It is.

That's not to say that there haven't been tempers flaring, grumpy people or criminals at work. There have been, but civility seems to be ahead, so far.

It was startling to watch as four motorists pulled up to a non-working traffic light and politely waited for their turns to cross. Or to see happy drivers, in long lines, waiting for gas, and chatting up the police officers directing traffic. 

While walking my dog, Gabby, a womanr walked up to me and invited me into her home to cool off or charge up my cell phone and laptop batteries. "Anything you need, honey? Just let me know," she said.

That got me thinking about the economic advantages of having nice people around you. Do nice people provide a financial boost to the local economy, and ultimately, reduce costs associated with a catastrophic storm? To what degree does the culture impact the city's finances?

How many more tons of food were saved because people with power shared their electricity with neighbors? How much damage was prevented because compassionate neighbors – such as those on my street - got out while it was still pouring rain to pull debris away from the storm drain. My street has flooded in the past, but not this time. How many small businesses continued functioning because neighbors with power opened their homes and allowed the self-employed to charge up phones and computers? How many clerks in grocery stories sacrificed by coming back to work - even though they had clean up issues at home? There was a heaping amount of love and affection and self-sacrifice these past 10 days. 

Dr. Stephen Post, author of “Why Good Things Happen to Good People” said social capital - things such as niceness and neighborly affection - often precede financial capital. Crumbling neighborhoods where people look out for each other - and watch over each other - are more likely to attract investor dollars or public investment than neighborhoods where residents hide behind locked doors at night.

Anyone who wants to improve a neighborhood might start with something as simple as a block club, a neighborhood watch or a basketball league for kids. Knock on somebody's door and say, "Hi". It might be the start of something good. 

There is plenty of research to suggest that random acts of kindness and voluntarism provide health benefits and good fortune as well. Dr. Post, who recently took a job as Division Head, Center for Humanities, Compassionate Care and Bioethics at Stony Brook University in New York, said there are many ways to give (such as contributing humor, creativity, forgiveness, and loyalty), and none of them even require us to write a check. All this giving, it has been proved by science, can improve health, and even add years onto to life.

“People who engage themselves in these kind of helping activities often report greater happiness, and on the whole, a little less depression and they tend to be less susceptible to stress related illnesses,” Dr. Post says.

In his book, written with journalist Jill Neimark, the duo discusses the science of love and giving, and the benefits that one gets from connections and relationships. This includes a 50-year study that shows that people who are giving during their high school years have better physical and mental health throughout their lives. People who need people are truly the happiest people, it seems.

Perhaps the lesson we can take away is that good manners and neighborly affection add a cornerstone for economic growth. One act of kindness, as Texans have witnessed, can keep a struggling business afloat; keep the emergency responders working round the clock; and give a person who has lost everything a reason to smile.

Hurricane Ike has been dangerous, destructive and damaging, but in its wake, it left behind an opportunity for neighbors to develop closer relationships and more meaningful connections. The challenge is to keep those attachments, and resist the urge to retreat.

What's in it for us? More happiness and better mental and physical health: Now isn't that the investment of a lifetime?

Read more: Why Good Things Happen to Good People

100 Ways to Change the World

                                             Idea No. 99 

                                               LISTENING CIRCLES

Facilitated Dialogue among Church Members and Friends about Difficult Issues

 “Understanding each other can be a liberating experience.” 
—Introduction to Listening Circles participant
2002 Congregational Leaders’ Workshop 

Answers to frequently asked questions

Goal 

The goal of a Listening Circle is to cultivate understanding. Participants share their thoughts and hear one another’s perspectives in order to gain a better understanding of views. 

Concepts 

• Dialogue Instead of Debate—The spirit of a Listening Circle is to acknowledge and honor the worth of all present. Even when people disagree, there is respect for all points of view.
• Understanding Instead of Compromising—Searching for understanding is not about compromising to reach middle ground. It is about focusing on values and concerns that the group shares. 
• Genuine Questions—Inquiries are based on real curiosity and a sincere interest to hear the answers.  

Benefits

• Develops and enhances relationships among participants 
• Begins to rebuild trust—person to person and members to church leaders 
• Develops and strengthens skills needed to discuss deeply held beliefs and values while staying committed to the group 
• Develops a “safe space” for all voices 
• Offers a tool for discernment  

A Listening Circle is not a decision-making process.

