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Black Females Targeted to 'Reclaim Our Democracy'
"By Andrea WoodYOUNGSTOWN, Ohio --This sign sticks out even amid the clutter of signs pounded into the ground at well-traveled intersections. "Take It Back!" the sign implores. Take what back? "Take back control of your country and redirect policies in a way that benefits the people," says State Sen. Ray Miller, a Democrat who represents parts of Columbus. Miller is chairman of Reclaim Our Democracy, a Columbus political advocacy group funded by the AFSCME International to increase voter turnout among minority female heads of households. The group's "Take It Back" signs began popping up last week in inner city neighborhoods in Youngstown, Cleveland and Columbus. Reclaim Our Democracy is one of the countless so-called 527 advocacy groups organized for the presidential election under section 527 of the federal tax code. In Ohio some 42 groups are working independently -- yet in a loosely coordinated fashion -- to turn out votes for the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry, Miller says. Should they win this ground game, so, too, will Kerry, political observers believe."It's totally unprecedented," Miller says. "We've got more people working in this state than ever and they know really know what they're doing."The most prominent 527 group working in Ohio to elect Kerry is America Coming Together, which was organized by MoveOn.org and is responsible for registering most of the 15,000 new voters in Mahoning County. Republican get-out-the-vote groups also are active in Ohio. Nearly 750,000 more Ohioans are eligible to vote tomorrow than in 2000 -- and these new voters are considered the wild card in the battle for Ohio's 20 electoral votes.Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell estimates 5.8 million Ohioans will cost votes tomorrow -- 72% of the eligible voters, which would set a new record.Reclaim Our Democracy has identified 112,000 African American households headed by females in Ohio's seven major cities, Miller say. The group employs seven regional coordinators whose duty it is to get these women to the polls."We first did a telephone canvass directed at African American female heads of households," Miller says. "Then we sent out two directed mailers and a door hanger piece. The message is "women speaking to one another: 'We are strong and we are going to vote.' And we identify issues: child care, health care, education and safety."Safety is not, however, how suburban mothers might characterize the issue, Miller says. "When African Americans talk about safety," he explains, "it is not national defense they're raising as an issue. It's safety within their neighborhoods, from gun violence to the prevalence of drugs within their neighborhoods."Miller says the war in Iraq also is viewed differently by African Americans. "Those at the lower economic end disproportionately serve in the military and have a high degrees of patriotism," he notes. "But if you were to take a poll about Iraq, you would find a higher percentage of opposition to the war than in general population. Because that's the community losing our sons and daughters."Still, Miller says, pocketbook and social issues are No. 1 among black females. "This is a community that understands the loss of jobs, because unemployment rate is three- to four times greater than the overall population. You can't tell them the economy is strong and improving -- they know better. And when it comes to No Child Left Behind, these women know their children are being left behind."Miller predicts minority turnout will exceed 70%. He discounts polls taken in September that showed Kerry getting just 75% of the minority vote -- far below what Al Gore received four years ago. Instead, Kerry will end up with "around 88% to 90%," Miller says."In this election, there has been a very concerted effort to attract African American voters based on two issues, gay marriage and abortion," he says. "But the counter to that in terms of pocketbook issues -- employment, education and health care -- will prevail in the final analysis."Contact Andrea Wood at [email protected]"