Volume 74, Number 26 | October 27 – November 03 , 2004
V.I.D. heads for key battleground state Ohio to work for John Kerry
Hoping to help make a difference in the election turnout in the critical so-called bellwether state of Ohio, 21 members of the Village Independent Democrats political club will head to the Buckeye State on Friday and remain there until Election Day, Tuesday.
Chad Marlow, V.I.D. president, said they will travel in District Leader Keen Berger’s car and “a 16-person capacity van we’re procuring.” Once in Cleveland, Ohio, they’ll hook up with ACT (America Coming Together), which will put them to work canvassing voters and encouraging voter turnout.
“I’m not exactly sure, but I’d be shocked if we weren’t knocking on doors, making phone calls and handing out literature,” Marlow said as to what they’ll be doing.
Although Cleveland is known to be heavily Democratic, Marlow said there is concern that Republicans are now reportedly planning to target polling sites in Ohio’s cities in an effort to turn away voters.
Ohio could very well be the key state this election, Marlow said.
“My understanding is at least going back to Nixon, Ohio has always voted for the person who ended up being president,” he said. “Some might say [the most important state is] Florida, and if Kerry wins Florida he wins the election. But if Kerry wins Ohio, it opens up a lot of other possibilities. I think Kerry’s got a pretty good shot of winning Ohio.”
In addition, under the Election Protection initiative, Marlow and two other attorneys on the trip will monitor the polls on Tuesday, keeping an eye out for any violations.
The V.I.D. members will stay together in the same hotel, where they will regroup for meals.
“I think this is pretty unusual,” Marlow noted, “a club doing this as a group.”
