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Opinion: Promoting the absentee vote

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Even if you don’t live in Iowa or New Hampshire, be forewarned: the phone calls are coming!!!

The California branch of Democrat Barack Obama’s presidential organization has publicized what we imagine most of the leading campaigns will soon be up to -- calling folks in many of the states with primaries later this winter to remind them that they don’t have to wait to cast ballots.

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As we’ve noted before, liberalized rules for absentee balloting mean that in a growing number of states, voting actually occurs over an extended period of time.

Debbie Mesloh, communications chief for Obama in the Golden State, noted in a recent release: ‘Absentee ballots for California’s Feb. 5 presidential primary will be mailed out on Monday, Jan. 7; residents can apply to vote by mail until Jan. 29. According to a recent California Field Poll, more than 4.2 million of the state’s 15 million registered voters -– 27.2% -– have signed up to cast their ballots by mail. In the June 2006 state primary election, a record 47% of the ballots cast came from absentee voters.’

The calls in California on behalf of Obama, by the way, began today.

-- Don Frederick

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