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Open Letter - Are You A Registered Voter?
“Hi, are you a registered voter?”
We have asked this question tens of thousands of times in the past few months, throughout the IL-8th Congressional District -- at doorsteps, outside stores, at train stations, ballgames, festivals and parades, in good weather and bad.
Always, when the answer is “yes” a certain quality comes through -- a quiet assurance, a steady confidence, an unmistakable power. Yes, power.
Registered voters come in all shapes and sizes, male and female, old and young. They live in a variety of homes, large and small. But, there is one thing in common all of them share. And that, is power. They all have the power, and they know it.
To those more than 14,000 registered voters who signed our petition to get me on the ballot for U.S. Congress this November, we say, “Thank you!”
You have done something special. Ours is the first campaign in Illinois history to get on the ballot as an independent, third-party candidate for Congress. It is only the fifth time in U.S. history (in states that require over 10,000 signatures).
We also thank places like Butera and Dominick’s supermarkets, Lake Villa Ball Park, Hastings Lake YMCA, Grayslake and Fox Lake art festivals, Wauconda Fest, Lake Villa Rescue Squad’s community dance, and many others who let us petition outside their gates in the spirit of our open democracy.
And, we thank the Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Steel Workers, Lakes Area Peace Partners, and dozens of other volunteers who helped gather signatures.
All of these shared in unlocking the incredible power of the registered voter. This, more than anything else, is the power that keeps us free.
For those who are not yet registered voters, we say, “What are you waiting for?”
You still have time. Go down to your village hall or library and register to vote. Exercise your democracy. Feel the power!