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America Votes, a nonpartisan organization, is in partnership with the largest grassroots organizations in the United States. The organizations work on various issues, such as the environment, education, and human rights. More than 20 million Americans make up the group.
"As individuals we are small; collectively we are giant," said Election Action Day Coordinator Parag Mehta.
On Election Action Day, more than 175 events took place in more than 90 communities in 17 states. People will participate in events ranging from rallies to voter registration drives. Featured speakers included former Vermont Governor Howard Dean and columnist Arianna Huffington.
Mehta found Election Action Day to be very successful.
"The beauty of this type of grassroots movement is that the growth tends to be exponential," Mehta said. "In other words, if each of our 10,000-plus volunteers from Saturday recruit two more people to volunteer next time, and so on, and so forth—we could be looking at a massive ripple effect such that, by November, we will literally have a progressive army of folks helping to get voters to the polls in historic numbers."
 Former Governor Howard Dean talks to volunteers in New Hampshire. (Photo: Courtesy of America Votes) |
1 million voters about the upcoming elections, and recruiting 10 million volunteer hours. But it looks like their efforts will go beyond their initial goal.
People who sign up for volunteer hours commit to helping with the election. For example, they might knock on people's doors to inform voters about the election.
Mehta noticed that more people usually vote during a time of crisis. He feels that the events, such as September 11, of the past few years will bring voters to the polls on Election Day.
"[Voting] is how a democracy works. It's the only way a democracy works," Mehta said.