A Listening Circle can be used as a preparatory process for talking about an issue that may eventually involve a decision. It can help create a climate for compassionate, qualitative decision making. It is imperative to the integrity of the process that Listening Circles be used only to generate understanding, not to reach decisions.  

Requirements for Success

• An Attitude of Acknowledging God’s Spirit—God is present and working in the midst of the process.
• Active Listening—Paraphrase what has been stated to ensure that each participant’s point is correctly interpreted. 
• Small Groups—Bring together four to ten participants. Be sure to welcome and include people who have a variety of perspectives.  
• Trained Facilitators—Skilled facilitators must be trusted by the group to guide the group in an unbiased manner, without asserting their own perspective. They will serve as model and coach for “active listening” and “genuine questions” and maintain a safe environment by upholding the Listening Circle guidelines. 
• Storytelling—Have people speak from personal experience. 
• Speak as “I” instead of “We”—Speak for oneself instead of one’s “side,” and avoid generalizations. 
• Trust Building—Opening questions not related to the issue help people learn about one another, gain a sense of safety, and practice authentic listening. 
• Examining Stereotypes—Identify and dismantle misperceptions of others and oneself. 
• No Agenda—The only purpose is to gain understanding of other perspectives.
• Guidelines—Guidelines for participation should be shared at the beginning and adhered to throughout the process. 

Listening Circle Process 

• Contact the World Church Conflict Peacebuilding Ministries office (contact information below). 
• Meet with lead trainers to develop Listening Circle plan. 
• Facilitators receive Listening Circle training. 
• Schedule and participate in a Listening Circle.
• Evaluate the experience. 

For more information about Listening Circles or if you would like to purchase a VHS or DVD copy of this overview, contact 

Sandee Gamet
Peacebuilding Specialist
1001 W. Walnut
Independence, MO 64050 USA
(816) 833-1000, ext. 2353
1-800-825-2806, ext. 2353
sgamet@CofChrist.org

News - The first congregation to complete a Listening Circle series shares their experience. (8/27/04)

Peacebuilding Ministries | Facilitation | Training

The Prejudice Professor Seeks to Understand How Biases Work

 

 

It is a question on many Americans' minds: Is the United States ready for a black president, or will deep-rooted and even unconscious prejudices show at the polls?

For Patricia Devine, a University of Wisconsin-Madison psychology professor who researches prejudice, the answer isn't black and white.

Devine explains that eliminating prejudice is like breaking a habit — in the same way that she had to consciously stop biting her nails as a child, people who want to break the prejudice habit every day have to be aware of their own internal prejudice.

"Your conscious mind might tell you to vote for [Obama], but in the privacy of the election booth your unconscious biases may vote differently," Devine says.

However, Devine holds out when she reflects on the outcome of the election. "It remains to be seen but, cautiously, I think America is ready."

Devine's colleagues say her optimism is helping to reshape the field of prejudice psychology.

"Extensive amounts of research have demonstrated the prevalence of stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination, but where others saw mere statistics, Trish saw an opportunity. The premise upon which much of her research is based is that people desire to be good," says Laura Sheets, one of Devine's students and lab assistants. "In her personality, lectures and research, Trish consistently conveys this message of optimism."

In the 1980s, when equal rights were beginning to become a cultural norm, many pessimistic researchers thought people who responded that they were non-prejudiced, but then demonstrated or showed biases, were simply liars. Devine, who trusted the people's responses and began to ask: Is it possible that people want to free themselves of prejudice yet they still unconsciously act with bias.?

Well, yes, it is.

"I felt like I was this lone voice in the field saying 'you can trust what people say about their values,' but everybody was incredibly suspicious. There was this clarion call to not trust people's verbal reports because they are going to lie because it is socially acceptable to be non-prejudiced. I thought that was incredibly cynical," Devine says. "It turns out that the work I was doing changed the direction of the field. It caused people to step up and take notice."

Devine started her research as a graduate student at Ohio State University, moving to UW-Madison in 1985 to become an associate professor. The last  25 years has ben spent working to put together what she calls her "prejudice puzzle."

