Students may be getting a knock on their door in the near future from a member of ACT, America Coming Together.
ACT is a national organization with state offices in 17 states, including Ohio. Their Northwest Regional Office is in Toledo and has the responsibility of door-to-door canvassing operations in 19 Northwest Ohio counties, including both Wood and Lucas Counties. They have a satellite office in Huron and operations in BG.
“ACT’s goals are to register progressive voters and mobilize them to participate in the electoral process,” said Steve Steel, North West Region Field and Communications Director, “We also work to educate voters about the failures of Bush administration policies.”
The organization targets progressive groups and holds group-sponsored events to perform voter registration drives on college campuses in North West Ohio. Anyone who shares their basic philosophy and goals are invited to get involved, either as employees or volunteers. The group offers extensive training. There are currently four trained canvassers in Bowling Green and they plan to add several more over the summer.
“I’m interested in education and the war on drugs. I’m trying to educate myself on the candidates,” said Margo Jerkovitz, a Bowling Green representative of ACT “I enjoy going out and seeing what other people have to say.”
Steel encouraged students to reference ACT’s Web site at www.act4victory.com to join the group. The site has information about the club on a national level.
The site reads: “American Coming Together — we are the foot soldiers of the progressive movement. We are dedicated to defeating George W. Bush, electing progressives at all levels of government, and mobilizing millions of people to register and vote around the critical issues facing our country.
On the site students can also register to vote, sign up to become a member of ACT, make donations to the organization and find their blueprint to take back America.
The blueprint states that “ACT has a clear goal: We will mobilize millions of voters who will say NO to the Republican agenda at every level.” In order to do this they plan to make personal contact face-to-face with people in communities.
They will focus on making the campaign about issues and communicate with voters about the issues. After they have contacted voters they plan to stay in touch with them. ACT believes in the importance of registering voters and getting them to the poles.
“We are focused on getting BGSU students to vote,” said Grace Poll, a Bowling Green representative of ACT.
