October 22, 2014
Retirees Say “Vote Early!”
Texas Alliance members rallied on the first day of early voting
Judy Bryant, organizer for the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans, brought several organizations together on October 20th for a public appeal to vote early. We were joined by the Dallas AFL-CIO, North Texas Jobs with Justice, Communications Workers Local 6215, and Americans United for Change near the downtown Records Building, which is the center of early voting in Dallas County. Americans United for Change made it a stop on their 15,000 mile national bus tour.
In front of five TV cameras, I pointed out that retirees are hurt by the Texas Voter Suppression law more than anybody else. I also said that we are victimized by greedy corporations and unscrupulous politicians who want to cut out pensions, health care, and Social Security. “We do not intend to be victims any longer,” I told the newspersons, “We intend to exercise our voting power this year and become VICTORS, not victims!”
Leah Witherspoon also spoke about her own experiences with the Affordable Care Act, which has greatly reduced her burdensome medicine costs.
The Texas Alliance for Retired Americans actually began working on voter turnout last January, when we began urging all Texans over age 65 to apply for ballots-by-mail. Vote-by-mail is far superior to voting in a booth because it is so much easier, because it allows plenty of time to think over the candidates and proposals, and because it is not affected by the Voter Suppression Law. Good news came when the first day had passed and we learned that the Secretary of State reported that the turnout in the 15 most populous counties on Day One of the early vote was up about 35 percent from the first early vote day of the 2010 election cycle!
Ed Sills of the Texas AFL-CIO reported that “As a percentage of registered voters, the first-day turnout this year was 2.68 percent, a 25 percent improvement over the 2.14 percent turnout of 2010. This year, the Secretary of State counts an increase of more than 600,000 registered voters, to 8,978,313, in the large urban counties, so that 2.68 percent comes out of a higher voting universe.” He also said, “The entirety of that improvement is in mail voting, which has more than doubled to date.”
As soon as in-person early voting began, the Texas Alliance shifted our strategy. The rally on October 20 was only a small part of activities that include personal calls, phone banking, and door-to-door efforts.
Texas seniors and our allies may not be able to turn the world around completely, but it won’t be because we didn’t try!
–-Gene Lantz, President
PLEASE contribute any amount, or make a monthly pledge, to Texas Alliance for Retired Americans by clicking here.
Sign our petition to Dallas Mayor Rawlings asking him to stop pushing to privatize the school district.
We’re also still gathering petitions for health care implementation in Texas. Sign that petition at:
http://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4055/c/1254/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4684
Contact Gene Lantz at labordallas@sbcglobal.net
Judy Bryant at 214-729-0063
facebook: Texas Alliance for Retired Americans
Twitter: @Tx4TARA