The first key puzzle piece is understanding the difference between controlled or conscious and automatic or hidden attitudes. People don’t always walk their talk because of their hidden or automatic biases.  Some folks, for instance,  might respond with controlled non-prejudiced answers when they have time to process questions, but offer biased/ automatic reponses if they respond more quickly.

Science has provided instruments to measure these biases. In Devine’s research, individuals took surveys to evaluate their conscious level of prejudice. Then they took an Implicit Association Test (IAT), a picture/word association test that asks participants to respond as quickly as possible to whether a face or image or phrase is good or bad.

Participants, for example, might be shown black and white faces with objectively good or bad words, such as joy and agony, and will have to decide as quickly as possible if the face or word is good or bad. Eighty percent of participants showed a preference toward white faces as "good," even though most reported being non-prejudiced.

Devine explains that these biased automatic responses in IATs come from a socialization process that encourages prejudice.

"[Prejudice] is the legacy of our socialization experiences. We all learn these stereotypes and have these biases at the ready whether we condone them or not, whether we think they are good or not, and as a result the immediate reaction is a biased one," Devine explains. "If you are going to respond in nonbiased ways, you have to gain control or override the automatically activated stereotypic response and instead respond in these thoughtful deliberate ways that might represent your personal values."

Eliminating prejudice is like breaking a habit, she says. You have to be aware of your biases, and learn how to manage them.

"[Eliminating prejudice] is a process. Making that decision is the first step, but then what you have to do is put some effort into it," Devine says. "Just making the decision doesn't mean you wake up one day, stretch and say 'I'm not prejudiced,' because you have got this whole socialization experience that you grew up with."

To test her theory, Devine broke up participants into two groups: high prejudice and low prejudice. The key difference between the two groups is that high-prejudice people will respond with prejudice and not have internal conflict, but low-prejudice people who respond with prejudice feel guilty afterward.

This guilt, what Devine calls prejudice with compunction, is the key to eliminating prejudice."When people's values conflicted, what I predicted is that if they were sincere in their non-prejudicial beliefs, they would feel guilty and self-critical and they would hold themselves accountable," Devine says. "When given a chance, [low-prejudice] people tried to learn from mistakes, tried to absorb material and at the next opportunity when prejudice was possible, they responded in a fair and unbiased way."

Once we know the different motivations of individuals, professionals can try to eliminate prejudice via different methods, she says.

"High internal/high external individuals are not good at responding without bias so what they need is help learning to respond without bias. They already have the motivation; we need to give them the skills," Devine says. "For the high external individuals, we need to create internal motivation. That is what will rid them of prejudice over time."

Devine's latest research shows external motivation pushes can cause negative backlash in society.

"That is one of the things I worry about: backlash, “ she said. “The harder non-prejudiced norms are pushed on them, the more they cement their walls of resistance. For such individuals, reducing prejudice requires finding ways to crack those walls of resistance."

As for Devine, although the possibility of a black president shows a growth in prejudice reduction, she sees 25 more years of puzzle-fitting in her future.

"I couldn't have expected this puzzle because it is an ever-evolving process. I started with a set of ideas and did the best to test them but the results often challenge me and made me go in new directions," Devine says. "The end of the puzzle will only really be when we understand why people are prejudiced and when people learn to rid themselves of prejudice."

Information and material furnished by the University of Wisconsin system

Cleaning Up the Political Conversation

Where There Is the Will, There is a New Way!

Yesterday, I received a rather toxic e-mail from an unhappy reader. My first thought, of course, was to thank the person for giving me an opportunity to be my better self. OK, not really. My first thought was to call the guy’s minister and say, "Could you PLEASE hold a refresher course on the 10 commandments right away?"

Thank goodness, I resisted that moment of temptation.

Now, if you are regular reader, you are probably asking yourself a couple of questions: How does Coach define toxic e-mail? Is that an e-mail that criticizes her writing or columns? Or is it one that a good person sent off into the world before it was cleaned up and ready for prime time.

Good questions all. 

 A toxic e-mail, fellow citizens, is one that uses so much mean language and so many poisoned words that recipients have to dig through piles of dirt to find buried messages. The toxicity level is so high, people standing within 90 feet feel a need to run for shelter.

