OCR Text |
Show i Ike Votfer Cmfesf k On Is raise? Comtv to If? Might Moab be the "Votingest "Vot-ingest City" in America in 1976? The national contest is on, and voter registration figures released Tuesday by r Grand County Clerk Bobbie I Domenick are impressive. She reports that 91 persons r registered to vote last week l alone. Since the primary I election, a total of 253 persons registered in Grand County. I Oct. 26 was the last possible I registration day before the i general election, and a num- I ber of people were expected to register that day. Mrs. Domenick also reported report-ed that 122 absentee ballots had been mailed, and that new ballots were prepared by Can-Printing Can-Printing to correct two errors in names on the local ballots. Information on the national American-Vote 76 competition sponsored by the City of Alameda, California, shows that 246 cities from 44 states are competing in the city-to- city voting challenge. They represent 12 million Americans, Americ-ans, 8.5 million of whom are potential voters. Community-action programs prog-rams such as this can prove an important force in reducing the gloomy forecast of recent non-voter surveys that predict Americans will stay away from the polls in record numbers in the November presidential elections. The votingest City contest indicates that a new force of community service groups not usually identified with voter and registration drives is actively entering the political process. Such groups as scouts and student service organizations, organiza-tions, homeowners and civic organizations are beginning to take active rolls to help their :; cities be the "votingest." Other programs on the t' national scene are encourag- ; ing this kind of citizen partici- j: pation. For instance, California Califor-nia Secretary of State March Fong Eu has issued a state-to i' state voting challenge, and the Advertising Council, Inc., has launched a major campaign in conjunction with the American Revolution Bicentennial Ad- jj ministration which encourages j registration and voting with j the theme "It's the Bicenten .j nial thing to do." In a recent Bureau of the ' Census survey (series P20, No. ; 293) of 40 million non-registered, 24 per cent cited such , reasons for remaining out of " the voting system as: recently r moved, had no transportation, didn't, know how or where to vote, had physical disabilities, or hours or places of registrat ion and voting were too inconvenient. The "Votingest City" competition com-petition was launched by a non-partisan group of Alameda Alam-eda citizens in early 1975 as an appropriate and creative way of celebrating the 200th birthday of the establishment of "Government ... by consent of the governed." Spearheading Spearhead-ing the program were the local PTA Council. Alameda Jay-cecs Jay-cecs and League of Women Voters. The program soon grew to include all segments of the community. Winners will be decided on percentages of increase in registration and voting since the November, 1974 general election, and on highest percentages of registration and voting in the 1976 general election. Cities will compete in appropriate population catego-ries. Voting statistics will be judged on official returns in early December and Votingest City awards will be made on December 30 as an appropriate appropr-iate climax to the Bicentennial Year. |