obama for kentucky

Dear Matthew,

When Michelle and I decided to enter this race more than a year ago, one of our hopes was to bring people back into the political process.

Like so many Americans, we'd been exhausted and frustrated by the slash-and-burn politics that had come to dominate our elections. Smallness and pettiness were the rule, not the exception. And it seemed like every day, more and more Americans were tuning out their democracy.

This election, we're seeing something different.

Nearly as many people have participated in the Democratic primary this year than in 2000 and 2004 combined. And there are still ten contests left to go.

As we enter the final stretch of elections, we have a unique opportunity to shape the outcome -- and the outcomes of elections up and down the ballot this November.

So today we're launching a national initiative to register an unprecedented number of voters in each of the upcoming states.

In Kentucky, you must be registered as a Democrat by April 21st in order to vote in the Democratic primary.

If you aren't a registered Democrat, register now:

http://my.barackobama.com/KYvote

If you are registered, learn more about what you can do to bring as many voters as possible into political process:

http://my.barackobama.com/morevoicesKY

Young voters have shaped this presidential primary like no other.

In Iowa, South Carolina, Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Mississippi, the youth vote has tripled since 2004. And in all other states it has reached record levels. And these young voters are breaking 2-to-1 Democratic.

Statistics show that if we can get young people to vote Democratic now, they are far more likely to vote regularly -- and vote for Democrats -- throughout their lives.

So by getting involved and helping to register voters, you're not just increasing the number of voters in this election. You're increasing the number of people who will be engaged Democratic voters for the rest of their lives.

Sign up to help bring More Voices into the Democratic primary today:

http://my.barackobama.com/morevoicesKY

More than fifteen years ago, after I finished law school, I came back to Chicago and led a voter registration drive on the South Side.

For months, our passionate and hardworking volunteers pounded the pavement -- registering folks everywhere they could, from barber shops to grocery stores to apartment building lobbies to local fairs. One particularly enthusiastic woman -- who until then had never been involved in politics -- made it her personal goal to register 100 voters a day, and ultimately registered 3,000 new voters.

In the end, we made a real difference in Illinois. Our team registered more than 150,000 new voters, not only impacting local elections, but helping to shift the balance in state and national races as well. Illinois went from voting Republican in 1988 to Democratic in 1992.

That lesson has informed how we've run this campaign. And now we have an unbelievable opportunity to apply it on a massive scale.

When new or returning voters participate in the Democratic primary, they are far more likely to come back and participate in the general election.

That's not just good for presidential candidates; it's good for Democrats up and down the ticket. More engaged, committed Democratic voters in the primaries means more votes this November in all 50 states -- from competitive statewide races to state legislative and city council seats everywhere.

You can make a difference right now. Encourage someone to register in time to participate in the presidential race in their state.

Learn more and get involved here:

http://my.barackobama.com/morevoicesKY

Thanks for all your hard work,

Barack