Let me share this email with you so you can measure the poison is this pen. Before I do, borrow my sticks-and-stones-will -break-my bones-but-words-will- never-hurt- me raincoat folks.I don't want anyone to get injured.  Here is what he wrote (without edits):

“Got a hint for you - - - Why go through all of the hassel of trying to register as a legal voter? All you have to do is sneak into the sewer south of our border. Get some Mex. clothes, polish up you MexSpanish, and then sneak back into the states as an illegal. Shucks, don't you know the powers that be have made it much easier to vote if your an illegal alien? The vote counters aren't allowed to ask you if you are a citizen. Why do you suppose both partys are so anxious to keep the borders open if not for the vote from the spawn from our southern sewer towns?”

The correct response to something like this is: Ouch! My guess is this poor writer is being tortured terribly by the thought of voter fraud. In Texas, dead people have been known to cast ballots. (Of course, they had living accomplices.) So have non-citizens. This is never a good thing. So why not just say it like that?

A culturally competent patriot might write: “Cultural Coach: I think it hurts our democracy when dead people vote. And it’s really uncool when non-citizens vote because these days, one vote can decide an election. I need your help!”

If the writer had sent me an e-mail such as that, I would have been honored to be his compatriot. I might have said, "I agree, my brother.  What can I do to help you?” Then the writer could have qualified as a community organizer, which, despite what you've heard recently, is a very respectable job. Two citizens working against fraud is the start of a movement, while one person working against fraud is a lost cause.

By using all that dirt to wrap his message, he forced me to play detective and decipher what's wrong. and what he wants me to do. And I’m a very busy person. 

So here’s the lesson for the day. Before we sit down at the computer and fire off an e-mail, let’s ponder this question: Are we out to pollute the sea of humanity, or to write a clear message that travels globally at space shuttle speed?

This blog post is brought to you by Decision 2008. My name is Linda S Wallace, and I approve this message.

Leave No Voter Behind

Thanks to all of you who offered heartfelt condolences yesterday, along with best wishes for a kinder and speedier voter registration process. Your warm thoughts and contagious optimism have kept hope alive here in Texas.

With all that good will,  it is little surprise that, by mid-morning, our prayers were answered. OK, so we had some help. I happened to drop a line to the Houston Chronicle (one of my very favorite newspapers), and the paper assigned a reporter to check out my story. (I wouldn't have believed me either. )

Reporter Rosanna Ruiz  called yesterday morning with miraculous news: my voter registration record was now available on line. (And dated August 27, but more on that later)  I got misty as I was telling her how my girlfriend, Pam, dropped by my house on presidential primary day to urge me to walk over to the polls -- even though I would not be able to vote.  I felt left behind on a day the state was moving into unchartered terrority. Pam is such a warm and lovely person.  Her thinking:  if you go over there, at least you can SAY you were at the polls. You will still be a part of history.

 So we walked together - one Jewish American and one African American -  two neighbors, traveling side by side, sharing a common precinct. We stuck our heads in the room, and watched the voters standing in line. The only thing that could have made the day better was if the Assessor would have let me vote. (You see, if you missed the primary here, you missed the poll vote and the caucus vote. Really, how often does one get to vote twice in a presidential primary, and then brag to their friends?)

After Ms. Ruiz and I  got off the phone, I headed to the Harris County voter registration website to inspect my registration record. In journalism school they taught us, "If your mother says she loves you, check it out." I call my mother often and quiz her still. She hates it, but she would worry that I was sick if I stopped.

I put in my name as Linda (S.) Wallace, and no records came up. After I emailed her, Ms. Ruiz kindly informed me I needed to put in my name in backward. (It clearly says so on the website.) Of course, that makes sense. Tried again, but still couldn't find it. Then I put in my home address and I got this message: "no records found." So next I called the Assessor's office. A friendly clerk pulled up my file and informed me  that I, Linda S Wallace, still wasn't registered to vote in Harris County. My application, submitted last February, was still incomplete. 

(I didn't let her in on the hot rumor that I may be newly registered.) When I told her that I filled out a new registration form Sept. 2, and had included my Texas' driver's license number, she was elated. She asked me to call back Friday. Perhaps, by then, my application would have arrived downtown, and the process would be complete. I felt she was really rooting for me!

