Northwest labor press., September 19, 2014, Page 6, Image 6

Mailing will give eligible Oregonians
the opportunity to register to vote
SALEM — Postcards were sent
the week of Sept. 15 to 895,026 eligi-
ble Oregonians offering them an op-
portunity to register to vote. It was the
first step in the state’s participation
with the Electronic Registration Infor-
mation Center (ERIC).
Recipients were selected because
they have an Oregon driver’s license or
a state ID, but do not appear to be on
the voter registration list. Some people
who are registered to vote may receive
the postcard. That is most likely be-
cause their voting and DMV records
do not match exactly. The list of
895,026 postcard recipients is the re-
sult of sophisticated data-matching and
is refined down from an initially higher
estimate.
If anyone receives the mailing and
believes they are already registered,
they can confirm their status through
My Vote at oregonvotes.gov. They can
2-1-1 can be a lifesaver
2-1-1 is an easy to remember tele-
phone number that connects callers to
information about critical health and
human services available in their com-
munities. In Oregon, it is run by
211info, in partnership with United
Way. It can be accessed online at
www.211info. org.
PAGE 6
Quilt raffle
to benefit
Guide Dogs
also call the Secretary of State’s office
at 503-986-1518.
Mailing the postcards is just one
step to ensure that every eligible Ore-
gonian has the opportunity to cast a
ballot on Election Day.
ERIC is a multi-state partnership
that uses secure data-matching to im-
prove the accuracy of state voter regis-
tration systems. ERIC is owned, man-
aged and funded by the participating
states. It was formed in 2012 with as-
sistance from the Pew Charitable
Trusts.
ERIC uses advanced technology to
compare information on eligible voters
from voter registration rolls, motor ve-
hicle records and Social Security death
records. States receive reports from
ERIC that identify voters whose
records might no longer be up-to-date
because they have moved, changed
their names or died.
ERIC can also identify potentially
eligible citizens who are not registered
to vote. In compliance with federal
law, states then contact these individu-
als and encourage them to register or
update their voter records.
Oregon is one of 11 states and the
District of Columbia that is participat-
ing in ERIC. More states are expected
to join in the coming years.
The deadline to register to vote in
the next election is Oct. 14, 2014.
Machinists Lodge 63 is raffling off
two quilts, with all proceeds going to
Guide Dogs of America. Tickets are
$5 each. The drawing will be held
when 200 tickets are sold for each
quilt. Members of Lodge 63 donated
T-shirts for the quilts. Other
material, plus the design and
piecing, binding and finish work was
donated by Local 63 member Jeffrey
Marchant and his wife Lorraine.
The Marchants belong to a quilting
group, and it was Jeffrey’s idea to
make the quilts to raise funds for Guide Dogs of America.
Other members of the quilting group, including Bobbe
Adkins, consulted on the project. Ross and Carol Babcock
of GenClare Quilting in Corbett, Oregon, donated the
backing and batting and did all the machine quilting.
Montavilla Sewing Center in Gresham provided the
workspace. Guide Dogs of America was founded by the
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers in 1948 to provide the blind community with
service dogs, free of charge. Headquartered in Sylmar,
California, Guide Dogs relies solely on voluntary donations,
bequests, and fund raising events to support the program.
For more information or to purchase raffle tickets, contact
John Hall at 503-449-0969. Text messages are preferred.
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
SEPTEMBER 19, 2014