[MCAEnews] Adult Learners Deliver a Landslide Victory toObama, Ban Dog Racing and Keep the Income Tax

[The MCAE Advocate]

 I hope you and everyone else in the ABE Community who is registered
is voting today.
 Below is a press release from Jennifer McAllistser, giving the
results of the ABE mock election conducted statewide last week in
programs participating in the VERA (Voter Education, Registration, and
Action) 2008 campaign.
 Kenny Tamarkin 
 Executive Director 
 MCAE 
 KTamarkin at mcae.net 
 978-979-1906 
              ----- Original Message -----
              From: Jennifer McAllister jmcallister at mcae.net
	Adult Learners Deliver a Landslide Victory to Obama, 

	Ban Dog Racing and Keep the Income Tax 
	BOSTON, October 30, 2008:  Income taxes will prevail, dog races will
be banned, and Barack Obama will win by a landslide if the votes of
adult education students are any indicator of how the rest of the
Commonwealth will vote on November 4.   In October, thousands of adult
learners from adult education centers across the state participated in
a mock election that simulates the three Massachusetts referendum
questions and the presidential candidates.  
	Organized by the Massachusetts Coalition for Adult Education (MCAE),
the mock election is part of a New England wide, non-partisan Voter
Education, Registration and Action (VERA) campaign that reaches out to
adult literacy programs to make a commitment to teach about voting and
why it matters.  The fact that 6,857 adult learners are participating
in this campaign in Massachusetts alone breaks the stereotype that
people who have not completed high school or are learning English are
the least likely to vote.  
	The mock election is a way to both motivate and prepare adult
learners to vote in the real elections.  For some adults, the
mechanics of voting are intimidating. Leorid Mejia, a U.S. citizen
originally from the Dominican Republic  and student at El Centro del
Cardenal of the Catholic Charities, says that it was not until he
learned in his English class how to fill in a sample ballot that he
felt confident to go into a voting booth in November.  
	Being registered to vote is no guarantee that people know much about
the referendum questions or candidates or have taken time to consider
the pros and cons of various issues.  This changed for GED student
Darlene Holleman when she participated in the classes and mock
elections at Julie’s Family  Learning Center.  Holleman, 25, a
single mom of a 3-year-old son, born and raised in South Boston says
that “Before when I voted I’d just pick someone randomly. Coming
here to Julie’s helped me understand the difference between the two
candidates. Honestly, I don’t like politics but when I study here
it’s different.   We even hold our own elections.  My top issues are
gun control and safety and the economy.”
	Like Darlene, Felicia, 49, a GED student at Brockton Public Schools
Adult Learning Center says she "thought that voting in the mock
election was a good idea because now I really  

	know how I want to vote on the questions. Before, I would vote but I
didn't really know what I was voting for."   
	The mock elections also provided an opportunity for hundreds of
immigrants who cannot vote to feel part of the elections.  When they
do obtain citizenship they will be that much better prepared for the
real thing.  If they are anything like Nicole Brown, 31, from
Trinidad, they too are having an impact on the voter turn-out. Nicole
has made it her mission to motivate her friends and family to vote
ever since she participated in classes and mock elections in her GED
class. “So far, I’ve gotten six people to vote, many of them for
the first time. I tell them if you want change you got to vote.” 
	MCAE is a statewide membership organization of educators, adult
students, and others who support equal educational opportunities for
adults.  MCAE is dedicated to the advancement of adult education
through high quality services and professionalism in the field from
basic literacy and English for Speakers of Other Languages through
transitions to post-secondary education. 

	The VERA campaign is a non-partisan effort aimed at adult learners
and program staff in the New England states. Its goal is to educate
adult learners about voting and the topical electoral issues, and
mobilize them to vote in the 2008 elections. VERA is sponsored by the 
New England Literacy Resource Center [1] (NELRC) at World Education
[2].
	Mock Election Voting Details
	President  
	Obama  

	2379
	McCain  

	194
	McKinney  

	12
	Nader  

	15
	Write In  

	1
	Senate  
	Kerry  

	2388
	Beatty   

	129
	Write In  

	0
	Question 1  
	Yes  

	693
	No  

	1812
	Question 2  
	Yes   

	1047
	No  

	1053
	Question 3  
	Yes   

	1125
	No  

	887
	Total Ballots Cast  

	2628
	###
 Jennifer McAllister 
 Public Policy Field Organizer 
 Massachusetts Coalition for Adult Education 
 6 Beacon Street, Suite 415 
 Boston, MA 02108 
 508-208-0130 
 

Links:
------
[1] http://www.nelrc.org/
[2] http://www.worlded.org/
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