Dean's Long-Term Move Aligns With Election Reform

Earlier today I mentioned the Feingold plan for universal same-day registration. Some replied that "Republicans would filibuster it" and I think it's shortsighted to look at what would happen on this bill tomorrow. Increasing the voter base and mobilizing new support is the cornerstone of Howard Dean's 50-state strategy, and it's a long-term vision that includes finding the youth vote and taking advantage of demographic shifts.

Step outside of Washington and assessments of Dean are drastically different, and far more favorable.

"I believe the Democratic National Committee should be an organization that is just what its name suggests, a national party," says Steve Achelpohl, the Democratic chairman in strongly Republican Nebraska. "We cannot sustain ourselves, particularly in terms of presidential elections, if we only have 15, 18, 20 states in play. Dean stands for the proposition that we should try to play everywhere."

The plan to do that, dubbed the 50-state strategy, is the fault line that divides Dean's supporters and critics.

Since winning a four-year term as chairman in February 2005, the former Vermont governor has poured tens of millions of dollars into the state parties. Computer systems have been modernized, and voter files -- the information used to solicit money and support -- are constantly scrubbed, expanded and forwarded to Washington, building a national database that should greatly help the presidential nominee.

State parties have also worked to invigorate the Democratic brand, each hiring the basics: a field director, a data manager and a spokesperson. "We've basically gotten people to believe that they can be Democrats in Utah again," Dean says. "That matters enormously."

This is all connected. Making it easier to vote and pouring money into local parties that facilitate that expanded access are two sides of the same coin. Dean knows that the long-term trends are on the side of Democrats, and that by expanding the playing field you dilute the power of big last-minute money and force candidates to compete. And if lots of people are turning out and the party organizations have the means to get them out, we win.

The biggest short-term hurdle to this is onerous election laws like the voter ID ruling. It also manifests in small ways like this outrage.

One of the major demands of may 1 this year was to fight against the disenfranchisement of nearly a million immigrant voters. Despite quadrupling the price of citizenship in the US, USCIS has refused to clear the backlogs of individuals waiting for citizenship- some 2 to 3 years. Nearly a million immigrant voters that have done everything we’ve asked of them in order to become citizens will be denied the vote in Novemeber if we don’t act NOW.

FIRM is teaming up with partners around the country to unite and push for a clearing of the backlog in time to let these people exercise their right to vote!

Yep. I think the DNC ought to be making a MAJOR stink over this. The executive branch has so much control that is off the radar screen - such as little things like this. The Presidency certainly matters. But so does meaningful local action on election reform, which will eventually lead in the direction progressives would like - full access to voting and massive participation.