Press Release Round Up

Went out phone banking for 2 hours this evening. Most people in the campaign office were doing a mailing and had a tv on to keep up with pre-game activities, which sometimes made it hard to hear the people on the phone.

Here are a few press releases and announcements that have accumulated yesterday and today:

Beginning Tuesday, November 3, a day before the one-year anniversary of the 2008 presidential election, HBO is airing By the People: The Election of Barack Obama, a behind-the-scenes documentary about President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and the grassroots effort behind the road to the White House. The film is based on countless hours of exclusive footage that covered the campaign from the inside for more than two years.

HBO is working with Blue State Digital -- that's us -- to allow viewers to create local viewing parties so they can invite friends to watch and discuss the film

You can read more about the project here:

http://www.hbobythepeople.com

On a local matter, Chester County Democrats want to elect Dems to countywide office for the first time in 150 years and they would like your help in doing so. Contact them for details.

And over in Montco:

The Democratic edge in voter registration in Montgomery County continued to grow during the recently completed registration period, according to registration figures just released.

When registration closed before the 2009 primary election, registered Democrats outnumbered Republicans in the county by 26,635. Currently that edge is 29,979. In May, 45.15 percent of county voters were Democrats, with 41 percent registered Republican and 14 percent registered to other parties or independent. The latest percentage figures are 45.41 percent Democrat, 40.21 percent Republican and 14.38 percent “other”. There are 576,647 voters in Montgomery County.

“Even during a relatively slow period of voter registration, the Democrat Party in Montgomery County continues to grow,” commented Marcel Groen, chair of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee. “I believe the reasons for this growth are that we continue to field stronger candidates; put forth a moderately progressive vision on social issues, while maintaining fiscal responsibility; and the national Republican Party continues to veer rightward leaving Montgomery County’s moderate Republican voters feeling they have no political home.”

Groen pointed out that despite the Democratic majority that has swept Montgomery County over the past several years, there are still residual effects of a Republican monopoly throughout the 20th Century, and he pointed to the county Court of Common Pleas as an example.

“The fact that there are 19 Republican judges on the county bench and no Democrats cries out for more balance,” Groen said. “The fact that only 40 percent of the county electorate is registered Republican, and all 19 judges are Republican is something that should and will change.”

Groen noted that the Democrats this year have the most talented slate of judicial candidates in the history of the county regardless of party. “Our judicial candidates have a broad and deep reservoir of legal, business, prosecutorial, military and educational experience, and will bring that experience along with much needed balance to the county court,” he said.

Registration figures now show a total of 261,861 registered Democrats, and 231,882 registered Republicans. As recently as 2005, Republicans outnumbered Democrats by 47 to 39 percent, and in 1994 the Republicans had a 2-1 edge.

The change in the registration numbers were caused both by the purging of voter rolls, and by new registrations. During the most recent registration period, 2,130 voters registered Democratic, while only 1,169 registered Republican.