An Overview of this Project

The idea for this project was began at a community forum hosted by Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services – Northeast. In the discussion, Mary Hartnett, Executive Director of the Minnesota Commission Serving Deaf and Hard of Hearing People (MCDHH), discussed one of MCDHH’s goals, which was to register people to vote as a step towards empowering indviduals to be advocates on their own behalf. Sitting in the audience, I thought about how inspiring it might be to have a collection of people?s perspectives on why it is important to vote. Six months later, this resource has been born in time to be a part of 2004 voter registration drives. Those of us involved hope this will be a project that lasts beyond the 2004 election and will be used to inspire all people who view it to be more active in this ongoing experiment of democracy in the United States of America.

Doug Bowen-Bailey

A Video Welcome

This video, which includes a welcome by Elise Knopf, gives an overview of what the rest of this resource contains.

English Translation

Hello and welcome to “Views from the Voting Booth.” This information will help you to learn about
the voter registration process and voting itself. We will explain how, when and where to register to
vote. Also, this includes wonderful, personal stories from people about why it?s important to vote.
I hope you take the time to view each one and think about why these stories are important in your
own life. You have the right to vote and it?s important that you know how to make a difference in the
country. We are the future. We make decisions about who represents our views. Enjoy.