2009.10.30
A ride to the polls
Ride Solutions, local political blog Star City Harbinger and the Fork restaurants owned by Roanoke City Councilman David Trinkle (Fork in the Alley and Fork in the City) are teaming up in a get-out-the-vote effort on Tuesday.
Ride Solutions will help get you to the polls if you need assistance. And if you wear your "I voted" sticker to one of the restaurants afterward, you'll get 10 percent off the price of your meal.
Members of the local chapter of Drinking Liberally will be gathering at Fork in the Alley that night - drowning their sorrows if the latest polls are any indication.
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Dan,
A decent sense of humor!
Actually, I suspect the latest polls are a result of the RTEB endorsements...
Deeds was interviewed at halftime of the VT game last night on radio. I guess that is why they lost?
But, thanks for the Blog, it did get a smile from me.
Comment by Bob H — October 30, 2009 @ 2:47 pm
Gee, this sounds a lot like Democrats buying votes, doesn't it? They'll drive you to the polls, then feed you. Well, it ain't suburban Republicans who need a ride.
Is this any different than giving homeless people cigarettes in exchange for their votes?
Comment by Suzie — October 30, 2009 @ 4:54 pm
#2 - No kidding, Suzie. Here's the party that does all it can to block voter ID requirements, yet will drive you to the poll. Vote Democrat, Vote Often!
Comment by Patrick — October 30, 2009 @ 5:48 pm
@2 & @3: You guys wake up in a contrary mood, don't you? Democrats didn't invent the "ride to the polls" idea and have not got the patent on it. Many groups of all political stripes provide such services so please, please, get over yourselves.
Comment by Saintbridge — October 30, 2009 @ 6:34 pm
Patrick #3
Yep, with all the talk from Democrats of the need to fix voting machines, they ignore the simplest anti-fraud solution of all: ID cards. But keeping in character, Democrats drive people to the polls and have motor voter "just to help people enjoy the privilege of voting", but in reality all these shenanigans come back to Democrats wanting more power.
Comment by Suzie — October 30, 2009 @ 10:38 pm
I hear the drivers have ACORN t shirts on with fake IDs of people who have passed on the past 6 months........
I'm kidding (ahem) of course.
Comment by BUD — October 31, 2009 @ 7:17 am
I like the ride to the polls.
Our band of 41 is concentrating on the Cleevland and Griffith race.
We have sigend up over 200 for rides to the polls.
The tea partiers need to get on board and ride thru those districts
with signs that will give rides to the polls for all republicans.
It works believe me.
Comment by Herb Krebs — October 31, 2009 @ 8:07 am
Suzie, Patrick, and others: In case the program wasn't clear on this, the ride to the polls is entirely non-partisan. Nobody is asking political affiliation nor passing out campaign materials. The information shared by RIDE Solutions in regards to transit, bike, and other connections is, obviously, not connected to a candidate, but is to provide information for those who don't have transportation, or for those who want to use a sustainable mode (that's our business, after all).
The volunteer driver program administered by Hank Bostwick and the Harbinger team is the only formal one that I am aware of in the valley, though if anyone knows of other programs geared to specific audiences - political parties, the elderly, students, whatnot, I'd be happy to share them on the RIDE Solutions site.
This effort has less to do with getting a particular candidate elected than it is a way to address the abysmal 19% voter turnout that Roanoke tends to see in non-National elections. I think we can all agree that higher voter turnout - whatever the result - is something to aspire to in our community, and if transportation is a barrier it's worth providing voters with an option.
Comment by Jeremy — November 2, 2009 @ 10:30 am