Don't know about you but I haven't been this confused  since I took high school trig. Just for fun, I put my home address in the online form again. This time, my voter registration record pops up.  Question is: where had it been hiding? Why weren't the clerks who work with voters able to pull up that record when I called on August 29 and, again, on Sept 3? (If voters are told they are not registered,chances are fairly good they won't go to the polls. Not everyone may respond, as I did, by filling out a fourth voter registration application. When my voter registration card arrived on Sept 5 (seven months after I submitted my first application), I mistook it for a prize notification award. It is orange and white -- and the words voter registration certificate are in extremely small print.

Now I shall pray for wisdom and guidance, in addition to the safe return of the envelope containing my social security number that went out into the world and lost its way. What's important, really, is that I now have proof that I am a voter in waiting. It is tucked away in a lock box, along with all of my identity papers that I will transport with me to the polls on Nov. 4th in an armored car.

Hope to see you there, voters to be. Wannabe voters, don't give up. When you register often, remarkable things do happen. So, rest if you must, but don't you quit! 

The lost voters of Houston

 Linda S. Wallace, one of thousands of really, really, really  determined voters in Houston, TX. A new settlement promises to make this job easier. What happened to the other 68,000 plus lost voters? Did they find safe passage too?

 

DOGGONE IT, I JUST WANT TO VOTE UPDATE: The Texas Democratic Party recently settled its voter registration lawsuit with the Harris County Assessor. The news release is included underneath my original post. (A lawyer for the state Democratic party contacted me to get details of my personal struggle after reading my blog. With the help of an ex-journalist in Philly, I drafted a letter to the Assessor asking tough questions about his managerial practices and my experience.  Harvard University's Neiman Watchdog later posted the entire letter on its website, citing it as an example of the tough voter registration questions reporters ought to ask.) 

My fellow cultural thinkers and problem-solvers may recall in Sept. 2008 I wrote of the tremendous time and effort eligible voters like myself spent trying to get on the rolls for the November 2008 presidential election. The Democrats say they discovered 68,000 voter registration cards were rejected in Harris County. Dallas County, by comparison, rejected fewer than 3,000 applications during the same period.

The Assessor, a Republican who was on the ballot in November 2008, was chief administrator of the  office that rejected all those applications.  Paul Bettencourt won re-election by a slim margin, then resigned to enter the private sector. A Republican was appointed to fill his seat.

 The Harris County Assessor's Office must now furnish lists of voter rejections to the chair of the Republican and Democratic parties. 

 

Sept. 2008- Houston, TX - In a year when an African-American visionary and a female warrior made a bid for the globe’s biggest job, I found myself pondering a question: “Who does a woman have to know to get registered to vote in November?”

 

 

As our nation pats itself on the back for all its racial and gender progress on the political home front, I find that I – a person long-committed to voting – can’t seem to manage to get registered. I’m a new resident of Bellaire (TX) in Harris County, and I’m over the age of 18. I’ve never committed a crime. I am a citizen (always a good thing) and I am not (yet) mentally incapacitated. Furthermore, my dog thinks I’m a fine person. Now, that may not be part of the legal criteria, but it matters to me just the same.

Even before the moving van arrived from Philadelphia in January with my furnishings, I had filled out the Harris County voter registration application in my empty house because I wanted to vote in the primary. I popped it into the mail, thinking, “I’ve done it!” I moved without forfeiting my right to vote in one of the most important elections ever. Boy, was I naïve.

In February, I received a letter from the Harris County Tax Assessor, which handles voter registration, telling me that it needed additional information from me to complete my application. In this county, if you don’t have a Texas driver’s license, which I did not, you have to furnish the last four digits of your social security number. I did so happily, but the County wrote back it couldn’t verify my personal information with the current info. I sent in another application as directed, this one attached to a copy of my Pennsylvania drivers’ license, my SSN, and my February utility bill.

As the primary neared, I got a little nervous. A week before the election, and still no word about my voting status. I called the Tax Assessors office and a nice lady sadly informed me that it had no record of receiving the second letter I sent. It went out, and never came back. It’s lost out there. I surely hope it found a home with some nice, honest people.

