I'm honored that Matt has invited me to adapt and expand material from my book,
50 Simple Things You Can Do to Fight the Right, to post here.

A confession: I've never blogged before. Of course, I've read progressive blogs like My DD for years--and they've been a constant source of inspiration. But I've always wished they would devote more space to specific actions that readers could take to build the progressive movement. So that's what I'd like to try here. Over the next few months, I'll be listing some practical, effective actions anyone can take...reporting on some "ordinary heroes" who can tell us what they do every day...and introducing some little-known progressive groups that deserve our support. Let me know what you think. (Of course you will.) Here's the first installment. Please send it around to other concerned progressives...and share your own experiences and advice in the Comments section.

One Simple Thing You Can Do:
ADOPT A VOTER
More than 30 million Americans over the age of 18 aren't registered to vote--and according to some studies, a majority of them would vote for progressive candidates...if they voted at all. So here's a simple challenge: In the next few weeks--while there's still time--find one or two of these potential political allies and help them become voters. It's like doubling (or tripling) your voting power. If enough of us do it, we'll be able to influence important political races. Here's what you can do, in 5 simple steps:

STEP 1. Find out how much time you have left to register voters in your state.
* Go to the National Assn. of Secretaries of State web site: www.nass.org/electioninfo/electioninfo.h tml Click on "Voter Registration Deadlines." You'll find that many deadlines are right around the corner. The earliest is Oct. 4 (New Jersey)...and 23 other states have deadlines by the 10th. So you don't have much time.

STEP 2. Get the registration forms
* Find the rest of the details, and the other steps, in the Extended Section

*  If you don't already have Registration Forms, go back to the Secretaries of State web site www.nass.org/electioninfo/electioninfo.h tml, and click on your state, It'll take you directly to your state elections office web site.

• Read up on the regulations. (ID requirement, etc.)
  
• Print out the voter registration form on your computer.

STEP 3. Adopt a Voter.

• Find a person who's not registered but really wants to vote. It could be a neighbor, coworker, family friend, a parent of one of your child's friends, or someone who just turned 18.
  
• Try to find out why they haven't registered, so you can work with them. Some people, for example, assume registering will be too difficult. Some just can't find the time. Some don't feel "qualified" to vote--they don't know all the candidates and think they're required to vote for every person or measure on the ballot; others just don't believe their vote means anything.  
  
• Don't just hand them a form and tell them to mail it in. Help fill it out, then send it in for them. The local election office will notify them about their polling location.

Note: If you're really up against the deadline, you may have to hand-deliver the registration form to the election office. You can also follow up by phone, or online, to verify that your `adoptee' is officially registered.

STEP 4. Election prep: Make a date with your "adoptee" to review the issues and  candidates over coffee, or on the phone.

• Bring a sample ballot and demonstrate how to mark it. (If you don't have one, you can get it from the elections office or local Democratic party.)
  
• Of course, this means you have do some research about hard-to-understand ballot measures and candidates running for obscure offices that no one seems to have heard of. But it's worth the effort. "It's important to vote for everything.  No election is too small," says Carol Keys, of People For The American Way. "People who are elected at lower levels today will move up to other offices and will be the ones who decide things like redistricting tomorrow."
  
• How do you get the info? Actually, it can be surprisingly difficult to get reliable recommendations about down-ticket races and ballot measures. A few suggestions:
  

       --Local blogs may be your best bet.
         --Project Votesmart can give you text of ballot measures, or direct you to local resources. But they don't have details for every state yet. www.vote-smart.org/index.htm
         --Alternative weeklies are often good sources of local info.
         --You may be able to get info from local Demos, unions, or your state chapter of the League of Conservation voters.

Do you have any other suggestions? We need them.

STEP 5. See it all the way through.

• As Election Day approaches, call to make sure your "adoptee' plans to vote
  
• Do they need a ride to the polls? Volunteer to go with them, or arrange for a ride from someone else.  (Eg, the Dem party)
  
• Celebrate. You've helped to build the progressive movement, one voter at a time.

OTHER HELPFUL WEB SITES
1. http://www.smartvoter.org/voter/regvote. html SMART VOTER is a project of the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund.

2. http://www.lwv.org/AM/Template.cfm?Secti on=Register_To_Vote is the national League Of Women Voters Register To Vote Project

3. United States Federal Election Assistance [Part Of Federal Elections Commission (FEC)] has instructions and forms:
  http://www.eac.gov/register_vote.asp?for mat=none (instructions). You can also get State voter registration deadlines at this site.
  http://www.eac.gov/register_vote_forms.a sp (forms) You can download or print registration forms at this site.

4. www.yourvotematters.org from Working Assets.  An easy website, organized by state.

5.http://govote.org/ Online voter registration

Other Adopt-a-Voter Ideas
www.wanaral.org/takeaction/200608231.sht ml
NARAL's program.

www.missouridems.org/warroom/adopt-a-vot er.asp Ideas from the Missouri Democratic Party.

Remember: If you have registration experiences and advice to share, do it here!