Welcome to the e-Voices MONDAY MINUTE, your weekly email newsletter from New Mexico Voices for Children. Please take a minute to add your voice to the pressing issues of the day. Also, tell us what issues you'd like to know more about so we can tailor the MONDAY MINUTE to your interests. Thanks!

November 6, 2006

Every Vote Counts!

OK, here it is – our last opportunity to remind you to go to the polls tomorrow (unless you voted early, in which case, good for you!). Our country's founders understood the extraordinary value of having a voice in one's government. One of their main complaints against King George was that the monarchy extracted "taxation without representation." See, people used to pay taxes and then get next to nothing in return. The king got to live in luxury with amenities like servants, horse-drawn carriages, and three (or more) squares a day. While ordinary blokes like us got to walk everywhere, chop our own firewood, grow our own food, starve during the lean times, and die from horrific diseases just about any time. And for the taxes the king demanded of our meager existence we got a small measure of protection from the king's military against invading barbarians, and a few roads – the potholes of which could hide a small army.

We still have taxation, but in America that comes with representation. Plus, our taxes have been wisely invested in amenities like sewer systems, paved roads and highways (with considerably smaller potholes), airports, food and water safety regulations, and pretty much everything else we take for granted every day.

You're not getting out of the taxation thing, so you might as well take advantage of the representation thing. And don't give us any of those lame excuses like "my candidate can't possibly lose/win, so my vote won't matter." The only vote that doesn't count is the one you don't cast. So get out there and VOTE!

What you can do

  • The polls are open Tuesday, Nov. 7, from 7am to 7pm.
  • Voters in line at 7pm will be allowed to vote.
  • If you applied for an absentee ballot, but did not receive it you must ask for an 'in lieu of' absentee ballot.
  • If you have not mailed your completed absentee ballot in you may deliver it to your county clerk's office or the precinct where you are registered.
  • If poll workers attempt to turn you away for any reason, state law requires that you receive a provisional ballot.

Sharing Your Sob Story

While we're not accepting any lame voting excuses, we are encouraging you to report any voting complaints. You can do that at www.VoterStory.org, a website created by the Funders' Committee for Civic Participation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, and the Open Society Institute.

The website allows anyone to document stories about having had trouble voting or having been denied the right to vote. Your story will automatically be forwarded to nonprofit, nonpartisan voter protection organizations, which will be standing by to intervene or lend support, if they can. The creators of VoterStory.org hope the site will become a tool for addressing specific voter problems by collecting and organizing the relevant stories and getting the information to the appropriate authorities.

RSVP Reminder

A final reminder that our town hall, The Crisis in Health Care and the New Congress, is this Thursday. You'll learn about the current state of health care in New Mexico, and the role federal decisions on Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) will play in any statewide coverage program.

If you haven't yet RSVP'd for Thursday's town hall, you can do it here and now: http://www.nmvoices.org/healthcaretownhall.htm

The town hall is Nov. 9, from 6pm to 8pm, at Smith Brasher Hall (southwest corner of Coal and University in Albuquerque) on the CNM campus (formerly TVI). We'll have a panel of state and federal experts who will share their perspectives of how the issues will shape up both locally and in Washington. They will also take questions from the audience. Refreshments will be served and admission is free.

Speak Out for Darfur

It's not a story you see often in the media, but the situation in Darfur has not improved for the 2.5 million refugees who fled horrific violence. So far, the U.S. has not stepped up with the kind of leadership that would end this nightmare.

What you can do
Log onto http://www.savedarfur.org/content?splash=yes to send a letter to President Bush asking him to take action.
Helping Here at Home

The holiday season is upon us, and there are always many ways you can help out those who are struggling to get by all year long. Here are a few:

  • What you can do
    Santa Fe Community Partnership, a program of NM Voices, is collecting coats and nonperishable food, which will be distributed at their annual party on Dec. 7. You can drop off donations of gently-used coats (for kids up to age 18) and nonperishable food at the Partnership office at 2532 Camino Entrada in Santa Fe, or here at NM Voices at 2340 Alamo SE, Suite 120 in Albuquerque. Cash donations are also accepted and will be used to purchase turkeys and hams for distribution.
  • Santa Fe Community Partnership will also benefit from the Festival of Giving. This shopper's paradise is Saturday, Nov. 18, from 6 to 9pm at Santa Fe Place (formerly Villa Linda Mall). The $5 entrance fee allows you to get a head start on your holiday shopping and get great discounts that are exclusive to this event. Tickets are available in advance from the Partnership (call 955-1812) or at the door. Your donations of coats and nonperishable food can also be made at the event.
  • New Mexico Voices for Children will benefit from tickets sold for the Simon Evening of Giving. Shoppers will get in on the discounts on Sunday, Nov. 19, 6:39 to 9:30pm at Cottonwood Mall in northwest Albuquerque. Tickets are $10. We have a limited number here (call 244-9505 ext. 21), or you can purchase them at the door.

Call for Nominations

Know a young New Mexican who's made a difference in their community through community service or volunteerism? Nominate him or her for the 2007 Amy Biehl Youth Spirit Award. The award honors New Mexico youths in two age groups (13-18 and 19-26) for their work. Nominations are evaluated on evidence of the nominee's vision, initiative and dedication.

The deadline for nominations is 3pm, Friday, Feb. 9, 2007. If you'd like a nomination packet mailed to you call 505-244-9505, ext. 10. You can also download the forms here: www.nmvoices.org/abysa.htm. The awards ceremony will be Friday, April 20, 2007, in Albuquerque.

Your financial support is critical to our work. Please consider making a contribution today at http://www.nmvoices.org/donate.htm