 

Friend and foe alike will tell you this: I am persistent. Watch out. I have a nose for news, and an uncanny ability for sniffing out great stories. This is one of those times.  It just so happens that the Assessor’s Office, which oversees registration, is headed by a Republican. The Harris County Democrats, whose politican fortunes have been lifted by a blue tide of minority residents, have launched a campaign to take over the County’s executive jobs. Voter registration drives are a key part of the strategy. The nice lady answering the phone at the Assessors office recently tried to make me feel better by assuring me lots of other folks were having problems too. About 40 percent of the 27,000 registration cards gathered by ACORN from January through July have been rejected or placed in limbo pending the gathering of more information, Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt recently informed the Houston Chronicle. Hmm. How come that makes me feel worse, not better?

This is a plot with llots of twists played out by a fascinating cast of characters. But right now, I’m focused solely on getting a leading role that changes my status from wannabe-voter to voter-to-be.

 

 

In July, when I finally got around to getting my Texas Drivers License (I held off because I didn’t have a car) I marked the box that asked if I wanted to register the vote.  The clerk  took my photo, checked all the info and she assured me the voter registration process was complete. A warm glow came over me as I walked out. Who cared about the driver’s license? I only got it cause I thought it could help me register to vote.

 

Oh, how happy I was!  I had overcome adversity, and with practice and patience, qualified for the final heat in the presidential round. Or so I thought. A few weeks later, I met a local attorney who volunteers with the League of Women Voters. After listening to me tell of my voting drama, she burst my bubble by telling me that – due to some computer issues- some folks who thought they had registered at the Texas Department of Public Safety drivers’ license outlet later found they weren’t ACTUALLY registered. She advised me to check the voter registration rolls to make sure I was now on it.

I checked the list on August 29 – for the third time in eight months – and for the third time in eight months I discovered that the county still had me cast as a voter wannabe.

 

 

So on Tuesday, good buddies, I got up early, waved goodbye to my dog, and then went off to register to vote - for the fourth time. Now I hold the voting registration record for most times in a single year, at least in my family. But this round, I played it a little smarter and wiser. I printed out a copy of the voter registration form before I left home, filled it out, and put a copy in my safety deposit box so I could prove the information was correct, and the boxes were filled in.  Gotcha! Plus, I didn’t give out my Social Security number to anybody this time.

 

State law requires Texans to register at least 30 days prior to the election. After registering so often, I hope I now qualify to vote. But if not, I still have a window. Figure I can fill out the voter registration form two more times still before it’s officially too late. If there is a next time, though, I think I’ll send in the form over the Internet. I’ve haven’t tried that way yet.  You know the definition of insanity right? Keep doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting the results to be different.

 

Seriously, folks, there is a moral to this story:

1) If you registered to vote this year but have not received an official card, call your local voter registration office just to make certain your name is on the list.

2) If you registered to vote when you got your driver’s license and did not receive a card, call and make certain your name is on the list.

3)    Finally, when all this is over and you’re ready to vote on Nov 4,, take along lots of proof of your identity. I, for one, am bringing my passport; my drivers’ license; my SSN; and notes from my mother and my dog attesting to my good name and character.

 

 

 

======================================================

Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie issued the following statement:  

“The Texas Democratic Party entered this settlement agreement because it specifically requires Harris County to end the practices we believe were largely responsible for almost 70,000 Texans being denied the opportunity to register to vote in Harris County in 2008.  Looking forward, the Party hopes this agreement clearly establishes a legally binding understanding that will make it much less likely that any Texan could be denied the right to vote by an improper government policy or practice. 

“From my first days as Chairman, the Texas Democratic Party has worked vigilantly in both the legal and legislative process to protect Texans’ right to participate fully in our democracy.  The Texas Democratic Party will monitor the current Harris County Voter Registrar’s practices with that same vigilance to make sure the terms of this agreement are carried out properly.

“In this case, the voter registration practices used in Harris County in 2008 were questioned by non-partisan groups, Democratic legislators and the Party well before the election and before we took legal action. The Secretary of State’s office was aware of these concerns but did not intervene. Granted, the Voter Registrar and the Secretary of State were both Republicans, but preventing voter suppression should not be a partisan issue, and no government official should condone or practice it. 

“It’s a shame that the Texas Democratic Party has been forced to go to court time and again to do what our state and local officials should be doing – protect the right to vote.  As a great Texas Democrat, President Lyndon B. Johnson said in 1965: ‘It is wrong–deadly wrong–to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country.’”=============