Hi folks.  We have seen record traffic on our blog today.  We launched this site back in October and up until today the most visitors we ever had was on November 2nd of last year - that's right the Election Day.  I suppose the record traffic today has lot to do with couple of online polls we have been running since yesterday.  If you have not cast a vote yet you can do it by clicking here and here.

So ... we have been noticing in the comments section that there is lot of concern, and more importantly energy and passion for election reform.  For those of who have been following us via our blog here or emails will know that election reform has been a huge issue for us.  We generated a lot of energy for election reform during our December 7 conference, "Vote 2004: A Report to the Nation," and during the last couple of years have pushed hard for legislation that will ensure every eligible voter has the opportunity to cast a ballot. 

Our "Report to the Nation" conference, which was attended by hundreds of activists from all over the country, was an important step in our efforts to seek meaningful reform for our flawed election systems.  The overwhelmingly positive response from activists and media buzz from the event undoubtedly pushed our agenda for election reform into the consciousness of our congressional leaders and the mainstream media in a big way.

Now we sure can count on you for a little boost.  For last 9 days we have been doing a little online campaign to raise some resources for our election reform efforts.  You can click on "read more" to see an email we sent to our online members on Tuesday.  We had asked for help from our online members to help raise us $20,000.00 so that we can put together an audio and video presentation on why we need election reform.  These features will splice together a number of the stories we collected from voters during last years Election with highlighted comments from our December 7 conference, making a case for why we desperately need legislation implementing meaningful election reform.  Here is a sample.  We are going to use these audio/video features to lobby lawmakers, journalists, and activists all over the country for election reform.  We already have had a pretty incredible response raising more than $18,500.00.  You can certainly help us push over our goal of raising $20,000.00 by next Tuesday.

Again ... we cannot thank you enough for all the comments, feedback, and the passionate discussion (from both sides of the political spectrum) all day today.  Please keep it going. 

Of course just by taking these unscientific polls we are not going to stop pursuing for reform in one area at the expense of others.  We know they are all crucial.  But is all helpful for us to know and hear what you are thinking at this point of time.  We see feedback crucial in our efforts to pursue reform.  Not to mention we want this to be a place where we can have vibrant discussions on all aspects of our Democracy.  Speak your mind, speak freely ... all we ask from you is to be respectful to each other.  This is a good place to set a little example for rest of our polarized country on how to engage in true meaningful, civic political discourse.  It would be a small step, nevertheless an important one in reviving the true spirit of our Democracy.  Thanks again.