After the great success of our first voter registration canvass, the Cape Girardeau Branch of the NAACP is continuing voter registration activities in South Cape Girardeau. Some of the canvassers, who are college students, have returned to their home for the summer and are canvassing in their hometown. When they return to SEMO in the fall they will rejoin the rest of our crew to continue canvassing efforts in Cape Girardeau. 

We are working through a list of addresses that was generated by Missouri Jobs with Justice based on the voter registration list compared to a list of eligible voters. Thanks to this collaboration, we are able to greet the person behind the door by name, confirm registration status, update information on the voter registration record such as change of address, name, etc., and assist with online voter registration for other residents of the home if needed. We are also able to update the listing provided by Missouri Jobs with Justice to make future efforts at voter registration and turnout more efficient. 

One of the people on the list was deceased, but their family was still living at the address provided. We spoke with the family, offered our condolences, and updated his record accordingly as well as assisting the other family members of the home with their voter registration records.

I met another gentleman who had been on probation for a short time thirty years ago. This gentleman was under the assumption he could never vote again. Thanks to our training and the door-to-door nature of the program, we were able to help him get legally registered to vote. Imagine! After thirty years, he is a registered voter!

I met a mother who has two sons in prison. According to the mother, the sons decided they wanted to take control of their lives. They contacted the probation office and made the request to serve their time rather than being on probation and face the risk of being accused of a crime they did not commit. In six months they will be released and will not have any probation time to serve. Their mother is excited to have her sons back and wants to help get them registered to vote. She is going to reach out when they get home so I can confirm their eligibility to vote with the Cape Girardeau County Clerk’s office and hopefully, move forward with completing voter registration.

This is why it is so important that we do door to door canvassing and provide the education that is needed. I appreciate the support of the Missouri State Conference of the NAACP, Missouri Jobs with Justice, and Women in Politics Foundation, Inc. in the program's success and continued activity.

Pat McBride, President

Cape Girardeau NAACP 4058.