Politics

Last July I wrote about the changes with the voter ID laws in Texas and how to prepare for them. Yesterday I had the opportunity to vote on several propositions on the ballot. I figure that due to low voter turn out my vote is worth more on these elections and I try to make a special effort to research the initiatives on the ballot and cast my vote.

This year to vote I had to show my Texas drivers license. It actually wasn’t a completely pain free route for me. You see on my voter registration I am listed by my full name Paul Joseph Darr Jr. On my drivers license I only have Paul Joseph Darr listed. At the time I received my license the Department of Public Safety official declined to place “Jr” on my license. He said that they don’t do that and while I figured it was B.S. there was no way to really make him add it on at the time. I have a feeling this could cause me some issues in the future. There are three people by the name of Paul Darr living in San Antonio. There is myself, my son and some other gentlemen with a great name that is completely unrelated and a financial planner. Then there is also my biological father who lives in California and is a felon. I am just waiting for the day that a case of mistaken identity with my biological father causes me some trouble.

Due to having a non-matching name on my identification I had to sign and initial an additional form saying I am really me. I think my votes are still counted but they were not clear if my vote could potentially be thrown out due to this technicality. I get the feeling that I might want to take a day off from work in the future and wait all day in line at DPS to argue with someone to add Jr. to my complete name. I am not looking forward to that in the slightest.

So as far as impact on me as a voter this change has caused me some inconvenience and doubt as to if my vote will really count. I also have some serious doubts that the process would really impact individuals performing any kind of actual voter fraud.

There are several ways someone could easily get around the system if they were already breaking the law. I also think that if someone were really trying to change the vote that election fraud and not voter fraud would be the more vulnerable source to attack. An insider on the election team for a precinct could more easily tamper with a single voter machine to change results than it would be to get a large enough physical presence of people to make an equal change. In addition the weaknesses in the ability to audit the machines would make it easier to avoid detection. So to me this is all just a waste of time and money and a pain for people like me and the elderly. So while my experience wasn’t terrible, it wasn’t great either.

Texas is in the process of implementing new voting identification laws. If you are unaware, next election Texas voters will be required to have one form of photo identification from a list of approved government identification. The ID can be a Texas driver’s license, an “election identification certificate”, a DPS personal ID card, a US Military ID, a US citizenship certificate, a US passport or a Texas concealed handgun license. While many voters already have one of the forms of identification, many of the elderly do not.

Many seniors lack the most common form of identification (a Texas driver’s license) due to “Katie’s Law” passed two years ago. Katie’s law requires anyone 79 or older to appear in person to renew a driver’s license, and to pass prescribed fitness tests related to driver safety. The law also requires that the license of anyone 85 or older expires the second birthday after the date of the license application. No license equals no voting for seniors unless you get one of the other government approved forms of identification.

There are also a few other groups of people who might lack a drivers license for health related or other reasons. I didn’t actually get my first drivers license until I was 21. When I was in foster care I was not allowed to get a driver’s license and as an adult I did not have the opportunity to learn to drive and to be licensed initially. Luckily when I first voted an identification card was not required. For the elderly or people in situations that were similar to mine, you will need to take action now to be prepared to vote and have it count.

If you do not have an ID on Election Day you can still cast a provisional ballot but that will only count if you obtain and identification card and present it within six days following an election. Preparing now will save you a great deal of stress later. Getting a DPS personal ID card will cost $16 or $6 if you are over 60 years of age and you will need some identification documents. There is also the option of getting an “election identification certificate” from DPS. A DPS voting ID is free of charge but will require some documents. Gathering the identification documents may take time and require fee’s if you do not have your original documents, so please plan ahead. http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/DriverLicense/identificationrequirements.htm

There are a few exemptions to the voter ID law but they only apply to a small portion of the population. The exemptions are: 1) have a religious objection to having your photo taken. 2) Have no ID because of a natural disaster, then you can cast a provisional ballot, and travel to the county election office within 6 days to sign an affidavit claiming the exemption. 3) If you have a disability under Social Security or a VA disability of at least 50%, and have no photo ID, you can vote by presenting your voter registration card and written proof of the disability issued by Social Security or by the VA. Once again these exemptions only apply in certain instances, so please plan ahead.

For voters that will be out of the country or are disabled there is a vote by mail option. In order vote by mail, a registered voter must either be: 1) planning to be away from the county on Election Day and during the entire early voting period for that election, OR 2) be in jail but still eligible to vote, OR 3) be age 65 or older on Election Day, OR 4) be disabled.

The Application for a mail-in ballot can be obtained online at http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/pol-sub/5-15f.pdf. On the Application, you must disclose your name and address, your date of birth, the reason you are eligible to vote by mail, which election the ballot will cover, and if the election is a primary you must declare your political party.

Once you receive your ballot, you vote and then return the ballot by mail to the elections department. Your ballot must be received by the elections department before 7pm on Election Day. That does not mean mailed before close of business Election Day, it must be in their hands. If it is returned late, your vote is not counted.

I hope after this information will help people prepare for election day. Please feel free to print this article if you need the information to help an elderly family member or neighbor.

Branding in a political campaign – It’s not just a buzz word

Just as it is for businesses, successful branding is essential for the success of a political campaign.

But what is a brand? In a business setting a brand is the “name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.” When applied to a political campaign the application of a name, key terms, symbols and other features help to make the candidate distinct from other candidates. Branding in a campaign will occur no matter if you plan it or not and most often when you don’t plan for it is when it will negatively impact you.

What are some elements of a brand and how do I use them to help my campaign?

Establish your name. Do you want to use your full name to be distinct? Do you have a nickname to insert that would be appropriate for the campaign? Do you want to use the less formal version of a first name? These are all important aspects to think of when starting your campaign. You will then want to register a website domain under the the form of your name you will use for branding purposes. By establishing your own website this way, you will help people find you as they look using search engines. Avoid pitfalls such as using too long of a name in the domain name. Domains such as: johnsmithfor20thcongressionaldistrict2012.com are very specific but it’s a little too long. I would recommend using a few less words. You will want to use your name again in the title of the website along with the office you are seeking. After registering your domain make sure to claim your name in other social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linkedin, ect. Claim your name and establish your online presence before someone else does.

Establish a tagline. A tagline helps convey a short message about yourself to potential voters. Let’s look at my tagline as an example. It’s “Fiscal Conservative, Socially Tolerant, Open Source Advocate”. It’s short but conveys important information about me as a brand. It tells people where I stand on fiscal issues, social issues and technology. In the case of a political campaign you might want to place a few central ideas you believe in or a slogan. This all helps to build any idea about you as a candidate in the mind of the voters.

Establish a Logo. Wait what? A logo you say? Campaigns use logo’s on t-shirts, buttons and other campaign materials. They can also be used as a favicon on your website and social media presence. A logo should be simple and if you are American tossing in some red, white and blue never hurts. If all else fails pick a nice picture of a flag. Many good political logo’s are just remashes of the color scheme and feel of a flag.

Establish a primary image. You might not be a model but anyone can dress up and take a nice picture. If you have a friend that’s a budding photographer a quality picture can be easy to obtain. Don’t use an ordinary snapshot. This is your first impression with the voters. Use something that makes you look like you already are in office and people will start believing you should be there. Even if you are just running for a water or school board, a professional image helps sell you as the candidate. Don’t skimp on this step!

I hope these guidelines will help some some young person run a grassroots campaign. These guidelines have helped me with my own campaigns and the campaigns of others in the past. I’ll follow up this post with a few others in the future so please check back here if this article interested you.