Sunshine Fair: Fun, Civic Leadership & Voter Information
Sarah Meredith

Continued from September newsletter…..

The voter registration materials were important. As Joe said, “I was present for four people registering to vote. Many others took registration forms home. We planted seeds that we will reap. Three times while I was at the booth, couples came by and the woman said that she was registered, and the man said that he was not. All three women said they would ‘work on him.’” Hopeful signs! An angry Republican woman at the fair said to a friend:  'Those damned Democrats are over there, proselytizing in the aisle.’ Yup, selling Democracy to all comers.

Bridey Finegan (Schoharie) was especially focused on talking to the younger people about voting. “It was a great opportunity to talk directly to a wide variety of voters and answer questions about the special election and the primary. It was particularly rewarding to give young people, who had never registered to vote, the registration form to fill out at home and send into the Board of Elections.”

Mary Rouleau (Conesville) mentioned to me that part of what made it such a good experience was getting to know Joe B. and Marc Weiss (Cobleskill), her two booth mates. She was struck by the range of skills, strengths and knowledge at work within the SCDC. She left me with this one moment that stuck with her. She had a conversation with a young woman who wasn't registered and didn't vote because she didn’t feel it made any difference. She stayed and talked a few minutes during which Mary encouraged her to learn more and told her that voting did matter. Before she left, she said that maybe she should learn more. Mary got a distinct feeling that this young woman was thinking seriously, struggling with how all of this, voting and politics, fits into the way she looks at the world. That conversation had an impact.

In my eight hours over two days, there were more than a few startled faces, surprised that we were happy to talk “across the aisle” about what big “D” Democracy means. Again, Joe’s words: “It’s the American way!”