| Choice USA, LSFC and MSFC announce coalition |
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Leading pro-choice groups announce coalition for fall elections; September 17 is National Online Voter Registration Day
Washington, D. C. -- Choice USA, Law Students for Choice, and Medical Students for Choice today announced a voter action coalition to build youth power and participation in the November elections. The three national pro-choice student organizations will work together to register young voters, get them to the polls and make sure their votes are counted. In addition, the coalition has declared September 17 National Online Voter Registration Day, and is encouraging people to register to vote online at www.choiceusa.org/register. "The voices of students and young people are too often ignored by politicians, and it's up to young people to change that," Choice USA Field Director Erica Smiley said. "By increasing youth participation and supporting people locally in creating grassroots organizations, we can make sure decision-makers take our issues seriously." Choice USA, a pioneer in pro-choice activist training and leadership development, is preparing students in 13 states to lead voter action campaigns. The organization's Voter Action Strategy Training was developed to teach student activists to run local voter registration, voter education and get-out-the-vote efforts, and how to use elections to build organizations and make an impact on public policy. Law Students for Choice (LSFC), a new student-driven organization dedicated to training emerging legal advocates in reproductive rights law, is organizing its activists at schools across the country to volunteer as polling monitors on Election Day. "Law students' education and advocacy skills make them ideal poll watchers," said Cari Sietstra, Executive Director of LSFC. "Working in conjunction with the nationwide Election Protection Coalition, LSFC activists will help ensure that voters are not turned away from the polls through fraudulent voter list purges, intimidation and negligence at polling places, as many were in the 2000 elections." In addition to monitoring voting rights, Law Students for Choice is also registering voters and planning to remind over 20,000 law students to vote on November 2. Medical Students for Choice, a national organization that works for the inclusion of abortion procedures in medical school curricula, is committing their resources to the coalition as well. "I'm working on the voter action campaign because I want to build our organization," said Dessa Cosma, University of Georgia-Athens senior and co-president of the Women's Studies Student Organization. "Since the Voter Action Strategy Training this weekend, I'm a lot more confident that we can have an impact here in Athens." Students who want to get involved in the effort can contact Heather Darling at 202 965 7700. Upcoming Voter Action Strategy Trainings: - 9/14/04 Willamette University - 9/15/04 University of Arkansas* 9/18/04 University of Washington* - 9/21/04 University of North Carolina - 9/27/04 University of Kansas - 9/30/04 University of Iowa* - 10/3/04 University of California- Los Angeles - 10/5/04 University of California- Davis* # # #
Headquartered in Washington, DC, and with chapters thriving in every region of the country, Choice USA is the voice of emerging pro-choice leaders. Through workshops, education, activism and outreach, Choice USA mobilizes and provides ongoing support to the diverse, upcoming generation of leaders who promote and protect reproductive choice both now and in the future.
Law Students for Choice is a new, student-driven national organization committed to increasing education and professional training in reproductive rights law. Law Students for Choice supports law student activism, advocacy, and networking in order to ensure that new lawyers can successfully defend and expand reproductive freedom. Medical Students for Choice (MSFC) is dedicated to ensuring that women receive the full range of reproductive healthcare choices. MSFC recognizes that one of the greatest obstacles to safe and legal abortion is the absence of trained providers, and works to make reproductive health care, including abortion, a part of standard medical education and residency training. |
