Double-Check Your Poll Location & Rules at StateDemocracy.org

Dear Voter:

This is a friendly reminder from the StateDemocracy Foundation that Election Day across the nation is tomorrow--Tuesday, November 4, 2008.

As part of our mission to help America vote, our website -- www.StateDemocracy.org -- can locate your particular polling place by simply entering your home ZIP code. You get a printable map showing the street address of the official polling place for your precinct, no matter where you live.

Poll sites are not always the same from one election to the next, so we strongly encourage you to double-check BEFORE going to vote. Showing up at the correct polling place is even more important tomorrow given the record-breaking voter turnout -- and waiting lines -- expected this year.

As a further aid to voters, StateDemocracy.org summarizes each state’s rules about absentee ballots, voting hours, identification requirements, write-ins and other voting matters; with a direct link to the website of each state’s Election Board where more detailed information can be obtained.

StateDemocracy.org is a completely FREE public service from the nonprofit StateDemocracy Foundation. This one-stop portal also enables constituents to easily communicate with lawmakers on the federal level and in each of the 50 states.

Since 2001, hundreds of thousands of citizens have benefited from the many online tools our website offers to Deliver Democracy to your Desktop!

Beat Long Poll Lines with Absentee Ballots from StateDemocracy.org

Many state and local election officials are encouraging voters to use Absentee Ballots to avoid the long lines and delays expected at the polls on November 4th due to the record-breaking surge in newly registered voters.

Voters in most states still have time to obtain an Absentee Ballot by simply downloading an official application form available through www.StateDemocracy.org, a completely FREE public service from the nonprofit StateDemocracy Foundation.

According to the Early Voting Information Center, about a third of voters could cast their ballots (either in person or by absentee ballot) before Election Day -- up from 20% in 2004. Twenty-eight states allow no-excuse absentee voting by mail, while 22 states and the District of Columbia require an excuse to vote absentee by mail.

The StateDemocracy.org website presents each state’s complete voting requirements governing absentee ballots, voting hours, identification, write-ins, etc. In addition, this one-stop portal also offers a number of other helpful voter assistance tools, including:

- A Polling Place Locator for any precinct nationwide
- Links to all state and local Election Boards
- Links to lawmakers on the federal level and in all 50 states

StateDemocracy.org also offers free widgets that other websites can install to help their own visitors get absentee ballots or find their local polling place.
Since 2001, hundreds of thousands of citizens have benefited from the multitude of online civic engagement tools StateDemocracy.org provides to further the StateDemocracy Foundation’s mission of “Delivering Democracy to your Desktop!”


Sincerely,
Ken Laureys, Executive Director
StateDemocracy Foundation
Ken.Laureys@StateDemocracy.org

P.S. Listed below is each state’s deadline for submitting an application for an Absentee Ballot.

Absentee Ballot Application Submission Deadlines
From http://www.longdistancevoter.org/absentee_ballot_deadlines

States 2008 Deadline for a Mailed Application Requesting an Absentee Ballot
Alabama By October 30
Alaska By October 25
Arizona By October 24
Arkansas By October 28
California By October 28
Colorado By October 24
Connecticut By October 21
Delaware By October 31
Dist. of Columbia By October 28
Florida By October 29
Georgia By October 31
Hawaii By October 28
Idaho By October 29
Illinois By October 30
Indiana By October 27
Iowa By October 31
Kansas By October 31
Kentucky By October 28
Louisiana By October 31
Maine By October 21
Maryland By October 28
Massachusetts By November 3
Michigan By November 1
Minnesota By October 21
Mississippi By October 21
Missouri By October 29
Montana By November 3
Nebraska By October 27
Nevada By October 28
New Hampshire By October 21.
New Jersey By October 28
New Mexico By October 31
New York By October 28
North Carolina By October 28
North Dakota By October 21
Ohio By November 1
Oklahoma By October 29
Oregon By October 31
Pennsylvania By October 28
Rhode Island By October 14
South Carolina By October 31
South Dakota By November 4 at 3 pm
Tennessee By October 28
Texas By October 28
Utah By October 31
Vermont By November 3
Virginia By October 28
Washington By October 21
West Virginia By October 29
Wisconsin By October 30
Wyoming By October 21

QSS Founder - The new Chairman of StateDemocracy Foundation

After selling QSS for $250 million last year, Frank Islam tells us he's supposed to be retired, but as we found out earlier this week, he is anything but. He's running FI Investment Group, hosting a television show, and recently signed on as chairman of the State Democracy Foundation, a Bowie-based non-profit portal providing comprehensive voter registration information, online voting tools, and connecting citizens with national and state legislators. But will it connect us with Joe the Plumber?



