Union Feels Voter Protection Will Play Large Role in Election Outcome



    WASHINGTON, July 22 /EMWNews/ -- With a record number of

Americans registered to vote in the 2008 presidential election, the

American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) has taken the lead on a

voter protection campaign with Andrea E. Brooks, National Vice President of

Women's and Fair Practices, as the coordinator.



    NVP Brooks and AFGE intend to inform the public of their rights and

responsibilities as voters, publish new information as it becomes

available, and address other issues related to voters' rights. AFGE and its

locals are focusing on developing voter rights coalitions and working with

existing coalitions on advocacy work and organizing voter rights efforts.



    "The overall objective of the voter protection campaign is to have the

nation's citizens successfully get to the polls, cast ballots, and have

their ballots counted," said NVP Brooks. "Americans cannot continue to have

their ability to participate in the Democratic process taken away from

them."



    AFGE's voter protection campaign targets the general public; however, a

lot of attention will be given to those most likely to have trouble casting

their ballots, including college-students, new voters, minorities, and

older Americans. There were recent reports in Indiana that elderly nuns

were turned away from the polls because they did not possess any form of

I.D. This case holds true for other older Americans who do not need

licenses because they do not drive or do anything else that would require

them to have I.D. on hand.



    "These key demographics have been disenfranchised in the past," said

John Gage, president of AFGE. "However, if a majority can successfully cast

their ballot they could truly make a difference in the outcome of this

presidential election."



    AFGE has recently launched student-oriented voter protection Facebook

and MySpace pages (http://www.myspace.com/afgevoterprotection), which will help

students better prepare for Election Day. AFGE will launch national radio

and print ad campaigns, as well. AFGE is working with third party groups

including the AFL-CIO; Rock the Vote, a nonpartisan group that works to

engage young people in the political process; and the Alliance for Retired

Americans, another nonpartisan organization that focuses on issues

important to older Americans.



    "The great decision facing our nation must be determined by the

voters--all of the voters," National Vice President Brooks later added.



    For more information on voter protection, please visit http://www.afge.org or

http://wfp.afge.org.



    The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest

federal employees union, representing 600,000 workers in the federal

government and the government of the District of Columbia.