Never Give Up, Never Surrender

VoteRiders--- yes, the name is a shout-out to the Freedom Riders of the Civil Rights Movement--- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to helping people get the documentation they need in order to register to vote and to register to vote. They’re focusing on states with the strictest voter ID laws (their target states are Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin) but they are available to help in all 50 states as needed. (FYI to the mods, we don't seem to have a tag for Arizona yet but I've tagged all the other states on which they're focusing.)

This sounds deceptively simple, but it can be complicated, not least because it’s easy, especially in the states with the strictest voter ID laws, to get caught in a “do-loop”--- you need, for example, a birth certificate to get a valid state ID, but you can’t get the birth certificate without proof of your identity. Basically, VoteRiders volunteers help people break through the do-loop to get whatever proofs of identity they need. Also, thanks to their donors, they are able to pay for some of the fees associated with getting ID and other documentation.

One of the “knock-on” benefits of VoteRiders' work is that even though their primary mission is to help people get registered to vote, this kind of documentation is also necessary for a lot of other aspects of people’s lives, like obtaining employment and housing; the organization often works with shelters and transition services for the formerly incarcerated. I am not sure how closely they work with domestic-violence organizations in general, but the first thing that popped into my mind was all the advice given to people living in unstable or dangerous households (whether due to intimate partner or other family abuse or anything else) to keep copies of all your personal paperwork, such as ID, where the people who are making you unsafe can’t get at them. (On that note, the website VoteRiders volunteers often use to help people obtain birth certificates is VitalChek, which you can use directly if you’re in need--- VoteRiders does a lot of this for people who don’t necessarily have reliable access to the internet or similar issues, but if you’re here reading this, that’s probably less of an issue for you or people you know who might need access to documentation.) (Something else I have learned through VoteRiders is that if your mind works that way at all, it's a very good idea to memorize any of your "stable" ID numbers, like your Social Security number and state driver's license/ID number, because sometimes just having the number even if you don't have the physical card anymore, can help, and at least some states can look up your "old" ID number even if you've moved out of state and come back, and this can speed up the process of obtaining relevant documents.)

VoteRiders does its volunteer training online--- they want you to attend at least two virtual “shadowing” sessions with a volunteer who lets you watch while they help people get documents over the phone. More information about volunteer opportunities is here.

(And that's how I spent my Saturday night. Last post here for tonight, I promise.)