Getting Out the Vote

There's less than a month before the U.S. chooses a new commander in chief (barring any mishaps with butterfly ballots and hanging chads), and indie bookstores are in election overdrive. They're serving as voter registration sites, creating unique events and promotional materials to drive people to the polls, and even inviting customers to ascend the soapbox and imagine they have executive privilege.

Voting is as essential as eating, sleeping, and reading at Spirit of '76 Bookstore and Cardshop in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

On Saturdays throughout September, Book Mouse in Ottawa, Illinois, was a voter registration site. Store owner Eileen Fesco invited Democrats and Republicans to staff the registration table on alternate weekends. When the Democrats weren't available one weekend, Fesco even became a registrar herself. The Book Mouse is planning a 25-percent off sale during the last two weeks of October for those voting in their first presidential election.

Fesco also ran an ad in the local newspaper advertising books on or by Senators Barack Obama and John McCain and reminding residents of the last day to register. "Each state has it's own elections rules," she said. "This was our effort to remind people that if you want to be part of the process, you've got to register a month in advance."

Customers are getting a turn to present their own presidential doctrine at New York's BookHampton, which has locations in East Hampton, Southampton, and Sag Harbor. "What we are doing is having several nights when everyone gets two minutes to say what they would do as president," said co-owner Charline Spektor. On a recent rainy Saturday night the event drew a dozen customers who had plenty to proffer. "It was a real free-for-all, but after two minutes the bell rings and they've got to stop. Except we don't have a bell. We have me."

In their allotted two minutes, would-be presidents shared "every possible different type of idea" said Spektor, ranging from far left to far right.

Throughout the month of October, Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Arizona, is hosting a series of events as part of its "League of Future Voters" program, designed specifically to engage teens and young adults. The store will host workshops, discussions, and mock debates in a lead-up to National Mock Election Day on Thursday, October 30.

Cindy Dach said that the Changing Hands program was developed out of concern that publishers might cut back author tours during the election (which turned out not to be the case) and in response to "how boring all this election stuff is for kids. That was the germination of the idea," she explained. "We kept asking, 'What if?' What if we could become a catalyst for information for kids about the process? What if we helped kids understand that they could become a solution?"

Events include "Becoming an Agent of Change," with openly bisexual state representative Kyrsten Sinema and Madelaine Adelman, co-chair of GLSEN Phoenix (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network); "How to Create a Mock Political Ad for YouTube," featuring filmmakers Charlie Steak and Steven Krystek, creators of the satirical web video I'm Voting Republican; "Mock Debate Preparation Workshops," in conjunction with the National Student/Parent Mock Election; and "21st Century Ways to Get Your Voice Heard," with state representative and Arizona State University Professor Ed Ableser. All of the events are in anticipation of the National Mock Debate and Election on October 30.

"We anticipate lively conversation between kids and parents, between kids and kids about these issues," noted Dach. "We also hope the election results are in our favor."

At Florida's Books & Books, Cristina Nosti, director of events and marketing, said that staff has been "thinking of the elections all year and has hosted many politically minded authors and events," while also registering people to vote. On November 3, a Books & Books election party will feature Jim Morin, political cartoonist for the Miami Herald, to celebrate the publication of his new book, Ambushed! A Cartoon History of the George W. Bush Administration (Paradigm). Nosti added, "We will make our final call to arms that night, and the next day most of us will head out to the polls to volunteer."

One point that all of the booksellers underscored, however, was that no matter their personal political affiliations, their stores are places for a broad spectrum of political beliefs. As Books & Books' Mitchell Kaplan explained, "I've always felt it important to present ourselves as a community store which reflects the diversity of opinion that is around us, and while I'm sure most of our customers can guess what my affiliation might be, I've always wanted the store to present authors and host events highlighting a wide range of opinions." --Karen Schechner

Read, Dream, Vote at Pegasus Downtown in Berkeley, California.