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by Deb Darcy and Stefanie Reeves
The 2008 election is turning into one of the most historic and competitive races in recent history frontrunner predictions have been disproved. On the Republican side, Sen. John McCain (Nevada) has a commanding lead with the delegate count. On the Democratic side, Sens. Barack Obama (Illinois) and Hillary Clinton (New York) are battling for delegates.
Members of Congress are also in the election race. Elections are being held for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33 seats in the Senate. Congressional district races are becoming more competitive as an increasing number of incumbents leave office. Last month, for example, two long-time incumbents lost their seats in Maryland primaries.
For ASHA members, the elections mean that it's time to pay attention to candidates' positions on policies that affect speech-language pathology and audiology. It's time to ask, "Do these candidates know anything about audiologists and speech-language pathologists? Do they know what we do on a daily basis? Do they care?"
ASHA's Web-based get-out-the-vote campaign—"Let Your Voice Be Heard, Vote!"—helps answer these important questions. The Web page provides the necessary tools to prepare for this election. Did you register to vote? Would you like to be a poll worker? Don't know who's running for Congress in your district? The Web page has all this necessary information—and more.
Get Involved
The time is now for the professions of audiology and speech-language pathology to become more politically active (see the article on member advocacy on page 5). Calling a legislator in Congress about a particular issue or making a contribution to ASHA-PAC are helpful, but political action involves much more. It's getting involved with the issues that will affect you, your discipline, and the people you serve. ASHA challenges its members to become involved with this upcoming election. Give an hour of your time at a phone bank. Register your neighbors to vote. Serve as a judge at your local polling center. These are just a few ways to become involved.
Even if you are unable to become active in the political process, please vote in the primary and general elections! Visit Get Out The Vote today. If you have any questions regarding the upcoming elections, contact gotv@asha.org.
Deb Darcy, director of grassroots advocacy, can be reached at ddarcy@asha.org; Stefanie Reeves, director of political advocacy, can be reached at sreeves@asha.org; both can be reached at 202-624-5961.
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