Bringing Home the Vote
AFSCME Members Are Putting the Motor Voter Law to Work for Democracy—Right on the Job.
Indianapolis, Indiana
Many AFSCME members have a great chance to help make our democracy work. And they can do it right on the job—by signing up voters for the November elections.
The so-called "motor voter law" gives an estimated 125,000 AFSCME workers a powerful tool to give the AFL-CIO's Labor '96 a boost. Labor '96 is a $35 million educational effort to get out the vote in November for candidates that are friendly to working families.
Although the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 is also called "motor voter," it doesn't just give motor vehicle department workers the opportunity to sign up their clients to vote. AFSCME caseworkers in agencies from welfare to unemployment are pitching in.
For example, Zephyr Reed registers her clients to vote in the Indiana Department of Family and Children. She says her crowning achievement was signing up an entire family of seven in one fell swoop.
"An elderly couple on Medicaid came for their interview," she recalled. "I gave them the voter registration forms and they both registered. They came back later with their seven children so they could register," said Reed, an AFSCME Local 3730 member in Indianapolis.
According to the social service activist organization HUMANSERVE, 65 million Americans are not registered to vote. Many of these are the ones who most need to have their voices heard: the downtrodden, the downsized, the jobless and the homeless.
Those are the ones Reed feels especially good about signing up. "I love what I do here, but I also like organizing AFDC mothers," said Reed. She considers her voter registration efforts as organizing. And it works: She has signed up 85 percent of her clients.
AFSCME Pres. Gerald W. McEntee appreciates the special effort it takes to make clients understand the value and importance of their vote. "Our overworked members in social service offices see registering their clients to vote as an opportunity rather than a burden," he said. "They know the clients will vote to support programs they see as lifesavers."
As a former public assistance recipient, Reed knows how it feels to be powerless. She had some difficult dealings with caseworkers then. She uses her position now to help clients gain control over their lives. Despite her mounting caseload—and her responsibilities as trainer and mentor to new employees—Reed takes the time to share information with her clients. That includes encouraging them to register and vote.
"I use any tactic I can. I don't take 'no' for an answer—unless the 'no' means they're already registered," said Reed.
Reed has been very successful registering young mothers who are applying for social service benefits. Many are surprised that they don't have to wait until they're 21.
Reed said of two young clients, "They voted for the first time and even worked the polls. After the election was over, they called me. And they were so excited. They said, 'Why didn't anyone ever tell us it was so much fun?'"
It's not enough for Reed that her clients register and vote. "I also have my clients call their state legislators if they have any problems," she said. It's a good way to make elected officials accountable.
