VOTER REGISTRATION, FLORIDA STYLE….Via Pandagon, it looks like Florida Republicans have hit on a charming new way to swell their ranks: wait outside the naturalization ceremony for new citizens and offer to register them to vote. But check off the Republican box before you give them the form.
Hmmm, maybe the laws are different in Florida. I spent some time registering voters for the local Democratic party when I was in high school, and the Dems who trained us told us in no uncertain terms that we had to register anyone who wanted to register. When we knocked on doors we should identify ourselves as Democrats, but if someone wanted to register Republican then we should let them go right ahead. It sure would have been a lot easier if I could have just checked off the party affiliation box for them ahead of time.
(But you know what? I don’t think a single Republican registered with me the entire summer. In fact, they were generally very encouraging, telling me I was part of of what made this country great and to keep at it. Of course, since Republicans outnumbered Democrats 2:1 in Orange County at the time, I guess they could afford to feel that way. Somehow, I have a feeling that door-to-door voter registration might not be quite so pleasant these days as it was 30 years ago.)
