CAIR-CHICAGO PUBLISHES ITS VOTER EDUCATION GUIDE FOR THE 2006 ELECTION

CAIR-Chicago Governmental Relations Department has been working diligently over the summer on a major voter education project. Former Voter Education Project Intern George Tobin and current Policy Research Intern Erin Hartnett, took the lead by heading one of the many electoral activities undertaken by the department this year.

The CAIR-Chicago Voter Education Guide 2006 highlights races throughout Illinois, from the hotly contested gubernatorial race between Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) and State Treasurer Judy Barr Topinka (R) to the vacant seat in the Sixth Congressional District with Tammy Duckworth (D) and State Senator Peter Roskam (R).

Voters need information on candidates in their districts so that when they go to the polls, they are able to make educated decisions to better serve their needs.

The aim of the Voter Education Guide is to provide constituents with information on all candidates running in state and congressional races, from the voting records of incumbents to their answers to a CAIR-Chicago produced questionnaire that candidates received. In addition, the guide includes contact information for all candidates, and procedure for first time voters as well as voters who have mastered the process.

Along with the Voter Education Project, CAIR-Chicago has been actively working to register people to vote since July. The New Americans Democracy Project (NADP), an electoral project geared toward increasing voter turnout at the polls in November 2006 is a joint effort of CAIR-Chicago and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) which has produced over 1,000 new Muslim voters in the southwest suburbs.

Haady Taslim, full-time organizing fellow for the NADP has been working with a group of volunteers to register eligible Muslim citizens to vote in the upcoming election. With over 1,000 people registered, the deadline for voter registration has passed and the campaign has shifted gears. A comprehensive "Get Out the Vote" campaign is in the works with door knocking, phone banking, poll watching and organized mobilization to the polls.

Copies of the CAIR-Chicago Voter Education Guide 2006 will be made available a few weeks before the Election. For more information on the Voter Education Project, political mobilization activities, or elections in general please contact the Governmental Relations Coordinator, Sadiya Ahmed, at gov.relations@cairchicago.org

*CAIR-Chicago does not endorse campaigns or candidates* copyright © 2006, cairchicago.org

CAIR-Chicago Voter Education Guide 2006:
http://www.cairchicago.org/doc/voter_education_guide_nov2006.pdf