We're in "now or never" territory, folks. If you were planning on doing some volunteering or voting early or emailing friends and family, no more procrastinating. For the home stretch, I'll post a daily open thread where you all can discuss ideas and suggestions for last-week action, with some pointers from me as well. As always, the "Obama Central" graphic here and on the side bar links to Obama's Virginia volunteer page.
First, I'll highlight again this link for those of you who can take the day off from work to do GOTV tomorrow.
Second, ELECTION DAY IS TOMORROW! Today is the day to email your friends and family that you need to encourage to get to the polls, so that they can plan their day around voting. Stress the historic nature of this election, and remind them of their polling location. The VoteForChange.com site can help anyone find out where to vote. And share this video about Virginia voting info (polling hours, IDs needed for first-time voters, etc.)
Third, go volunteer today! Check out the jump for links to possible action items, or just head to your closest campaign office-- they'll put you to work!
Okay, the open thread is open for all volunteering and voting related discussion! Previous open threads linked on the flip....
9 DAYS LEFT ... (take food to the local offices)
8 DAYS LEFT ... (GOTV sign-up)
7 DAYS LEFT ... (Travel to Virginia)
6 DAYS LEFT ... (Ride to the polls info)
5 DAYS LEFT ... (Neighbor-to-Neighbor GOTV from home)
4 DAYS LEFT ... (Contact your undecideds and persuadables)
3 DAYS LEFT ... (GOTV, visit your local office)
2 DAYS LEFT ... (Take the day off!)
My brother-in-law has been a Republican since his whole family fled Nicaragua, literally embraced in this country by Ronald Reagan.
Over the years their staunch loyalty to the Republican party remained - though they're all on the fiscal-conservative side of the party, they went along with global-warming-deniers, the Evangelical Right, and even reckless spending.
This year that started to change, when one of the five brothers, the most conservative of them all, saw something in Barack Obama that he liked. From early on in the primaries he rooted for him, and is glad to think that Obama could be the next president.
My brother-in-law wouldn't have it. The family is from Bethesda, MD, but over the past several years he lived in Europe and Central America. Over this whole period he kept his registration in Bethesda. However, late last year he rented a house in Arlington. Earlier this year he gleefully changed his voter registration to Virginia in order to make his vote for McCain count for something. Three days ago he went to the polls to vote absentee in person. As he waited in the 2-hour line, he started to doubt his staunch loyalty to the McCain-Palin ticket.
Coming home, my brother-in-law told us how he changed his mind three times while waiting in that line, and when he got into the voting booth, he just couldn't bring himself to vote for McCain-Palin.
One more vote from Arlington for the Junior Senator from Illinois.
You all don't know my brother. But when I heard this story and I heard that a man like him voted for a Democrat for the first time in his life, I was, and am, given hope beyond belief not just for the ticket and the election, but for the future of the party and the country.