Abstract

LA's Liberty Vote

The article looks at the work and money going into voter registration and turnout prior to the 2004 United States presidential election. Voter registration and turn-out-the-vote projects try to do something about the fact that 100 million Americans--most of them poor and working class--do not vote. Among the most promising projects: Liberty Vote in Los Angeles, California, which really is different and really might change things for the long haul. The problem in low-income, low-turnout communities is that poor people understandably view politics with cynicism and distrust. The Liberty Vote strategy is different: not just voter registration and get out the vote on Election Day but "voter engagement," which seeks a culture change. In Los Angeles, neighborhood organizations involved in Liberty Vote are now making voter work another tool in community organizing, another way to recruit and train volunteers. Peer training is a key component of Liberty Vote. George Pillsbury, policy director for MassVote, in Boston, a model for Liberty Vote, explained in a pamphlet that while nonprofits cannot endorse or campaign for or contribute money to a candidate or a party, they can do voter registration, voter education and get-out-the-vote work.