Frank met State Democracy founder Shukoor Ahmed years ago when Shukoor was running for the Maryland House of Delegates. The two remained friends, and following Frank's "retirement," Shukoor approached him to become the new chair. "With the times we're in, it is imperative that people reach out to their leaders, and we give them the information they need to do so," Frank says, noting the site has increased traffic 400% in the past month.

Here at Frank's Tysons office, State Democracy executive director Ken Laureys tells us he didn't have to think hard about the new chairman: "Frank built a quarter of a billion dollar company, so who better to take our organization to the next level?" Even un-retired, Frank has still managed some travel. He's just back from a European vacation where he traced his wife's Dutch ancestry, finding her parent's original farm and church, which was the same one that Vincent Van Gogh's father once preached at. (Doesn't this story end with Tom Hanks fending off Opus Dei?) Frank also traveled to Barcelona and visited the building where Christopher Columbus met Queen Isabella upon returning from America.

Source: http://www.bisnow.com/washington_dc_tech_news_story.php?p=1651

Get a FREE ezCampaigns Website

Dear Candidate:

With only 2 months left until Election Day, every candidate is busy pulling out all stops to win. But does that include a campaign website?

Campaigning desktop-to-desktop in the Internet age is becoming as important as going door-to-door. Indeed, a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that fully 46% of all Americans (or 63% of all Internet users) are participating online in this year’s campaigns.

You still have time, because we can launch your ezCampaigns website virtually overnight! Take a few minutes to visit www.ezCampaigns.com to see how simple and affordable our off-the-shelf website application really is, providing everything a candidate needs to:

• Tap into online donations
• Publicize your campaign issues, events and news
• Instantly manage your online content to meet shifting campaign dynamics
• Sign-up volunteers, link to their friends and deploy them in grassroots fieldwork

Right now, for a limited time, you can get our ezCampaigns Value Package absolutely FREE! We’re quite confident you’ll be very satisfied, and will soon want to upgrade to our Premium Package or our Build-to-Order Package.

Why spend your limited funds on old media? Look where most voters today learn about candidates [Source: biz.yahoo.com]:

• Internet .................... 33%
• TV ........................... 26%
• Newspapers ............. 22%
• Radio ........................ 8%
• Pamphlets ................. 7%

Feel free to contact me about how our winning websites can give you the winning edge. But please don’t delay. Your passkey for reaching voters online is just a few clicks away -- at www.ezCampaigns.com!

Call us
301-661-6682
Ken.Laureys@ezCampaigns.com

Web use in 2008 political campaigns shattering records in U.S.

Fueled by increased viewing of online political videos and the use of social networks to gather campaign data and online donations for candidates, use of the Internet in this year's election cycle is shattering records, according to a study released this week The internet and the 2008 election

According to Yahoo – Citizen 2.0

• 87 percent use news Websites to gather information and learn about politics
• 82 percent use search engines
• 56 percent use candidate Websites
• 51 percent use blogs and politically-based Websites
• 40 percent use online political groups

We (www.ezCampaigns.com) think each and every contesting candidate should have their Online Presence.

In case you have a website, you can integrate the following:

• Online Contribution
• Voter Registration Application
• Absentee Ballot Application
• Polling Place Locator
• RSS feeds

A record-breaking 46% of Americans have used the Internet, e-mail or cell phone text messaging to get news about a campaign or to share their views, according to the "The Internet and the 2008 Election" report compiled by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. So far, according to the report, supporters of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) are using online tools for election matters more often that those of rival Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

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